Tilt hydraulics leaking - Fix

[Performance42]

Lucas Power Steering Stop leak - stopped a bad leak in my 2005 F225 hydraulic tilt

UPDATE: December 23
Added Lucas POWER STEARING stop leak to port tilt.

I used the Very thick and red Lucas PS SL
Next day still leaking

Dec 28 Friday
Tilt did not leak today.
Went into water with mask and looked for leak working the motor
No leaks spotted and no red transmission fluid floating on water today


Added some more to top off. Added into 15mm fill hole
Have to squeeze bottle hard because Lucas
Is thick.
Titled up and down and no red fluid in water today.

Dec 29 Saturday

Checked the power tilt on the port engine that had an unstoppable fluid leak.
No leaking after the addition of Lucas Stop leak for hydraulics.
I'm Amazed.
This Lucas product can save a 1,000,000 boater $$$$ with a power tilt leak issue . Read the reviews at Amazon. Get amazed!

Note Lucas Sells many stop leaks. I used the Lucas Power Steering Stop Leak in the picture.


https://www.amazon.com/Lucas-10008-P.../dp/B000ARPVNO

 

[Fishtales]

Probably will hold for a while and then fail when you can ill afford it. Would be better if you root cause the problem and correcting the leak. I assume this was on the boat you are selling?

 

[Performance42]

Probably will hold for a while and then fail when you can ill afford it. Would be better if you root cause the problem and correcting the leak. I assume this was on the boat you are selling?

FISHTALE... You were right. It started leaking again after working the tilt motor, but just a slight leak. I have 3/4 of a bottle of LUCAS PS ST left, and will try and locate the leak with my mask tomorrow.

It's not leaking from any of the (3) ram seals. this Lucas can slow this leak down to next to nothing. it's very thick. One Amazon reviewer said it stopped his PS leak for 6 months.

UPDATE: Went back into the water with a mask to locate the leak. Filled up with Lucas with 15MM socket and ratchet. Worked the tilt from in the water using the up/down switch on side of cowling. There were no leaks, and the engine tilted up and down.

Somehow, at some point, it seems to leak a little, but Lucas PS ST has slowed the leak down significantly.



I had power tilts leaking for years. I had them fixed once by expert mechanic who works on Yamahas every day of the week for the last 20 years. He drives a brand new truck.

Hydraulic fluid leaks on Yamahas start when the engine is about 5 to seven years old IMO.

After hauling the boat ($550) at the Marina and taking the tilts units off (this is a big job) (cost for a new replacement is about $2,000) the boat - which means you have to take the 2 wire harness off that goes into the motor, he rebuilt them with a $70 Yamaha O ring kit.

Total cost was about $2000 - with the labor - and some machine shop work.

Two of the tilts still work fine and don't leak.

The port engine is the one that was leaking bad before the Lucas POWER STEERING addon December 23rd.

BTW.. There is a screw that you can turn to get a PT down or up, but you need a long screw driver. I watched my mechanic do this once.

You bust that turn screw by going the wrong way, and you are done.

It's easy to see if it stops the leak. You look overboard into the water by the tilt and you will see big "red" drops of fluid floating as you work the tilt all the way up and all the way down.

 

[Fishtales]

Good luck with the fix. Hopefully it works for you.

 

[Ozz043]

Is it too good to be true ? I think so unfortunately.

 

[DennisG01]

Unless there's something drastically different with how the F-series T/T unit is mounted compared to mine, I don't think it's really all that big of a job to remove it. Everything I read about said that I needed to remove the T/T unit "forward" - meaning unbolt the engine from the bracket and swing it out of the way a bit. Granted, with an overhead lift even that's not all that difficult. But I kept looking and looking at my T/T unit and it sure did appear that I could remove it without lifting the engine off. So after debating for a bit, I decided to just try it. Sure enough, 30 minutes later I had the entire unit off and it is now on my workbench, torn down, awaiting some final parts/seals so I can rebuild it.

