Expert: tyler boehner - 3/8/2008

Question
Last year I had my tilt trim repaired.  When I left the boat shop the mechanic told me to occassionally bleed off the air because there may be a little left in the lines.  I did not follow his advice.  Now a year later after sitting in the up position for 6 months, the tilt trim does not work.  I tried to bleed off the air using the screw that I think is the "bypass valve".  It did not work. I lost some fluid. It sounds as if the pump is running properly but no movement up or down.  Do you think I just may need to add fluid?

Answer
You probably just ran low on fluid.  Fill the reservoir and try running the motor up and down.  If you fill the reservoir and it still won't go down, try holding the down button and manually pressing down on the gear case to see if you can get it to move.  If that doesn't work, there is a manual release screw at the bottom of the pump.  It is usually a big flat head screw and if you loosen it, the motor will drop kind of like when you release the pressure off of a floor jack.  Once the motor goes down a little bit, try the button again.