Trim hoses and manifolds

[Eddie B]

Hi everyone! So my 2003 240 DA (5.0mpi +BravoIII) was supposed to be launched last week. Weather delayed that an I am glad it did. Checked the boat this weekend and went to exercise the out drive trim… and it looks like one of the hoses from the pump to the manifold blew or the manifold. Hydraulic fluid in the bilge and dripping out the drain plug.

I am broke after risers manifolds and a hand full of other stuff. I ordered the parts but have some questions for you folks before I try to tackle this.

1. As I understand it you remove the Mercathode and the manifold from the gimbal housing then can release the hoses and snake the new ones through. Put a new manifold and gasket on and button it up. Is it that straight forward.

2. Should I go ahead and replace the Mercathode? It’s pretty crusty. If I do is that a matter of snaking the wires up?

3. I am debating replacing the cylinder hoses they are not pretty but have not given me any issues. Should I bother? I would rather not.

4. I have read that not replacing the cylinders at this point might cause issues later. At $500 each the thought makes me want to cry.

5. the drive is stuck up. How do I not decapitate myself?

I added some
Pictures
Thanks everyone!

 

[Bill Curtis]

Suggest acquiring the Mercruiser drive manual.

The hoses feed thru the transom and screw into the top the "hydraulic fluid block" on the bottom of the outdrive, that is bolted into place and gasketed to keep water out.. The ram hoses screw into sides of the block.

The mercathode bolts over that block.

I haven't changed one, but looking at the manual, should not be crazy hard, but will be frustrating, I imagine.

Those ram hoses look pretty ratty and not long for this world. I would replace. But that's just me.

I, personally wouldn't just swap out the rams if they aren't leaking oil and work OK. Maybe a "down the road" project. Rams on my boat are original to my '95 B3 and show no signs of eminent failure.

On Mercathode, test is per the manual and if it tests OK, run it as is. Replacing it is about 150 - 200 for the part if it looks too skanky for ya. Again, I would replace.

On the "drive stuck up" question, you could use a couple of cargo ratchet straps to hold it up, or put trailering clips (or do both for comfort factor) on the rams to hold them in up position, preventing rams from coming down and dropping the drive on you. They will, however, squirt out some oil out when hose is disconnected.

 

[Eddie B]

Thanks for the reply Bill. The service manager and my dockside service guy are going to guide me a bit during the process. I went ahead and ordered a new Mercathode. I am going to take the rams off and test (as I need to anyway to change the down hoses). As for the drive I was thinking the same thing with straps and maybe some wood blocks. Will see how it goes later this week. Was hoping to have her in the water by now but will have to be patient.

 

[Eddie B]

So I took it all apart today. Took the rams off the Mercathode and the manifold. Rams were shot. Would not move at all. I took the lines off them and I had to literally hammer them down to get the fluid out. Mercathode was toasted and the manifold was a mess. Lines didn’t look too bad but clearly one of them popped

so not I need rams. They are like $500 each OUCH. Friend is going to see if he has a used pair I can have. Fingers crossed. The Cheever sierras seem to have issues/bad reviews.

I ran new lines and will finish running Mercathode wire then install manifold and Mercathode once I have rams to install.

 

[Bill Curtis]

Eddie,
For the rams, SEI has them too. Far cheaper than OEM. and SEI is good stuff.

A brand new set for sale on fleabay for $336.99 for the pair.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/272542580520?hash=item3f74cdbf28:g:OwsAAOSwVlVZ5koR

 

[Eddie B]

Hey everyone. So to close this out I was able to get a used pair of rams from my marina (saved me some money). Hooked everything up and back in business. Smooth movement. Biggest challenge was getting the manifold back in with the new lines (and not cross threading the external lines). Boat was splashed Friday. No leaks.

But now I have low RPMs at WOT. But will post on that separately. One problem solved another comes up. Guess that’s boating.