Sometimes you do get lucky with additives. But generally, I agree with the others that it is often a short-lived fix... which really isn't a fix at all - just a band-aid. Heck, you can "fix" a pinhole leak in a radiator with an egg - but I sure wouldn't classify that as "fixed".

 

[Performance42]

Unless there's something drastically different with how the F-series T/T unit is mounted compared to mine, I don't think it's really all that big of a job to remove it. Everything I read about said that I needed to remove the T/T unit "forward" - meaning unbolt the engine from the bracket and swing it out of the way a bit. Granted, with an overhead lift even that's not all that difficult. But I kept looking and looking at my T/T unit and it sure did appear that I could remove it without lifting the engine off. So after debating for a bit, I decided to just try it. Sure enough, 30 minutes later I had the entire unit off and it is now on my workbench, torn down, awaiting some final parts/seals so I can rebuild it.

Sometimes you do get lucky with additives. But generally, I agree with the others that it is often a short-lived fix... which really isn't a fix at all - just a band-aid. Heck, you can "fix" a pinhole leak in a radiator with an egg - but I sure wouldn't classify that as "fixed".

Dennis: Agree with all you write; But, it's a little different with a 42foot Performance. The boat has to be driven to the Marina and hauled. Cost just for Marina here in Bahamas is $550.

We fixed all the "ram piston" seals (three per tilt on a F225), and the engine has to be loosened to take the tilt motor off. That was done two years ago with new AM tilt motors added in. Now, I'm tinkering waiting to find a new starboard engine and just "playing" with the Lucas Power Steering stop leak, which slowed the leak down a lot, but hasn't stopped it. Lucas instructions say you have to reapply.

Yesterday, after filling the tilt with the very thick high viscosity red Lucas PS SL, I tilted the engine up and there was no leaking. REALLY! STG.

But today, when I did the same, it leaked a little - not from the rams but under the right side Reservoir (under the water).

So, I'm going back to boat 50 yards away later, and taking a mask (which I left at the helm) and add more Lucas (per their instructions), and top off - then work the tilt to see what happens.
I think the more high viscosity Lucas I get in there via a squeeze bottle - to displace the very thin transmission fluid in there now, the better.
I doubt I can stop the leak with Lucas PSSL (which carried a money back guarantee on the bottle if it doesn't stop the leak).

https://lucasoil.com/products/problem-solvers-utility/lucas-power-steering-stop-leak

UPDATE: 4 hours later today... I go in the water with a mask to look for a leak. But, after hitting the tilt switch up and down it would not leak. Under the center ram Cylinder there are fluid lines and 2 fittings that go into the unit, and I looked for them (underwater with the mask) to spot the leak. One of the fittings had some "red" color around the tape they use, but it would not leak the Lucas from the tilt when I hit the switch. So, what next?

I'll check tomorrow for a leak, and the next day too, and we'll see what happens. Next time I see it red transmission fluid leak on the top of the water by this tilt, I'm diving in the water with my mask to find exactly what the issue is.

Cheers!

 

[Performance42]

That Lucas Power Steering stop leak has so far kept any fluid escape from my tilt motor. Hard to believe, I know. Previous to adding the LSL, the tilt leaked some red oily drops every time I went to the boat and hit the tilt switch (up/down). I added the Lucas on December 23rd.

The leak wasn't/isn't from any of the 3 "rams pistons', but from underneath the center ram housing where two fittings connect a metal hydraulic fluid tube about 1/8 inch diameter that carried hydraulic fluid. This part of the power tilt sits underwater 24/7.

Today is December 31st - and it didn't leak a drop.

When I haul, this should be an easy fix!

 

[Sharkbait282]

So I had this same leak at the end of the 2017 season.

