- Oct 4, 2006
- 2,335
- Boat Info
- 2003 280DA and 1995 Sea Ray 175
- Engines
- Twin 4.3l and 3.0l, all w/ AlphaI GenII drives
A few weeks ago I had an issue where I could not get my port engine Alpha I sterndrive unit to go down. The motor would run, but nothing would happen. I ended up having to "help" it down. When it would go by itself it was -very- slow, then it would stop again and need some help.
I got the boat home and removed the sterndrive to clean it, paint it and replace the water pump. While it was off, I ran the trim pump. What I found was that the port side trim cylinder would move up and down. But the starboard side wouldn't move. This seems to be a clue, but...to what?!
I'm leaning towards it being the down pressure relief valve in the trim pump. In the Mercruiser service manual, there is a In/Down Pressure test section (5A-5), where if the pressure is not up to spec (400-600psi), then the first thing to change is this relief valve. Unfortunately, I don't have the hydraulic pressure testing gauge.
If anyone has had these symptoms before, I'd appreciate hearing how you ended up fixing it.
Thanks,
Tom
I got the boat home and removed the sterndrive to clean it, paint it and replace the water pump. While it was off, I ran the trim pump. What I found was that the port side trim cylinder would move up and down. But the starboard side wouldn't move. This seems to be a clue, but...to what?!
I'm leaning towards it being the down pressure relief valve in the trim pump. In the Mercruiser service manual, there is a In/Down Pressure test section (5A-5), where if the pressure is not up to spec (400-600psi), then the first thing to change is this relief valve. Unfortunately, I don't have the hydraulic pressure testing gauge.
If anyone has had these symptoms before, I'd appreciate hearing how you ended up fixing it.
Thanks,
Tom