Power trim works fine, only when not WOT?????

[saltfisher]

My p/t/t works fine on my boat. 1988 tracker 1800 with a 1988 150 black max. I can put it all the way up, and down all day long. BUT.... when im running WOT it only wants to trim up about 1/2 way and then it doesnt go anymore. It just stops going up. Untill i slow down, or stop then it will go up higher. Any reason for this?

Thanks

[bassadict69]

I think it is a safety feature...I want to say mine will only go up so far also when running WOT.

[saltfisher]

So i guess its a good thing then, that way i cant trim up to far. I never noticed it before, untill the other day.

[BassBUFF]

I'm no expert by any means but I've never heard of that as a safety feature. Sounds more like the pump is weak or the internal seals are worn allowing fluid to blow past and won't lift the motor under a load. Have you checked the level of hydraulic fluid in it? If it's good then it just might be time for a rebuild on that 20 year old unit. 

Someone else might have a better idea.

[bassadict69]

Steve, So you can trim your motor all the way up at WOT? Granted I have only owned a couple of boats but neither one would tilt up past a certain point if running under anything even close to WOT.

I want to say that even on mine, when loading onto the trailer at the ramp that I can only tilt it up so far when the motor is running. I also want to say that if I go up too far with the motor, when I mash the gas to go further up the trailer, the motor drops down some.

Not questioning ya Steve...you know alot more about these things than I do! 

[BassBUFF]

Steve, So you can trim your motor all the way up at WOT? Granted I have only owned a couple of boats but neither one would tilt up past a certain point if running under anything even close to WOT.

Honestly I haven't even tried on this boat. I know I can trim up to out of the water in gear at slow speeds. It will start even at full trim (dumba** move! ). I don't know why you'd want to trim that high at WOT anyways. If you need to do this then something is wrong with the setup IMHO.

Not questioning ya Steve...you know a lot more about these things than I do! 

Not necessarily ! I just haven't heard of it. Someone with more knowledge than both of us can probably answer this .

[Ron Fogelson]

Trimming the motor out of the water when WOT is not going to happen.

There is two separate parts to the trim, the first part is the double rams that adjust the motor slowly up or down and then there is the main ram that kicks in if the motor is trimmed up past the max movement of the 1st part.  That's why 1 they sell trim tab extensions to help get a little more trim adjustment hight out of some boats and 2. why when your go and put the motor totter on and are trimming it up it starts slow and then kicks in high as the motor comes up higher.

Anyway the bottom line in the question is yes, it's normal to only be able to trim about the 1/2 way mark while running WOT

[BassBUFF]

Makes sense to me. Thanks for the input Fogy!

[Rincon2388]

The single ram simply does not have enough power to push the motor up under load, that is what the dual rams are for. When at WOT the dual rams raise to their limit and that is as high as the motor will go. When idleing under low power the motor can be raised out of the water because the single ram has less resistance. More than likely, nothing is wrong with your trim unit.

[saltfisher]

Thanks guys. I know exactly what your talking about when you say the single/dual ram. My trim gauge reads about 1/2 way when it stops at WOT. Another thing.... Someone said about checking the fluid.... I did pop the cap off the pump and did not see any fluid. Not because it was low, but because it was a small hole to put it in, and could not see where the level was. What fluid should i use, and how full should it be?

Thanks

[Homosassa]

My p/t/t works fine on my boat. 1988 tracker 1800 with a 1988 150 black max. I can put it all the way up, and down all day long. BUT.... when im running WOT it only wants to trim up about 1/2 way and then it doesnt go anymore. It just stops going up. Untill i slow down, or stop then it will go up higher. Any reason for this?

Thanks

Hello. I realize this is an older topic but am wondering if you found out the issue. My trim works fine out of the water  also. all the way up and down. I find that if i apply pressure to it while trimming up, it will not go frther and can manually push it back down. When it is in forward gear in the water, it will not trim up at all. so , any pressure on it and no trim. I have checked the fluid and it is full. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Capt. BassinLou]

My p/t/t works fine on my boat. 1988 tracker 1800 with a 1988 150 black max. I can put it all the way up, and down all day long. BUT.... when im running WOT it only wants to trim up about 1/2 way and then it doesnt go anymore. It just stops going up. Untill i slow down, or stop then it will go up higher. Any reason for this?

Thanks

Hello. I realize this is an older topic but am wondering if you found out the issue. My trim works fine out of the water  also. all the way up and down. I find that if i apply pressure to it while trimming up, it will not go frther and can manually push it back down. When it is in forward gear in the water, it will not trim up at all. so , any pressure on it and no trim. I have checked the fluid and it is full. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Welcome to UB. From what I see, you and the OP have 2 different issues. The OP's issue is standard operations of the trim, in which at WOT an OB will not trim all the way up. An OB will only trim all the way up once the boat has slowed down and operating under low rpm's.
As far as your outboard, I don't know what can be happening. Sounds like you may have to take in to an OB technician.

[Mike Cork]

One of two things are "likely", first you may have an excess of air in your system allowing the compression (ability to push it back down), or two your pressure relief valve is not working properly. To bleed the system, do some digging on YouTube for your particular system. Anything further gets pretty in-depth and may need to take it to your mechanic.

[FD]

Could be an internal pump seal leaking under pressure. 

Sent from the very edge of civilization...where I belong