All year we had been fine on the mooring, and then at the last week in the water I started being "that boat" with the big shimmer of trim-tilt hydraulic fluid magically appearing in the water at the transom. Since we had replaced the trim-tilt caps beginning of 2016, and there was no obvious seepage or leak from the top, we determined it must be from the bottom. My twins are 2002 F225, approximately 700 hrs. When the motors run from full down to full tilt up, there is movement in this pipe/joint as the angle between the tilt cylinder and the bracket frame changes. There's only a certain number of thousands of cycles before it is going to leak.

The old style fitting (that was leaking) is in my hand with the pretty much straight shot, the newly installed fitting with the updated full S bend is installed. The new style gives some additional relief through the range of motion to the seals. Took approximately 3 minutes to remove and replace, and no more leak. The tube isn't super cheap ($30ish), but rather than adding miscellaneous "leak fix" fluids to delay the inevitable, I'd say just about anyone who does even the most minor wrenching on their F225s can handle this swap.

part 69J-43833-02-00 (the parts diagram makes it look like the old part, but don't be surprised when you get the part with the S-bend, it's better)

 

[Performance42]

So I had this same leak at the end of the 2017 season.

All year we had been fine on the mooring, and then at the last week in the water I started being "that boat" with the big shimmer of trim-tilt hydraulic fluid magically appearing in the water at the transom. Since we had replaced the trim-tilt caps beginning of 2016, and there was no obvious seepage or leak from the top, we determined it must be from the bottom. My twins are 2002 F225, approximately 700 hrs. When the motors run from full down to full tilt up, there is movement in this pipe/joint as the angle between the tilt cylinder and the bracket frame changes. There's only a certain number of thousands of cycles before it is going to leak.

The old style fitting (that was leaking) is in my hand with the pretty much straight shot, the newly installed fitting with the updated full S bend is installed. The new style gives some additional relief through the range of motion to the seals. Took approximately 3 minutes to remove and replace, and no more leak. The tube isn't super cheap ($30ish), but rather than adding miscellaneous "leak fix" fluids to delay the inevitable, I'd say just about anyone who does even the most minor wrenching on their F225s can handle this swap.

part 69J-43833-02-00 (the parts diagram makes it look like the old part, but don't be surprised when you get the part with the S-bend, it's better)

View attachment 6243

That's where my tilt was leaking - from the fitting in the picture.

I stopped it with Lucas Power Steering Stop leak, a very high viscosity red fluid. Checked it today - didn't leak.

Google it.

Lucas sells it in 55 gallon drums and $8 bottles. Farmers buy it for their old tractors and keep them working for years with Lucas Hydraulic SL.

Learn something new every day,

BTW.. I'm looking for a F250 or F225 someone is trading in. I lost one of my F225s.
I would need to see video pictures of the engine tacking out at 5700 before I would wire the owner or dealer any money.
Easy enough to do on an iPhone.

 

[enfish]

Why does this thread read like an advertisement for the stop leak additive? The brand name was mentioned 8 times in the first post alone with a link on where to buy it. It's not like it's some kind of miracle cure. Stop leak additives have been around forever.

 

[Fishtales]

Personally I would never use anything like that except in an emergency. I remember the old days using stop leak in a old radiator in a crap box I was driving as a kid. The problem with that stuff is that it is basically a coagulant and runs through your entire system. Who knows what it will stick to or do to the system over the long term. Best to perform a root cause analysis, find the defect and fix it. Just my 2 pennies.

 

[georgemjr]

So the question becomes not whether it is a band aid (it is if your unit already leaks) but rather: if my unit is in perfect running order, is there any negative to running the thicker fluid. Will it perform/last as long as running the thinner hydraulic fluid. If the answer is yes, then it seems no harm, with an upside to going with the thicker stuff.

 

[Fishtales]

Yes, but hopefully the manufacturer did their homework and picked the right fluid. I don't know what is in that leak fix - likely not just a higher viscosity fluid., I'd be worried long term that I'm exposing myself to more risk than the short term benefit.