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Hit a log with sterndrive

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floater1

Regular Contributor
Was idling out to the main channel in the river when I felt a pretty good snag like I ran over a log that was submersed just beneath the surface. I was just idling out in a no wake zone. Before this my tilt and trim worked fine. After hitting the tree the tilt/trim worked only sporadically. The tree (good size tree branch) finally came loose from under the drive but I'm still left with no working tilt and trim. She's still in the water at a buddies dock but I need to put her on the trailer to do a good visual but I can't lift the drive to do so. At least I didn't take on any water. Any ideas where I could start or what damage/issues the big tree branch may have caused? Its a '78 OMC 800.
 
So the trim is the motor moving up and down and the tilt is with the half moon gear?

If yes, then to lift the drive manually, remove the 3 bolts that hold the half moon gear in place the half moon gear then can be removed then tilt the drive up, i jam a piece a wood in the large hole and the drive to hold it up then you can put it on the trailer. You need a 9/16th flat wrench.
 
i had this happen to me one time, just like chiefalen said remove the halfmone quadrent, when you get her home pull the tilt covers on each side you may find that you broke the pivot ear, i know i did on mine, good luck
 
if i was as you say just a bump could be other things. After checking the ears if they are good allow me to post some other causes.

First do you have the tilt motor option ?
 
chiefalen said:
First do you have the tilt motor option ?
Click to expand...

Yes, I have the (up/down) switch on the panel next to the gear shift. I then have the trim (bow up/bow down) switch on top of the gear shift.

I will report back my findings once I get her out of the water and do a good visual.
 
if no broke ear we got to get him to look in the clutch housing.i can post the procedure for fixing a tilt problem i wrote ?
 
Copied and pasted here from another website, i wrote this in '08 took a while to find it.

Hope this helps you, but it is 2 years latter now and i have a few more tricks, first lets see if these steps help you.

So you have a stringer out drive that won't tilt up, or it tilts up very slowly, or you need to help it up physically. Maybe it doesn't move at all.

Here is a step bye step guide to fixing it. A manual would be very helpful.

1- A fully charged battery is imperative.

2- Disconnect the battery and clean the battery posts. Are the cables good?

3- With the battery disconnected, clean all the connections on the port side, solenoids. Don't forget the grounds.

4- Clean connections to tilt motor. Two wires.

5- Connect the battery.

6- On the out drive port side, there is a clutch housing. Four screws hold on
cover. Pull that cover. May be full of water. They all leak.

Two things you can do at this time.

A- Clean out the housing with clutch installed.

B- Remove the clutch and rebuild the housing. New seals.

If you chose A, Spray the clutch with brake cleaner. Make sure it's as clean as you can get it. You might have to spray it a few times. Blow it dry. Spray the the clutch with penetrating oil. Pack the housing with grease, and install cover. Don't over tighten the screws, can bind the clutch.

If you chose B, remove all the components of the gear housing. Soak everything in Acetone overnight. Rebuild housing, new seals. Blow dry the parts, soak them all in motor oil for a hour or two. Install parts. Pack the housing with grease. I know it calls for 30 weight motor oil. Trust me pack it with grease. Install cover.

7- Gently pry off the rubber bumpers. Don't mix them up, pump grease in the zerks. Install bumpers.

At this point the drive should move up and down easy. If it doesn't, you need to pull the tilt motor. Test motor and replace or rebuild. Make sure the hammer blow coupler is good or replace. Don't forget the gasket, on the tilt motor. .

Good luck!
 
No visual damage after inspection. I then thought maybe a fuse could have blown after the drive made contact with the log. Mind you this was what I would consider a low drive over a submerged log rather than a full impact. Looking at the bible it showed a 50 amp fuse located up by the tilt/trim solenoids. I can't seem to find one in there. I don't recall seeing this 50 amp fuse when I had the solenoids and solenoid bracket off previously (yes I took care to properly mark and reconnect the solenoid wires correctly after putting new solenoids on). I did find 4 fuses (certainly didn't look big enough to be a 50 amp) under the dash around the ignition. I checked each of those as long as I was under there and they all were fine. Then I checked the female plug that connects onto the actual tilt up/down switch. No corrosion at all in the connections but as we wiggled the female end onto the male end the switch periodically activated for only a second. Kept playing with the switch and moving the connection around and again it activated for a second again. I assume that switch is original to the boat which is now 32 years old. So I'm thinking my problem may be in the up/down tilt switch. Maybe driving over that log wasn't the actual culprit afterall?
 
just to make sure it is switch, look to the right of your motor from inside of boat down low at the rear you will see your tilt motor it will have 2 wires comeing from it with scissor clips or a plug disconect and test each wire with a tester it may take 2 people 1 to test and the other to push the button, make sure you get the wires comming from trim motor though
 
chiefalen said:
Way in the back of the motor are connections, could just be a ground got to go thru all the connections.
Click to expand...

I've looked for loose connections so far they are all tight. I can't seem to locate the 50 amp fuse for the tilt/trim that they show in the bible. When you say way in the back of the engine are you talking about around the location of the tilt/trim solenoids?
 
Follow the neg cable from the tilt solenoids to a ground on the bell housing / converter housing. Should be on a thru bolt that holds the motor to the bell housing. About the 2 o'clock position on the bell housing. Port side. Remove and clean.

