Power trim oil leak

M

MichaelSumner362

New Member
Apr 19, 2022
17
St. Ives, Cambridgeshire, England, United Kingdom
Boat Info
Sea Ray 240 Sundancer 2001
Engines
Mercruiser 5.0
Hi. I've owned my 2001 240 Sundancer for a couple of months. When I bought it I saw there was some leakage from the hydraulic rams so the owner knocked something off the price. The leak is getting worse so obviously needs to be slipped and repaired but my boatyard can't do this for a few weeks. I understand the lube system for the tilt mechanism is completely separate from the stern drive itself so am I ok to run the boat as long as I don't want to use the tilt? The boat is on a mooring so I don't need to trailer it.
 
Is it leaking outside by the cylinders? Or inside the bilge? If outside you're leaking fluid into the water obviously, plus you might get water intrusion into the hydraulic lines but if it's been leaking a while, that might have happened already.

If you're lucky it's just a fitting that needs to be tightened. If not you could get new cylinders or the rebuild kit. I talked to a tech in the off-season and where my slip is, they don't repair anything -- just replace. So while you could get the repair kit and do it yourself, the Merc cylinders go for almost $700 each plus labor but you can get the SternDrive ones for under $200. I just bought 2 from SternDrive but they are backordered and won't arrive for a bit. One of mine was stuck in the full out position and the marina wanted 2 boat bucks to fix it but I fixed it myself in 2 hrs by replacing the two solenoids on one side, extending the other cylinder all the way out, lifting the drive all the way up, attaching both cyliders and using the hydraulics to un-stick it and trim the drive back down. This was on land before I launched.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the reply Phil S. Yes, it's leaking into the water. I hope it may just be a loose connection. The outdrive and rams had been serviced only recently too. I'm UK based and the boat has to be slipped (which will cost best part of £200 just for that). Was thinking of getting the goggles on and having a look underwater but not sure if I'll be able to actually "see" an oil leak underwater...
 
My 2 cents, I would put on the goggles and bring the wrench and just see if they are good and tight. If they are tight, the problem is either a ram or the hose itself and out she comes.

You might get lucky, but I would bet it's the ram seals.
 
Yes the trim tabs have their own reservoir that is separate. When I had an inside leak on the power trim reservoir, the entire contents ended up in the bilge. Good times :eek:
 
MichaelSumner362 said:
All good fun eh? I guess one could make owning a boat a full time job! Anyway, thanks for all the help and advice. I'm going to try replacing both rams and hoses myself.
Click to expand...
Where are you located/where do you use your boat? You should have that info. listed in your profile as there could be someone local that may be able to help.
 
Did you decide to replace the entire rams or do a rebuild kit? There are YouTube videos on how to refurbish them. If I had to pull the boar for this I'd do new hoses inside and out plus that junction box under the drive where the hoses meet.
 
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