Tilt and trim seals

ScottyCee

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Hey All,

I'm going to change out the T&T seals on one of my motors, and wonder if anyone could give me the short course. I have a mechanic buddy that has lots of experience with this, but neither of us knows the Yamaha specifics. Let's assume that we can get the caps off without destroying them, and only need to replace the "consumables". What exact parts are required? Where is a good place to buy them? And are there any brands other than Yamaha that you had a good experience with?

Thanks in advance!
 

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Step 1. Buy the tools
Step 2. Take a good look at the trim rods. Often they are pitted and the new seals won't help (or they'll be ruined in short order)
Step 3. there is a step by step on Youtube MarineTechTools video

I got parts on Boats.net. They have exploded view.

Get dust seals, o-rings, gaskets. You might need new caps if you chew them up taking them off
 
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ScottyCee

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Thank you for the quick reply. I'll watch that video as soon as I have a chance.

The rods look great - I'm not worried about them, but I'll double check.

I have spanners, but are there other special tools?

I am interested in buying the seals and o-rings, but not replacement rods, caps, etc. I'll assume that I can get most of them off OK, but since I may actually do both motors if it isn't too painful there is a chance that I'll have to buy more.

Local Yamaha shop is putting together a quote for me, but again, I'm fine with after market stuff if I can buy only what I need.
 

seasick

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. Doing the trim seals is easier. The tilt requires you to disconnect the rod from the motor. Two people are needed at least to get it back together.
Your spanner tools may or may not work. I bought the tools specifically made for my caps. They are expensive but they work without damaging the caps.I got mine from Marine Tech;well made stuff. There are three wrenches available, you need two of them and the two depends on year and model. I think the wrenches are 70 bucks each.
Sim Yamaha sells kits with all the parts for one trim cylinder. You will need two kits. They do not have a kit for the tilt cylinder (center) but will send you a list of part numbers for the parts you will need.

When you disassemble, do one cylinder at a time and make careful notes of what goes where. In addition note that some seals have an UP side and a down side. They have to be installed in the correct orientation.
The seals on the pistons install easily. The seals on the inside of the caps can be challenging both to remove and to install. I found that a small round dowel can be used to kind of force the seals into the grooves. Again, note that some seals have a specific side that has to face up.

Sometimes pulling the pistons out can be hard. You have to be careful trying to grab the rod with a tool to get the piston out since it can be damaged. I find that loosening the cap and using the trim switch can help force the piston out (with a bit of a mess). Unfortunately that works for one piston. If you want to use the pump to pop the second piston you will need to rebuild and reinstall the first, probably bleed and fill and then pop the other. You may as an option be able to screw in the first cap and piston and then unscrew and pop out the other side. One of the issues is that the fluid in the cylinder 'holds' the piston in place.

The center cylinder if you need to overhaul it is trickier. You will have to raise the motor , put on the safety stop, remove the upper axle, retract the piston, swing it out and take it apart. Depending on the model you may also need to remove the lower axle and swing the unit out.
While you are at it, make sure the manual pressure relief screw works. It is needed after all the rebuild to help the bleeding process.
 

seasick

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I forgot to mention that some of the new seals may be different than the originals. Basically if the new seal has a different shape on one side (top) as opposed to the other side (bottom), it needs to be installed in the correct orientation. Having a decent exploded view of the parts is very helpful
 

ScottyCee

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Thanks a bunch! Those are the kind of tips that are going to help a lot. My bud rebuilt a large number of cylinders on excavators on the North slope, so what I lack in knowledge he will backfill. I supply the money and courage. :)

I ordered the 0004 spanner tool from Marine Tech - they said that it does both the trim and the tilt caps in the video and that is the exact motor spec I'll be working on (we shall see). I then went to 5-star marine (the tilt and trim specialists) and ordered 2 full sets of seals and o-rings per their model/year recommendation. Hopefully it's all here by the weekend...

So, via Yamaha shop it would have been $670+ tax for the parts - my local guy appears to only sell kits that include steel. Right now I'm in $180 including the spanner. Fingers crossed for a good experience here.

Thanks again for the replies!
 

seasick

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What model and year is your motor? I ask because the tilt caps are usually different than the trim caps. Of course if you are only resealing the rim (outer) rams, you will only need one wrench
Good luck. Let us know when you get the seal kits and I will tell you what to look for in the cap seals to determine which way that go in.
 

