Upper Hinge Broken '04 240 Sundeck

CU_Tiger_06

New Member
May 24, 2019
18
Boat Info
240 Sundeck 2004
Engines
5.0 Mercruiser Bravo III
From reading other posts regarding Bennett Trim Tabs, I've been impressed at their responsiveness and direct communication via this forum to help resolve issues. Now, it's my turn, and hopefully someone can help! I tried to call Bennett directly, but they aren't answering phones due to 'rona.

The subject line says it all. When I tried to engage my trim tabs this past weekend, I noticed hydraulic fluid squirting out of the top of the actuator on my port side tab. After looking more closely, it was clear that the upper hinge is broken. If I were to get a new hinge, how easy is the repair job? From looking inside the bilge, it appears there is only a tube that goes through the transom on each side ... no fittings or anything. Will the tube simply slide through once I remove the old upper hinge, and will I need to reseal anything? Also, can I do this repair while the boat is in the water, or do I need to pull it onto a trailer?

Thanks in advance!

Photos are as follows. First photo is a closeup of the broken hinge; second is a zoomed out photo of the tab on the boat in case it's needed to identify the model/part, etc.
upload_2020-6-22_14-45-0.png


upload_2020-6-22_14-45-10.png
 
The entire assembly is called the "actuator". It costs right around 1 boat buck and you can get them everywhere. I think length is the only thing you need to know when looking for a replacement. They are super easy to replace as long as the part you call the hinge is not glued onto the boat with 5200. I've replaced one on my boat and one on a friend's boat. The 2nd one only took 15 minutes, but my friend did the fluid fill and bleeding (done by cycling them up and down a couple of times and topping the off the reservoir) after I replaced it. Mine took about 45 minutes total.
 
You replace the actuator , remove the oil line from inside the boat, remove the fitting leaving the straight nipple, remove the 3 screws at the transom pull assembly out
 

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