Outboard wont go down!

[jonmitch]

Hi All

Felt very pleased with myself today having washed, scrubbed and re-antifouled the boat. Battery charged, engine greased and then...

My outboard wont go down. I can hear the motor running and there is a very faint movement but thats all. Have greased the piston etc.

May have to get an engineer but would value any quick fixes so I dont look a complete jerk if its something blindingly obvious.

Thanks for any advice and help.

Jon

[gotchiguy]

Originally Posted by jonmitch

Hi All

Felt very pleased with myself today having washed, scrubbed and re-antifouled the boat. Battery charged, engine greased and then...

My outboard wont go down. I can hear the motor running and there is a very faint movement but thats all. Have greased the piston etc.

May have to get an engineer but would value any quick fixes so I dont look a complete jerk if its something blindingly obvious.

Thanks for any advice and help.

Jon

Sure you haven't lowered the tilt/trailer locking mechanism down? I'm not familiar with the Yamaha system but all outboards I have come across have some sort of mechanism. Maybe a good idea to have a look in the manual under "towing" or some variation of that.

[Shaz]

I was struggling with one for quite a while yesterday before remembering the bit of rope which I'd tied around the bar it slots into to stop it jumping out when being towed.
Probably not that relevant, just a confession so if it does turn out to be something daft you don't feel alone....

[Bern Hanreck]

Jon , have a look here

http://www.yamaha-motor.com/outboard...px?ls=outboard

You can manually by pass the tilt & trim in an " emergency " . With a bit of a heave , you can get the engine up as well by manually raising it whilst the motor is humming but not actually doing the business !

If all else fails , it may be possible to cruise with the engine virtually locked in the fully down position , but watch out for stuffing in following seas etc and would suggest that this is a last resort .

Bern

[9D280]

Jon,

The catch gotchiguy is talking about is item 29/30 on this pic. Don't worry about the HP, all Yams have one!

http://www.boats.net/parts/search/Ya...201/parts.html


As for the stuffing, shouldn't be any worse on a manually trimmed engine than one electrically moved to position. There is a releief valve in the mechanism that "lets go" if you hit something solid.

[JABS]

If the tilt mechanism is like mine, there is a cap on the oil reservoir which is like a knurled dome nut.

If the engine is stuck up, it may be because the fluid is low. If you crack open the cap, it lets air out and the engine should then go down.

Top up the hydraulic oil whilst you are at it, using a small syringe.

Mine had been low for a long time, I think and the oil was aerated. It overflowed as a white foam. Once that was displaced with about 50 mls of oil, all was well again.

[jonmitch]

Guys,

Thanks again so much. I will check it out tomorrow and feedback.

I love you all (not sexually though)

jon