tilt

[Blue_Runner]

I mentioned this in my spun prop thread but it needs its own thread.

Motor= 2004 150hp Yamaha 2 stroke with ~1000 lovingly applied hours

I need help. My tilt quit on me a couple weeks ago. Noticed the little cylinder cap on the right cylinder (takes a spanner or "pin" wrench) was loosened. I do not have a pin wrench so I talked to a local shop, "sure bring it up here and I'll tighten it." So did that today, still would not tilt. Appears to have fluid, he squirted some in there anyway, it came back out. So he says it might be the manual release. Took that off, replace an o-ring on it, put it back on and no change in problem. This all took about 45 minutes, mainly b/c he kept having to walk 50 ft back and forth to his tools (I could've back the boat up further but he told me to stop there). So anyhow, he looks up a price on new tilt assembly ~$2900 for brand new (which I obviously wouldn't pay) and he calls a guy who says he has one for $800 with 30 day warranty. Says it will cost me 2 hours labor to put it on, so another $180 bucks on top of that. I say, well I'd put it on myself (nothing to it). He didn't like that too good, but anyway..... so I ask him how much I owe him and he said $90 which is 1 hr labor.

Maybe it is just me but it didn't feel right to be leaving that place $90 poorer with the motor in virtually the exact same shape as when I got it there. Am I alone in this thought/feeling? All I wanted was the cylinder cap tightenend which is the equivalent to tightening a bolt, basically. I know I owe him somehting but dang!

I'm looking for advice on how I should proceed. Trim works fine. Tilt makes the same sound as it does when working, just will not come up from the vertical position.

Should I really need to replace the entire assembly? Mine "looks" brand new. Or should I be looking to replace seals/trim motor/and/or other? No way I can afford $90 an hour labor, so it would be DIY. Plus I've seen how fast that guy works and I think I could buy the new tilt assembly cheaper!

Help!!!

[Blue_Runner]

Adding things I left off as I think of them.......

There's no obvious leaks in the tilt/trim assembly, I keep the boat in my shop and haven't found any fluid on the floor.

[Blue_Runner]

Ran across this thread a few min. ago. Same year model as mine. I'm checking to see if the same area is leaking on mine? Appears to have happened to more than 1 person.

http://www.2coolfishing.com/ttmbforu...d.php?t=547577

[bradford]

I'm betting Spare can get you going.

It's good to find a good honest mechanic who is somewhat understanding. I understand people need to earn a living, but I think he could have done you better than the full hour rate considering the job and not having fixed anything. For the price you could have bought yourself a new tool and been in the same position.

[Destroyer]

I've always thought that I'm paying for the person's skill, education, experience and know-how. At $90 an hour (or more) I don't want a "lets try this" parts replacement specialist. I want someone that can say "Your problem is that little left handed knurled dipsh!t rod" or some such thing. I understand that diagnostics take some time, but to my way of thinking, for what he did, (without fixing or even identifying the problem) he greatly overcharged you. A good mechanic is worth every penny they charge. A poor mechanic is just a sucking leech living off the reputation of the good mechanics who actually earn their money.

[Striper80]

Originally Posted by Destroyer

I've always thought that I'm paying for the person's skill, education, experience and know-how. At $90 an hour (or more) I don't want a "lets try this" parts replacement specialist. I want someone that can say "Your problem is that little left handed knurled dipsh!t rod" or some such thing. I understand that diagnostics take some time, but to my way of thinking, for what he did, (without fixing or even identifying the problem) he greatly overcharged you. A good mechanic is worth every penny they charge. A poor mechanic is just a sucking leech living off the reputation of the good mechanics who actually earn their money.

Exactly, if I want to try something, I'll try it myself.