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tilt/trim not working

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waves59

New member
I have a Honda BF40A and the tilt/trim is not working properly. It moves a bit but makes screeching noises and won't raise all the way up - only a few inches. Could this be a lubrication problem or low hydraulic fluid? There was also a small black tube beside another tube in the lower unit that was not connected to anything which I pushed back up in place. Does anyone know what I could check to solve this problem? Thanks for any help.
 
Make sure the manual tilt screw is all the way tight.

The screeching noise could just be from it going into pressure relief because it is encountering too much resistance.
Worn bushings and frozen hardware could cause it to work too hard.

Have you tried loosening the manual tilt screw and raising and lowering the motor by hand to see if it is bound up in some way? If it is stiff or bound up when you try to manually tilt the motor then you need to find out why the tilt tube is sticky.
They are supposed to get lubed but most people don't do it.

Once you've eliminated a loose manual tilt screw and or any mechanical binding condition then you can start to worry about the tilt unit itself. It could be low on hydraulic fluid. But, if it is, that means it leaked out and, while topping off the reservoir will cure the problem temporarily, the problem will return and continue to get worse.

These things can be rebuilt but if they get full of water because of a leak, they are pretty much junk and a replacement is butt-awful expensive.
 
First, follow the excellent procedure JGMO outlined. If the engine has been sitting up for long periods, it is possible that the seals dried out, and you lost some fluid when it leaked pass the seals. Restoring the hydraulic fluid back to level and exercising the tilt trim a bunch of times my fix the problem. I don't have experience with the smaller Hondas. But on the larger ones, you need to tilt the engine all the way up, set the manual lock-up, then top off the reservoir. Then unlock the manual tab, and use the manual tilt screw, and let the motor drop slowly all the way to the bottom-most position. Let it sit for 5 minutes or more so any air bubbles migrate to the top. Re-seat the manual tilt screw, raise the engine using the electrical tilt-trim (if possible - otherwise life it manually), lock it in place, and recheck the fluid reservoir. Top it off again. Repeat the process several times until everything is operating normally and no more fluid can be added to the reservoir.
 
OK I tried these tips and found that the fluid is leaking out somewhere from the cylinder so may need a new o-ring and there's probably water in the cylinder. Does the motor have to be removed to get at the ram?
 
Here's a link to a parts blow-up of one from an '99 model. Did you mean the trim motor? Or did you mean remove the outboard from the boat? I'm pretty sure you can remove the tilt assembly with the outboard still on the boat. I work on smaller units but they look similar to this set up. The motor needs to be supported at an exaggerated, tilted up position.

It looks as if you could service the ram without disturbing the trim motor. I've never done one of these exact models so that is just a guess. You will need a special spanner tool to loosen the ram.

Also, I've been telling anyone that will listen that water will enter the motor housing where the wires enter the housing through a seal/bushing. Get some "Right Stuff" gasket maker and make sure the wires are waterproofed at the housing.

If you do work on it, be advised that it can take quite a while and many tries to get all the air out and get it full of fluid. This is much easier to do while the tilt is off the of the outboard but you'll have to rig up a way to power the motor in order to cycle the ram.

Good luck and let us know how you make out.
 
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Hi, I didn't seem to get the above mentioned link.

I meant did the whole outboard have to be removed but I've since found out that it doesn't. I saw the list of parts that is contained in the system and it is a long list and very expensive - and looks complicated to service. Since I am not that good a mechanic and don't really have a place to work on it, I have had to take it for service.

Also, are you saying that even after it's repaired that water will get into it again through the wires on the motor housing and cause the same problem? Surely the design cannot be that bad - for a motor of the supposed quality of a Honda? That is truly scary.

I appreciate all the help and am waiting for the bad news from the marina. Does anyone know the best place to order the Seloc manual in Canada?

Thanks
 
The only manual worth the money is the Honda shop manual published by Helm. The Seloc and Clymer manuals are full of errors, at least for the larger Hondas.
 
Sorry, I probably completely forgot to drag the link and paste it. It's here for sure now.

As far as the water intrusion, yes it will leak where those wires enter the housing but you can prevent it by following my advice above and then keeping a weather eye on it at the end of each season.

I'm not sure anyone can keep the ocean out forever. It's just that the bushing/seal gets hard and leaks after a few years so I really don't think it's a solely Honda problem. I'm sure other brands have similar issues. It's just that I only see the Honda problems because those are the only one's in the fleet that have tilt/trim.

As far as the expense of your repair parts, the link below has prices and you can see the parts that you will likely need to repair a leak. It actually looks to me that the cylinder could be re-sealed for very little money. Items 53, 12, 48 and then 47 twice only ads up to a few bucks. It's finding someone competent to do the job that will be hard.

I think you can re-seal the cylinder without taking the trim motor off. Just seal those wires from the outside with a bit of gasket maker and you're all set. The motor is obviously still dry as it runs and is turning the pump. So a cylinder seal job should restore full operation.

Chawk_man is right about the Helm Inc. manual. It is what all the good techs use. Good luck.


http://www.boats.net/parts/search/H...BAYL-3000001/POWER TILT COMPONENTS/parts.html
 
OK thanks again. I'll pick up some gasket maker and seal that up. You're right, finding someone to fix it is the problem and I think they're as much in the dark as I am. I'll need all the luck I can get.
 
wave59,
Here's one course of action you might consider; If you can take the tilt trim unit off of the frame, you could then take it to a local hydraulic repair shop. This would be a VERY simple job for them to perform. The only catch for them is that they probably don't see Honda stuff at all. Show them that you can obtain the repair seals and get them to give you an estimate. This should not be much more that an hour's labor I would think but let's say they want 1.5 hrs to do the job. At $90 per hour shop rate and the cost of the seals, that still comes out to less than $200 and, compared with the cost of a replacement, not bad to get you back boating.

If you don't feel that you can take the unit off of the boat yourself, you may need to find someone to do that but that should not be so difficult or too expensive.

Taking the trim unit off is more of a puzzle than anything else. Not too technically difficult, just a pain in the posterior region. You have to safely support the outboard in an exaggerated "up" position and then unbolt and open up one side of the frame JUST ENOUGH to slide the unit off of the cross tube it pivots on.

Because the weight of the power head tends to balance against the leverage of the extension in that position, I usually use a piece of line to tie it up and hold it there after disconnecting the cylinder ram. You probably have friend that can help you get it done on a slow Saturday.

Ok, that's all I got, good luck.
 
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OK the tilt/trim system is off the boat but I won't work on it for a while as I'll be away. Thanks for the advice - I'm taking all of it. Can't find a wrench to get the cylinder cap off - will a face spanner work or a strap/chain wrench?
 
Honda sells the spanner and someone posted a source for them with the prices on the forum but I can't find the post now. Their wrench is designed to grab all four "dimples" in the cap for a no slip grip.

I make my own tools for stuff like this but it takes some drilling, welding and grinding. Not sure about using a chain or strap or pipe wrench. If you "booger" up that cap, you're pretty much done.
 
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