Chris J

Yup.

It's not hard job to replace seals, fairly easy. Filling quite simple as well, lower front of boat as low as possible, tilt motor by hand or with switch and raise till its on bracket. Remove cap, fill with oil, work motor up and down and repeat. If using trim hydraulics to raise wait abotu15 mins before each cycle and before opening cap as air will escape and bubble created in HYD fluid from operating it with the switch. Manually lifting and lowering reduces that. The manual bypass needs to be opened all the way and closed all the way to do this.

I assume you have had jackplate bolts loosen before. Good tip to carry and check the bolts every trip. I've also seen a few people go past torques specs and crush the bolt right through the transom.

You want dust seal # 15 , trim down seal # 17 and #19 oring will fix your leak likely. But myself if I'm going in, I do all seals and O rings. So 17,18,1920,21. If you want to replace rams and caps buy the # 15 and you do it all and not worry about it again while you own the boat. The reservoir you ware looking for is 22 the cap to fill is 23. I use tilt n trim fluid but you can substitute something if you want, ATF will even work. Hope it helps abit. Those late 90's Yamaha motors were some of the best ever made, my 97 still runs like a champ.

You don't need the spanner wrench to do the job. You can use other "tools" to do the work but your end caps may get a little damage. I've seen hammer and punch used but will damage top of caps but nothing to cause leaks, split ring pliers will also work or even making a homeade spanner style wrench to fit around trim ram into cap holes. My last spanner wrench I bought was a proto and the pins on wrench broke off trying to complete the job for myself. I had extra caps so I just used the hammer and punch and replaced the caps anyways. Once caps are opened, yes easy to change out the seals. The reservoir is located on right side of the tilt n trim unit. There is a fill cap on it, tilt motor to top using the motor itself or by good old fashioned muscle, engage bracket to prevent motor dropping down, slowly open cap you may hear air escaping. I use small plastic syringe and fill, manually lift motor up and down by hand and refill if needed. You can actuate the tilt and trim motor but each cycle give it time to settle air bubbles it creates by going up and down.

LIke other guy said its a seal there. They are end caps that hold fluid and the rams in. I would wait till spring and warmer weather, refill the system and run it up and down a bunch of times and recheck for leaks. I've found they leak in extreme cold but in warmer weather no leaks. I assume your out of fluid as it won't lift and you found telltale signs. Grab some tilt and trim fluid and refill any brand will work. They will still operate with a leak, yours sounds low or empty. If you want to change seals and o rings all parts/schematics can be found on boats.net. Maybe tilt rams have nicks or spots on them tearing the seals so you may want to replace them as well. THe actual job isn't hard but the end caps can be a pain if no spanner wrench, you will damage your caps using punch and hammer but it will work to remove the caps.

IS is your tilt or trim? Does the motor leak down when tilted upwards? My Yamaha trim is always sluggish in minus temps, tilt ram always works fine. Any leaks around seals on trim/tilt rams? Any fluid in the reservoir? If you want to know how to change seals, tilt rams o rings, drain and refill system and purge air I can provide you details how to do the job. If no leaks and motor holds position and you don't experience these issues in warm weather all is probably fine. Or you can change an expensive pump as well.

If no water is in oil then top off, change o rings and let it hibernate. It will be fine.

So you admit to bed fishing?

Yamaha dealer?

lol. Best advice ever!

Hopefully the prices keep rising on bassboats, keeps inflating my 20 year old boats value every year. I paid 10 k almost 15 years ago. I can get alot more then that now. 100 k for an new boat is just insane. Only the rich can afford the depreciation on that.

Great looking little tiller. One cool boat.

Mine is a 97 Yamaha 150 so should be fairly similar hopefully.

AS the other posters mentioned your issue is more than likely the inline fuse under the cowl, I've done same thing as you before. It will be encased in a rubber/plastic tube As well as a manual release on your outboard tilt and trim, screwdriver slot on the side, turn counterclockwise till almost out and then lift by hand and utilize tilt bracket.

I would not purchase a boat based on an hour meter or a printout, there is a lot more to it than that. Some good advice in here as to what to look for but hours shouldn't be make or break.

When you say deep are you talkiing 50 feet +? Just wondering cause to me it looks like something needs fizzing in that tank behind you, almost look dead.