Outboard - Trim Seal Spanner Wrench - HELP!

[AKRISONER]

Hey Guys,

Im about to redo the seals on my trim rams on my 98 130TLRW yamaha and im struggling to determine what kind of spanner I can use for my trim seal caps.

 

I found the following tool online 

https://www.amazon.ca/Universal-Variable-Pin-Spanner-Wrench/dp/B07FVS41V4

 

but its extremely difficult to determine whether this would work with my boats caps or not? Any insight anyone can provide is greatly appreciated. If a board member in the GTA Barrie or north has one kicking around that I could borrow that will work on a yamaha I would be forever grateful. 

 

Thanks.

[DRIFTER_016]

Not sure if that one will work or not as it doesn't give the diameter of the pins.

The marine ones are more expensive of course. Check if this one fits.

https://www.amazon.ca/Marine-Pin-Wrench-AMT0006-32mm/dp/B017KTYA86

Found this little trick that might help you too. The PVC trick.

https://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-forum/568006-yamaha-trim-cap-spanner-wrench.html

[Rattletrap2]

Excellent tip with the PVC!

 

[Fisherman]

Brainflash,  how far apart are the holes and what is the diameter of the holes?  My spanner that tightens up the big nut on my 4 1/2 inch CTC grinder has 4.5mm pins and they are 30mm apart. You could probably make one from 3/16 plate and use hardened allen screws.

[misfish]

15 hours ago, Fisherman said:

You could probably make one from 3/16 plate and use hardened allen screws.

Or shoulder bolts. That would be my preference . They are more tolerance tight and harden.

[OhioFisherman]

Some auto parts stores here used to rental special tools, even Home Depot did. No idea if anyone in your area might?

[dave524]

would this work ? https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07K48HYZR?tag=dradisplay0c-20&ascsubtag=bc0b9209750150f23fd159dbdbd532d5_CT

[AKRISONER]

ended up going with the variable spanner wrench after seeing reference to the amazon one in the forum thread about using PVC Pipe. The problem is that currently my trim isnt technically functional due to the leak that I have in the hydraulic system. I may manually lift the motor onto the PVC though in conjunction with using that tool. It has selected pin sizes that hopefully will fit the way i need it to. Having something holding the wrench down even if the pins arent perfectly sized should hopefully help?

[OhioFisherman]

Having an extra set of hands available while doing it certainly can't hurt?

[AKRISONER]

anyone have any idea how much fluid the trim typically takes. Due to the outbreak Yamaha has closed and I am unable to get all of my parts. Im considering just trying to top up the fluid and run it like that until I can get the parts.

[Chris J]

You buy new caps?  If so use punch and hammer to remove old.  If not I've used split ring pliers to remove.  Grab a litre of fluid, fill till you can't get anymore in, manually lift motor up and down and refill till it won't take anymore, or use switch but wait about 20 mins to fill again, should hear air escape when opening cap slowly.  Lower front of boat as low as possible.  HAve you tried is since last fall?

[AKRISONER]

25 minutes ago, Chris J said:

You buy new caps?  If so use punch and hammer to remove old.  If not I've used split ring pliers to remove.  Grab a litre of fluid, fill till you can't get anymore in, manually lift motor up and down and refill till it won't take anymore, or use switch but wait about 20 mins to fill again, should hear air escape when opening cap slowly.  Lower front of boat as low as possible.  HAve you tried is since last fall?

I did I bought all new caps and seals but am still waiting for them to arrive. In the interim I’m considering just filling up the reservoir as a temporary fix until parts arrive. My assumption is that the leak won’t be as bad because it’s warmer than when I put my boat away in the fall.

I’ve got a wrench off of amazon that I will need to slightly grind down in order to fit around the ram. The arms are slightly too thick and don’t allow for fitment. I’m going to grind the arms down, the pins at least fit perfectly so that’s lucky.

im going to try and follow your instructions on how to fill the reservoir. 
 

my plan is to park the boat on a hill with the nose down, chalk the heck out of the wheels and then drop the tongue on the ground to get the nose aimed way down hill.

