Outboard tilted up, slowly coming back down

[grey2112]

So, guy I sold my boat to is keeping it in the water, something I never did. I kept mine on the trailer, with the outboard down with a My-Wedge installed on the tilt ram.

Boat has a Honda 250 on it.

So he called me asking why, when he is tilting the motor all the way up out of the water, that after a few hours it seems to be slowly coming back down into the water.

Issue with the rams? Somehow losing pressure?

I told him he may just have to use the MY Wedge and a block of wood to keep it up out of the water.

 

[jgmo]

Hi,
Well, the first thing a guy needs to check in this case is the MANUAL TILT RELEASE valve. I don't know the 250 trim unit but the valve will be located on the side...usually the starboard side...of the unit itself.

Location and instructions for using the manual valve are in the outboard owner's manual.

Occasionally that valve will either be left loose after someone has used it or they can vibrate loose if not tightly screwed down. It's a rare occurrence but it does happen.

If the manual valve is not loose and is the reason for the trim to be bleeding down, then the problem will most likely be internal to the trim unit if no external leaks are present.

There is an internal check valve inside the unit that can get stuck in the partially open position that will cause the tilt to bleed off.

This is not likely to solve the issue but he could just try operating the unit up and down several times in succession and then see if anything changes. It's worth a try if no leaks are present and the manual valve is tight.

I tried to find a link to a free download of the owner's manual but I couldn't get the Honda Marine website to connect for that.

There are some YouTube videos about using the manual tilt valve that he could watch but CAUTION must be taken. The Honda trim units I'm familiar with have two slot head screws on the trim unit. One is for the manual release and the other is NOT to be loosened. The problem is, they are right next to each other so it's important that you identify which is which before trying to manually trim the outboard.

It won't hurt to just try and tighten up both screws though.

I wish him good luck.