Stern Drive Not Behaving !

[Islandtrader]

This year I was on an extended trip and the boat has been sitting on a trailer since April (it was cleaned and rinsed well b4 its long nap). The lower unit was stored in a down position (maybe 5-8 on smart gauge). Batteries fully charged. The unit goes up all the way no problem. Lowering it sticks at 10-7. If I jump on it and some works the switch it will go down all the way. Then you can bring it up and down and no sticking.

....leave is sit for a couple of hours and same problem same solution.

Before I put it in the water for the winter season here (Florida) I would like to fix this...any solutions, b4 I replace anything. Oh yes fluids are full and connections are good.

Bravo 1

[FLexpat]

You might want to try some Kroil on your hinge pins. If I recall correctly (maybe a stretch), either the pump uses high pressure to raise the drive but lower pressure to lower it or it has different surface areas for the pressure in the rams. Either way that would explain no prob coming up but difficult going down.

One diagnostic if you can get at is to remove the aft trim pin from the rams and see if you can lift the drive.

Merc Manual #28 has a short section on it but it does not seem to exactly fit your symptoms.

[jnamowitz]

I had a similar problem. I took the anodes off the trim cylinders, cleaned up the corrosion under the anodes and haven't had a problem since.
Good luck

[pelican]

Originally Posted by Islandtrader

This year I was on an extended trip and the boat has been sitting on a trailer since April (it was cleaned and rinsed well b4 its long nap). The lower unit was stored in a down position (maybe 5-8 on smart gauge). Batteries fully charged. The unit goes up all the way no problem. Lowering it sticks at 10-7. If I jump on it and some works the switch it will go down all the way. Then you can bring it up and down and no sticking.

....leave is sit for a couple of hours and same problem same solution.

Before I put it in the water for the winter season here (Florida) I would like to fix this...any solutions, b4 I replace anything. Oh yes fluids are full and connections are good.

Bravo 1

seals are "dry" - common on stern drives that are either trailered,or rack stored.

corrosion block spray - lear research corrosion block spray :http://www.learchem.com/products/corrosion-block.html

use that or CRC656 - forget other products

raise the drive,squirt the pistons and lower the drive - operate it a few times to spread

[Islandtrader]

Originally Posted by pelican

seals are "dry" - common on stern drives that are either trailered,or rack stored.

corrosion block spray - lear research corrosion block spray :http://www.learchem.com/products/corrosion-block.html

use that or CRC656 - forget other products

raise the drive,squirt the pistons and lower the drive - operate it a few times to spread

That's funny forget the other products ...I think I own every make of corrosion or lubricant spray on the market! I will dig this one out at let it rip!

Thanks for the other tips also...I'll start with the easiest and work my way back

[kmoose]

I've heard that 20 nautical on the water a month keeps things moving like they should.

[pelican]

Originally Posted by Islandtrader

That's funny forget the other products ...I think I own every make of corrosion or lubricant spray on the market! I will dig this one out at let it rip!

Thanks for the other tips also...I'll start with the easiest and work my way back

all good


again,common thing on trailered and rack stored boats

seals just get dry - it's a wiper on the cylinder first - the circlip holds it in place,"o" is down lower

salt wicks moisture - pries the wiper and the o ring tight against the piston

do what I stated - it'll be fine

2 products i'm aware of,to neutralize salt and corrosion :
CRC656 and lear research corrosion block - forget anything else ! wd40 is useless...

[Terry England]

Originally Posted by Islandtrader

......The unit goes up all the way no problem. Lowering it sticks at 10-7. If I jump on it and someone works the switch it will go down all the way......

T-Bucket, was Senior Pelicano correct? Did the lubricant solve your 4 hour erection problem? OUCH - It hurts just reading about it!!!

[Islandtrader]

Originally Posted by Terry England

T-Bucket, was Senior Pelicano correct? Did the lubricant solve your 4 hour erection problem? OUCH - It hurts just reading about it!!!

as we speak it goes up,and comes down...I will be gone for two weeks and we will see what happens . I do believe it will be ok. If not we will post again.