backwaters
Member
Hello all,
For those of you with sterndrives that use the Mercruiser tilt pump, I thought I'd pass on a discovery I made this past weekend in hopes that it might save other boat owners from future grief. I couldn't get my Bravo 3 sterndrive to raise despite the pump running. I removed the pump and discovered the following:
1) The metal bracket mounting the pump and solenoids to the transom was cracked in two places and the pump assembly was close to falling off (and down into my steering arm);
2) and possibly related to my main issue - the fine mesh screens on the intake tubes (inside the fluid reservoir) were perished. One has disintegrated and has likely been sucked up into the pump body.
All this on a thirteen year old boat that I recently purchased. Might be worth checking the integrity of the screens on your boat's pump if you have the Mercruiser tilt pump.
Now I have the unpleasant job of removing all of my hydraulic lines and trying to blow them out to make sure they are clean. I not sure about my rams...I may rebuild them but haven't decided yet. I'm concerned there might be small bits of mesh in the entire system!?
Regards, -Jason
For those of you with sterndrives that use the Mercruiser tilt pump, I thought I'd pass on a discovery I made this past weekend in hopes that it might save other boat owners from future grief. I couldn't get my Bravo 3 sterndrive to raise despite the pump running. I removed the pump and discovered the following:
1) The metal bracket mounting the pump and solenoids to the transom was cracked in two places and the pump assembly was close to falling off (and down into my steering arm);
2) and possibly related to my main issue - the fine mesh screens on the intake tubes (inside the fluid reservoir) were perished. One has disintegrated and has likely been sucked up into the pump body.
All this on a thirteen year old boat that I recently purchased. Might be worth checking the integrity of the screens on your boat's pump if you have the Mercruiser tilt pump.
Now I have the unpleasant job of removing all of my hydraulic lines and trying to blow them out to make sure they are clean. I not sure about my rams...I may rebuild them but haven't decided yet. I'm concerned there might be small bits of mesh in the entire system!?
Regards, -Jason