 

if I am understanding correctly, I should then fill the reservoir as full as I can, then manually lift the motor up and then down again and then let it sit and repeat this process until I can’t fill any additional fluid into the reservoir. 

[Chris J]

That's how I've filled them in the past.  I used a slight incline, lowered nose all the way down, tilted motor up, engage tilt bracket or block of wood to prevent motor dropping down, open cap slowly and fill with a plastic syringe as its easier to fit into hole that Yammi provides.  Fill till it pours back out of reservoir, cap it, release pressure relief valve slowly and allow it drop all the way down till rams compress.  You can use motor to lift it back up but you will need to wait some time between cycles to allow air bubbles to dissipate, i just lift manually by skeg and close valve when I get to top or back onto bracket.  Repeat steps till you can get no more fluid in it, it will just pour out when cap is opened and you should be good.

 

Yes I would try and fill first, clean area up and cycle it a bunch of times and check for leaks, you may be surprised if it doesn't leak.  I've seen issue before where it leaks in fall when very cold out but warm weather no leaks.  Good luck.

[Chris J]

Any tilt and trim fluid will work i believe as will ATF.

[AKRISONER]

an update. 

Im still waiting on parts to arrive from the states. Canada post says they are due tomorrow. I originally ordered from yamaha in canada but they are shut down. I then had to go order from the states. 

I read lots online and everything recommended using high grade ATF so thats the plan!

I bought a spanner wrench off of amazon but the fingers on it were too wide and i could not fit the pins into the holes without touching the actual Ram arms. luckily my old man has a grinder wheel. Ground down the wrench and tested the fitting and it works nicely. 

Now whats frustrating. I figured I would check the caps to see how seized they may be as everything online i read said that its common for them to get jammed up. I put the wrench in the holes and pushed ever so slightly and the things began to spin...aka my seals were not tight at all. The one specifically that is noticeably leaking being almost hand tightened lightly...no wonder the damn things are leaking! Ugh

Oh well, changing the seals is probably a good maintenance thing to do anyways. The parts are already bought so it is what it is! Turns out I probably could have just tightened them properly and refilled the reservoir and been done with it. Ill update when the job is finished. Changing a couple of seals shouldnt be anything too crazy anyways. Im more interested to see how refilling the fluid goes. 

[cheaptackle]

I'd put the new parts into stock for when you really need them!  Just try the tightening and refill first.  Sorry to repeat an age old adage but if it ain't broke...

 

[BillM]

Yeah man, tighten things up and if it works you've got spares on hand.  

[AKRISONER]

Well guys, I pulled it off, but it wasn’t without a few hiccups, like any project.

 

two things were a problem 1. I had a very difficult time getting the fluid into the system. Every time I initiated filling the reservoir tank it would all shoot back out. A lucky stumble across a YouTube video had a guy recommend using the trim up to get fluid into the pump and rams. I tried blipping the pump up while dumping fluid and it worked perfectly. 
 

2. The cap on the reservoir on my Yamaha is plastic and I quickly learned the hard way that it’s extremely difficult to get sealed. It’s either cross threaded, over tight, or not tight enough. The problem is id fill the reservoir and then try to put the cap on but then would overtighten or under tighten ever so slightly and then drop the motor manually and as the motor hit the rams it would shoot fluid out through the cap. What a pain in the ass it was trying to figure all of this stuff out while manually dropping my 130hp engine and then having to lift it up again by hand. My back is bloody toast. Eventually I got used to tightening the reservoir cap just so and it seemed to magically work in 3 tries.

 

the dust seal on the ram that was leaking had definitely seen better days. Everything else looked pretty good. 
 

also I didn’t realize how extensively I needed to use the trim pressure bypass to lift and drop the motor constantly. If anyone ever needs help with this shoot me a message and I will break it down in full detail step by step.

Edited May 4, 2020 by AKRISONER