Power Tilt and Trim rebuild?

[Fish'nDude]

I've got a 01 Yamaha 50 4 stroke with power tilt and trim. Last week when the boat was in the shop for some wiring repair, the mechanic noticed my motor would gradually lower itself when the support lock was disengaged. Bummer. I was told that in order to fix it, I would need to replace the entire tilt and trim, over $1000 for a new factory replacement plus labor! I asked him about just rebuilding the one I have and he said they don't have the tools to rebuild and labor cost would get me as well.

There has to be a shop out there that would rebuild my current one for a heck of lot less then cost of new. Anyone have any suggestions or had a rebuild done?

[xdynamite]

Are you sure it actually needs to be rebuilt? Many times they will bleed off if dirt runs through the system causing it not to seal. If you raise the motor all the way up and use the bleed screw (or manual release screw on the side of the motor ) to let ot down it will push the dirt through and work fine. I would try this a few times and then let your motor sit over night in the up possition and mark it to see if it has come down at all. In my experence, trim and tilt units don't fail too often. I bet this would fix your problem. good luck
XD

[Fish'nDude]

Thanks for the reply exdynamite.
As far as needing the rebuild, I'm just going by what I was told by the shop. I really don't know much about the mechanics etc of boat ownership since this is my first one. I just don't want to be taken advantage of due to ignorance and lack of experience.
I will try your recommendation and let you know.
Thanks again. Much appreciated.

[Blackfog]

I've got a 01 Yamaha 50 4 stroke with power tilt and trim. Last week when the boat was in the shop for some wiring repair, the mechanic noticed my motor would gradually lower itself when the support lock was disengaged. Bummer. I was told that in order to fix it, I would need to replace the entire tilt and trim, over $1000 for a new factory replacement plus labor! I asked him about just rebuilding the one I have and he said they don't have the tools to rebuild and labor cost would get me as well.

There has to be a shop out there that would rebuild my current one for a heck of lot less then cost of new. Anyone have any suggestions or had a rebuild done?

Is it leaking fluid externally? If not then the previous reply may be accurate. Good luck.

[Fish'nDude]

http://http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/thumbs/tilt_trim_001.jpg (http://www.ifish.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/65071)

I couldn't find a manual release screw on the side of the trim motor so I assumed it was the bolt behind the bar between the tilt motor and lift.
I backed it out with the motor up and a bunch of fluid came out all over the place. The motor didn't come down. I can't see where to add fluid back.
I can't find anything that looks like a bleed screw of any kind. Now what?
The storage place I use has gravel on the ground and it doesn't look like there is any fluid leak on the gravel over the last couple days.

[Lepper]

When mine went bad on my 90 Suzuki they wanted 300 to take it off to look at it. + what ever was wrong and another 300 to put it back on. I have a manual for it and took it off myself. Diagnosed the problem and fixed it for 50$ and the hours it took me to do it.

Turned out the fluid reservoir tank on mine was made of plastic and couldn't handle it. I replaced that and did all the o-rings in there at the same time. I wouldn't be afraid to tackle it yourself. You will need a cherry picker or something to hold the engine up though. Not hard to do. I had mine back together (after I figured out how the thing worked) in about 2 hours.

Good luck! You can save a chunk by taking it off yourself and then take it into the shop.

dave

[xdynamite]

http://http://www.ifish.net/gallery/data/500/thumbs/tilt_trim_001.jpg (http://www.ifish.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/65071)

I couldn't find a manual release screw on the side of the trim motor so I assumed it was the bolt behind the bar between the tilt motor and lift.
I backed it out with the motor up and a bunch of fluid came out all over the place. The motor didn't come down. I can't see where to add fluid back.
I can't find anything that looks like a bleed screw of any kind. Now what?
The storage place I use has gravel on the ground and it doesn't look like there is any fluid leak on the gravel over the last couple days.

If your looking at the engine from the rear there will be a hole in the left
clamp bracket that you can put a screw driver through. The screw will be on the side of the trim and tilt unit. You need top of your trim and tilt fluid first if a lot came out. If you have an owners manual it will show you where it's at. If not you can probably find a picture online. I will look and see what I can find.

[fishgetter]

I had one go out and it ended up being the hydraulic cylinder leaking. I had it rebuilt but it cost me $650.:bigshock:

Better than a sharp stick in the eye!!!!!!

Good luck!!!!

[1pump]

IMHO, a hydraulic shop, like for heavy equipment and such, should be able to rebuild it. It'll be metric, but so is a lot of heavy equipment. Or just buy the parts yourself and do your own install.

Like the others pointed out, I would exhaust the other possibilities before yarding it off and replacing it. A tiny chunk of crud can cause an internal leak.
I'm not knocking your mechanic, but a lot of them will just say "replace it" because that's what the factory says to do.