Mariner 40 Tilt Lock missing?

SimonStDavids · 20 January 2011, 07:55

I have an old lump of a Mariner 40, I think it is about 20 years old but when I try and trace its age through the links i have seen on Ribnet i draw a bit of a blank.

Anyway despite its age it seems pretty robust and reliable, but since I have owned the engine there has been a nagging fault that i can't figure out. The engine doesn't lock when it is in the down position. So when the engine goes in reverse in anything other than idle it pulls its self out of the water!!!

There is a lever on the Starboard side of the engine that looks like it should move a "j" shaped bar that might lock on to the pin that adjusts the trim, but I can't see how and I don't know if there are some parts missing?

I think I am being a little clueless, but it is hard to see what should be there are when the leg in in the down position the engine clamp sort of hides this area!!!!

I am hoping someone could give me a rough overview of what bits should be there and how they work so I can try and work it out what is missing or point me in the direction of somewhere to get the missing parts.

Thanks in advance....

Turbodiesel · 20 January 2011, 09:01

Has it got a long lock pin going through the transom brackets at the bottom? the pin is what the lock hooks onto to hold the engine down.

9D280 · 20 January 2011, 11:21

or...... some of the older Yamriners used the hydraulic "tilt assist" ram to do that. If you have a big cylinder in between the transom clamps, there will (should) be a lever on the top of the ram, Port side. Whether oyours has one of these or not I don't know.

The lever essentially cuts off the return passage to allow the fluid to get from one side of the piston to the other , so it locks it down.

My old Yam didn't lock down until I duiscovered that lever had been bent so it fouled the clamp or swivel(I forget which), so when it was "closed" it wasn't actually getting to the closed position

SimonStDavids · 20 January 2011, 14:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turbodiesel

Has it got a long lock pin going through the transom brackets at the bottom? the pin is what the lock hooks onto to hold the engine down.

There is a long pin going through the transom bracket and that is what i thought would be the case, but the "j" shaped lever doesn't seem, to stay in the down position??

That is why i think something maybe missing. I have enclosed a bad photo (sorry my iphone) of the "j" shaped lever that are there at the moment.

I am guessing what I have been wrongly calling the "j" shaped lever is the locking hook. so is there some kind of spring or mechanism to hold this locking hook down?

9D280 · 20 January 2011, 16:02

Any chance of another but panned back a bit?

Based on what's here at the mo, it sounds like you may be eirher missing a spring, there is something between the actuation lever & the catch disconnected or there is so much congealed grease in / on the mechanism that it's sticking up.

SimonStDavids · 21 January 2011, 10:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by 9D280

Any chance of another but panned back a bit?

Here we go, sorry for my poor photography skills

The first one is an overview, the second the pin that i think the lever should be locking onto and the third a very overexposed view of the lever and mechanism. Sorry for all the grease, it is how i inherited the engine

The lever does lift the locking arm, but it doesn't go back down automatically?

Would the best thing to do be take all the grease off and go from there? and if so whats the best way of removing it, everytime i try and get rid of any grease i only seem to manage to spread it around a bit

9D280 · 21 January 2011, 12:43

Don't worry about the grease - Mine looked much the same 2 years ago!

I assume the "catch" drops into the "lock" position if you give it a good push?

I'd start by throwing some degreasant at that spring assy at the top of Pic 3 and the hinges on the catch assy at the bottom of the pic. Once all that congealed mess is dissolved, try it again, then re- lubricate as required.

If you can't get the degreasant to stay in place long enough to do anything useful, 3-in-1 do a foaming degreasant that sticks for about 5-10 mins and dissolves the grease as the bubbles slowly burst. Halfords for about £5 last time I bought some.

Any serial numbers/Age/# Cyls? There will be a microfiche out there that might help me help a bit better......

uncle al · 21 January 2011, 15:20

please dont forget your obm will not lock in fwd but will lock in reverse

SimonStDavids · 24 January 2011, 10:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by 9D280

Any serial numbers/Age/# Cyls? There will be a microfiche out there that might help me help a bit better......

Right here is the serial number: 6E9 L 407462 on a Mariner 40E

Quote:

Originally Posted by 9D280

I assume the "catch" drops into the "lock" position if you give it a good push?

Yep the catch goes down with a push, I will try and degrease the area today and see if that works....

wavelength · 24 January 2011, 14:33

we had one of those from new on our fishing boat(s) (it actually outlived the usefulness of three different hulls). It was a yamaha 40 with a different cover, brilliant engine never missed a beat over the long years we had it. There should be a double claw that hooks over the bar that the engine pushes against underway. Pressing the lever removes the claws from the bar. Not a very reliable sysytem -prone to rusting up, getting bent and generally stopping working due to crud. Not a problem with ours as it was used for beach launching through surf and reverse at anything other than a tick over when anchoring was never needed. In fact it was an advantage not to have it locked down when surfing in.

Quote:

please dont forget your obm will not lock in fwd but will lock in reverse

this will and it came off with a jolt when it touched the sand if you left it locked down when beaching thru a surf. The mercurys needed to be in forward to tilt it up-bloody silly system.

Commando C2 · 10 May 2011, 20:25

hi

i have this same motor and can take some pics of the transom if you still need help as my engine is not on a boat so can get photos of all the angles required.

If the bar that the hook goes onto has runsted it may be smaller in diameter than when new so the hook doesnt grab as much of it as it should!!

Mine has a ling spring like yours, this may have stretched so as not to function as needed.

let me know
nathan

alanshep · 15 July 2021, 15:15

Simon, did you ever find a solution to this issue mate? I have exactly the same engine 40 HP Mariner, which is now about 30 year sold and wont lock down in reverse - pain in the ass when youre trying to slow down for the pier