Trim Rod
 

I have a150 hp Ocean pro (E150EXERV) 1994 When I go 3,000 rpm's or higher I hear a rattle, been driving me crazy, thought it was my newly rebuilt powerhead. Well I found the noise to be the water forcing against the trim rod on the midsection which moves around sloppily. Question, Do I need that rod, it seems to do nothing ? Thanks for any input

That is good news. I had a rattle in a Johnson 90 after rebuild, turned out to be the latches for the cowling. I used a small dab of silicone to quiet it down. If I read you right, the trim rod is the removeable rod on the clamp that limits the tuck of your outboard. I do not have that rod on any of my Mercs but I do have it on the Johnson. Check to see where the bracket that touches the rod would land without the rod. If there is no problem with interference remove it, it may give you a bit more negative trim for holeshots.

trim rod
 

Yeah I checked it out, the rod is in position "1" and when I trim the motor all the way down, the rod is not touching anything so it isn't doing anything. I will remove it. Actually I should check my cowling latches also because my mechanic had them on and off several times. Thanks