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F225TXRD - 2005. I'm doing all of them (6), so I'll check when I get home. I have a couple of adjustable spanners, but the Marine Tech ones look niiiiice...
 

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Wishing you luck on the replacement.

Mine wasn't an easy job getting off the trim caps with a spanner. I have a Honda BF200. Maybe the Yamie caps have deeper holes the spanner wrench sets into. My wrench kept sliding off with force as the holes not really deep enough to offset the horizontal torque.

I ended up taking a steel chisel and ball hammer and playing whack-a-mole on the caps. That was the ticket for me. I was amazed how hard I had to hit it to get any movement. Thought I was going to screw up the whole assembly....

I had purchase the replacement OEM caps and gasket set before a did mine, so I didn't care about reusing the existing ones.

If there is any way to lightly clamp the spanner to the cap so it can't pop off that would be ideal if you have trouble at first. But it's like anything, if your spanner slips off as you are adding pressure, the interface between the two has already been compromised.

Marine Tech didn't make a good spanner for Honda's, but their one for Yamaha looked great. I would have ponied up for that. I understand not wanting to spend the dough if you can manage the project with tools you already own.

Again, hope yours is easy~
 

ScottyCee

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Thanks. We'll give it a heck of a try. If we get all 6 out without destroying any of them it'll be amazing. They guy in that vid used a breaker bar and had good engagement, so my hopes are high. Maybe a well sized wooden block can be "leveraged" to improve the odds...
 
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leeccoll

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Thanks. We'll give it a heck of a try. If we get all 6 out without destroying any of them it'll be amazing. They guy in that vid used a breaker bar and had good engagement, so my hopes are high. Maybe a well sized wooden block can be "leveraged" to improve the odds...
Good engagement and a lot of torgue (aka breaker bar) will give you a fighting chance.
 
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seasick

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The Marine Tech tool has hardened screw in pins that make a pretty decent fit for the holes in the cap. It also uses three holes not just two as the generic spanners would. The pins are replaceable also. You need a breaker bar or a ratchet for the tool and in my case a piece of pipe added to the ratchet to get sufficient force to get the cap loose.
From what I read, it looks like he amt0004 tool fits all caps on the F225
 
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Fishtales

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Good luck. Those things are tough to remove and as stated your pins likely have some pitting on them that caused the issue. The parts are fairly expensive as I recall as well. You'll probably chew them up pretty good getting them out.
 

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Thanks. We'll give it a heck of a try. If we get all 6 out without destroying any of them it'll be amazing. They guy in that vid used a breaker bar and had good engagement, so my hopes are high. Maybe a well sized wooden block can be "leveraged" to improve the odds...
2 man job....have someone pressing down on the tool while the other pushes the breaker bar

if you ruin a trim cap its $25

I did trims on a pair of OX66s.... one of the easier diy jobs

Tilt looks more complicated...didn't need to do them


$600 is way high. You only need the seals, and o-rings and the backup ring

Boats.net F225txrd

67, 68(in case you bend the crap out of one), 69, 72,73
 

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seasick

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I think the Sim Yamaha kit is less expensive than buying individual parts assuming you are replacing all the seals and washers. Personally, I can't see where not doing all the seals is a good idea since you have the thing apart.
I am also curious where you can find end caps for $25. OEMs run about $65
 

SkunkBoat

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I think the Sim Yamaha kit is less expensive than buying individual parts assuming you are replacing all the seals and washers. Personally, I can't see where not doing all the seals is a good idea since you have the thing apart.
I am also curious where you can find end caps for $25. OEMs run about $65

Just follow the link above. They are Yamaha parts

the parts needed add up to $32 per trim rod, plus I would get just one or two snap rings at $5 in case you trash one taking it out

SIM Yamaha trim seal kit 4 is basically same price $37 as it includes a snap ring
 

seasick

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Just follow the link above. They are Yamaha parts

the parts needed add up to $32 per trim rod, plus I would get just one or two snap rings at $5 in case you trash one taking it out

SIM Yamaha trim seal kit 4 is basically same price $37 as it includes a snap ring
Maybe I am missing something but that link show part #9, screw , cylinder end, at a price of $68.59