Trim position sensor - Alpha 1 gen 2 drive

[KHE]

A couple of weeks ago, my trim gage was pegging full up , then normal, then was fine. The other day, it read full up even though the drive was fully down. I knew it had to be an issue with the wires and sure enough, I discovered a corroded, opened wire on the trim indicator sensor. I repaired the wire just to get trough the season - I plan to replace the sensors in the spring when the drive is off but have some questions:

• If the hinge pins are removed, can the assembly be moved enough to access the wire clamp retaining bolt?
• It looks like the wire clamp bolt could be accessed with a swivel socket and a wobble extension - has anyone R&R'd that bolt without removing the transom assembly?

My guess is the temporary wiring repair will last quite a while but I'd rather replace the sensors so I'm good for another 17 years.

 

[BillK2632]

If you remove the hinge pins so you can move the bell housing around, you can get to everything. No need to remove bellows and definitely don't need to pull transome assymbly.

 

[chrishick]

I did both my bravo 1s without removing anything. It takes a swivel socket, a good friend to help and lots of patience!!! The hardest part is getting the bolt back in. I cut a long strip of stiff plastic from an accordion file folder thing and drilled a hole in the end to hold the bolt. Make sure to cut a slot at the end of the plastic/hole so you can pull it out once the bolt is started. Bend the plastic to the right shape and angle to get the bolt to line up.




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[KHE]

Thanks for the information! When I referred to the transom assembly, I meant the bell housing (the part of the outdrive that is retained by the hinge pins).

Is the bolt head size 7/16"?

I plan to replace the sensors I the spring unless my temporary repair doesn't last through the end of this season.

 

[KHE]

I replaced the sensors a few weeks ago. I didn't get a chance to try the job without removing the hinge pins and drive. I looked it over, testing the wobble extension, etc. to make sure I could access the lower bolt when I noticed the gear oil line was cracked in several places. I had to remove the hinge pins and disconnect the U-joint bellows from the bell housing in order to replace the gear oil hose. The worst part of the job was contorting myself into the engine compartment in order to access all the places where the old sender wires were zip tied in place.

The retaining ring on the gen 2 drives is a slick design in my opinion - much easier to install vs. the older drives.

The trim indicator is sort of a pain to adjust - The adjustment is very coarse and difficult to get the gauge needle directly over the full down mark on the gauge.