Mercury OB - Tilt/trim gave out - help

[MuskieJunkie]

I have a 2001 Mercury 90hp, I noticed the tilt was slow to go up when I took it out of storage, but than after running it up and down it worked OK, so I wasn't worried about it. I got to pool 4 this morning and it wouldn't work at all. I can get it to move if I assist the motor by hand, but even then it barely works and won't move at all on it's own.

I am guessing the motor/pump that runs the hydrolics needs to be replaced but I would like to be sure before I start throwing parts at it. Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

I'm supposed to be taking it to Vermilion on Thursday.....

[boatfixer]

Brian-Does the pump motor sound like it is spinning fine and nothing is happening? or is the motor laboring and struggling? You may want to check the battery connections. Loose or corroded terminals can cause all kinds of headaches.

[Valv]

Also if pump and motor sound fine, it might be low on oil. You might want to check that too.

[MuskieJunkie]

The pump sounds very weak and the motor moves very slow then gives out and quits. Then you can physically push it (up or down) with a lot of effort and it starts going again, barley.

The battery was the first place I went and that's not the issue, the problem is the same with the gas motor running or not.

[Surface Tension]

Trace and inspect the wires from the pumps motor to their last connection under the the hood. Don't know if you have a 2 or 3 wire motor. If three figure out which two are positive. Disconnect them and jump to 12 volts. If the motor still sounds weak your brushes are most likely dirty.

From there its up to you but I'd pull the motor apart and inspect for water intrusion then clean or replace the bushes.

[MuskieJunkie]

Thanks Frank.

I consider myself handy so I was going to fix it myself. I looked at it last night and there are 2 wires (blue and green) connected to a cylinder with 2 cap screw on top.

I am guessing pos/neg is not an issue becuase one way is up and one way is down, is that right?

Care to walk me through the removal procedure or is it pretty strait forward? I had planned on suporting the motor up, removing those 2 screws on the top of what I think is the motor for the pump and then removing anything else I need to get the motor out.

[Valv]

Brian,

I bet your motor needs rebuilt, you might be able to get it going again by yourself. Take it off the pump (just the cylinder with the wires) and be careful not to lose any o-ring or gaskets. Cap the opening so no dirt will fall in and disconnect the wires from harness.

Take motor to any electric motor rebuilder, they will make it brand new for few bucks (new brushes, bushings, etc), then reinstall. You can try to clean up the inside of motor yourself, it will give it few weeks of extra life but overall a rebuild is much better. Beware that dealer replacement cost will be in the several hundreds of $$, so be careful with it.

[MuskieJunkie]

Just got back in, like you said Frank the motor was full of water and dirt. It's all buttoned back up and working like new but like you said Valv, I think I'm living on borrowed time, the switch mechanisms inside were coroded and not sliding properly, I cleaned it up for now but I am going to get a replacement and all new O rings to keep the water from getting back in.

I can't belive the water seal on that electrical motor could fail after only 7 years (the boat has seen minimal use and was never kept in the water). I'm not impressed with Mercury after this one.

Thanks guys you saved me a lot of time and money.

[Surface Tension]

Glad you can get back on the water.