More Advice needed please: tilt & trim

[Fred.]

Mariner 2 stroke 50PTO 2001

The Tilt & Trim doesn't work very well, as in when you press the button to raise or lower the outboard, the motor starts instantly but nothing happens for a while!, ive given it a gentle helping lift and its carried on lifting once its started. Its even been the same lowering it which surprised me as I thought it would go down easily on its own weight ! (the battery is OK)
Could this just be a case of low on oil ?, & if this is the case, what oil should I use to top it up ?
Or
is it more likely to be hydraulic failure ? & how would I diagnose whether its the pump or the ram (the ram does weep a tiny bit judging by the oil around the shaft seal) - are these jobs best sent to off to a pro or are they relatively straight forward job !)

Does anyone know where I can down load user manual & a repair manual for this outboard please (or even better has anyone got a paper copy for sale please ), ive had a look in the downloads section on here but couldn't see it & done a few searches but not found it yet !

Thanks

[Fred.]

Any one know oil to use when I check out the tilt & trim then please ?

[Mercury]

Originally Posted by Fred.

Any one know oil to use when I check out the tilt & trim then please ?

ATF. (Automatic Transmission Fluid.)

[jyasaki]

Originally Posted by Fred.

Could this just be a case of low on oil ?, & if this is the case, what oil should I use to top it up ?

Most likely cause. ATF or just about any hydraulic fluid.

is it more likely to be hydraulic failure ? & how would I diagnose whether its the pump or the ram (the ram does weep a tiny bit judging by the oil around the shaft seal)

I suspect if it was the ram, you'd have a lot more oil than a bit of a weep. It also would likely not move at all, and would fall to the down position as soon as you got off the button.

That leaves the pump, which also seems to be working, as it moves the motor.

I suspect oil level.

ive had a look in the downloads section on here but couldn't see it & done a few searches but not found it yet !

A google search for "mariner 50 2001 service manual" or "shop manual" should get you some hits.

Luck;

jky

[simon23]

Sounds like mine , after the winter it is the same as yours, top it up with about 2 cap fulls of hydraulic fluid and works perfectly all summer. always surprises me how little it needs to lose to make such a difference

[jeffstevens763@g]

Originally Posted by simon23

Sounds like mine , after the winter it is the same as yours, top it up with about 2 cap fulls of hydraulic fluid and works perfectly all summer. always surprises me how little it needs to lose to make such a difference

when you loose oil its replaced with air that compresses hence your problem hydraulic doesn't compress,same principle as bleeding you brakes.

[Phil64]

I don't know if yours is the same but on my Yamaha 115, the tilt/trim actually takes more power to lower it !

This is because when the tilt reaches the trim rams it needs to push the trim rams back in.

To raise the outboard takes around 25 amps but to lower it takes about 17 amps until it reaches the trim rams when it jumps up to just over 50 amps.

If you have air in there you will find it is jumpy on the way down & noisy in general.

[Fred.]

Thanks for all your replies
Sounds like a simple Fix Which I will probably have a go at later
:-)