Starboard side there should be a steel plate with 2 50 amp fuse holders. They are held together with spring clips. The fuse holders pass thru the steel plate.

Please disconnect the battery before taking apart the fuse holders.

If you blew a fuse radio shack carries them.

Also follow the neg cable from the battery, it should ground to the starboard side bell housing at a bolt, remove and clean that one. That one is about 10 or 11 o'clock on the bell housing.

Tip: fuse holders should not be located to far from the starter, and could be mounted half way down the motor but i have seen them on top on the starboard side.

If all else fails run a cable from the pos lug of battery to the central pos nut of the tilt solenoids.

See if the tilt works then with the switch at the helm.
 
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chiefalen said:
Follow the neg cable from the tilt solenoids to a ground on the bell housing / converter housing. Should be on a thru bolt that holds the motor to the bell housing. About the 2 o'clock position on the bell housing. Port side. Remove and clean.
Click to expand...

I think I may have found the issue, or certainly a contributing factor to my tilt not working consistently. I don't have a negative cable going from the tilt solenoids to any motor/bell housing bolts at all on the port side. I will put one in there I just need to know exactly which bolt on the solenoids to run it from. What gauge wire should I use? Note that both these solenoids (front of engine port side) are mounted on the same bracket. I just replaced those solenoids and they came new in the box labeled as self grounded. If I follow you right I can run my ground from that bracket right to the motor/bell housing bolt?

I don't want to cloud the issue but I also have 3 solenoids mounted on the back of the engine starboard side. I have no idea what those are for. If I can figure out my camera I will post a pic or two to assist in understanding the situation. I have been studying the bible but that hasn't been nearly as much help as everyone's advice here.
 
floater1 said:
I don't want to cloud the issue but I also have 3 solenoids mounted on the back of the engine starboard side. I have no idea what those are for. If I can figure out my camera I will post a pic or two to assist in understanding the situation. I have been studying the bible but that hasn't been nearly as much help as everyone's advice here.
Click to expand...

Here are the pics I promised. In this 1st pic here the two solenoids that I thought were for tilt and trim although I'm not exactly sure which one is for tilt and exactly which for trim.
389001876.jpg
As stated earlier by cheifallen, if there is a ground wire that is suppose to come off of these solenoids and run to the other side of the engine to be grounded on a bolt that holds the engine and bellhousing together, there isn't one.

The method earlier described by chiefallen of running a cable connection from the positive post on the battery to one of these solenoids (to bypass all the electricals) I just need to know which solenoid do I hook the cable up to? Does it matter which stud on either of these solenoids? I just don't want to send direct juice to somewhere I shouldn't and further complicate or blow something out on these solenoids as I just replaced these two. I just want the tilt to work.

The 2nd pic shows 3 more solenoids on the back side of the engine starboard side. I'm baffled as to what these are for exactly. Unless I'm missing it the bible doesn't say what these 3 solenoids are for?:
389001941.jpg
 
I can't see too good the solenoids. Look at the 2 solenoids that are for the tilt motor should be low near the tilt motor port side.

There is a center bolt that feeds a metal bar that is the positive.

That center bolt is where i hooked the pos cable. Straight to the pos lug on the battery, i left it there cause i had weak juice going to the solenoids and i couldn't solve that problem.

I Couldn't find a new harness so i actually made a new one, a wire at a time.

Ok you said you replaced the solenoids with a base ground one. Ok ground the base with a wire running from the base to the block, if i am correct ther alt bracket should be about 6 inchs forward of the solenoids maybe a little more.

You could use that as a ground. You need to make absolutely sure they are grounded good.

The main barrel plug in your pic held together with the spring clip it sits on a plate. You took it apart and looked inside, mine was all green, and one wire was bad going into the plug. Devil of a time to figure that one out.

Yea i had to replace my toggle momentary up and down switch that is spring loaded so it returns to center.

I also have to pull the clear fuse at the helm and clean it and the cap ever year. You have that fuse powering the switch.

One day i'm replaceing all the helm fuse to circuit breaker panel. But for now i clean them all, 6 total.

Look i don't see where you posted you opened up the tilt clutch housing yet.

The large gear or the screw gear, could be jammed, and the hammer blow coupler could be jammed.

Also looking at your pic i don't see the main fuses could someone have just cut them out and went with direct wires i see a couple above the barrrel plug but no fuse holder with spring clips.

Looks to be something i did, when i made my harness.

Yea i know where are the fuses, on my boat ? i installed them elsewhere.

Looking at the pic see the 2 wires with electrical tape, that looks to be the motor tilt option solenoids.

Oh nothing to do with your problem but nice dist i see you know ya chit.
 
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Looking at the wiring diagram it looks like the 2 solenoids that are together are for the Trim (in and out), the 3 solenoids appear to be for Tilt (up and down) and the 3rd one is the start assist solenoid. The 2 tilt ones should have a metal jumper going across the 2 main power terminals.
 
Thanks chief, bob, irish and others! Your right I still need to open the tilt clutch housing. I really appreciate the help. If/when I get this diagnosed properly I will post back results may be awhile my free time to work on her is limited.
 
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