Hold down stuck - did I break something?

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thinwater
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Hold down stuck - did I break something?

Post by thinwater »

I'm not certain what is going on - I think pulling an engines may be required - but I caught a pull-up rope in reverse, and when I did unthread the rope and lower the engine, it won't come back up. I wonder if I have broken the locking finger, somehow. Has this happened to anyone else?

I have toggled the locking lever by hand through its full range (normal resistance); it does not help. Unfortunately, I left my manual on the boat, an hour away. But my memory is that this is a very difficult area to access and that I can expect all of the fasteners to be seized.

I really hate the Yamaha lock down system, having seen other engines with simpler external systems. But this is, of course, completely beside the point.
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Re: Hold down stuck - did I break something?

Post by Dan White »

This happened to me also............I could not fix it, but Chris Pine at Beacon light marina on Middle River is a Yamaha dealer and somehow he fixed it.
I have used him for several things and found him to be very good.
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Re: Hold down stuck - did I break something?

Post by amytom »

If it's stuck in the down position then pull it up halfway (hanging above the engine pod) so you can see the works. Like you said, it's not the best design but it's the one we have. Sometimes liberal use of WD40 can buy you some time.
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Re: Hold down stuck - did I break something?

Post by thinwater »

amytom wrote:If it's stuck in the down position then pull it up halfway (hanging above the engine pod) so you can see the works. Like you said, it's not the best design but it's the one we have. Sometimes liberal use of WD40 can buy you some time.
It is not stuck in the sense that it is hard to move the lever. It is stuck in the sense that moving the lever makes no difference.
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Re: Hold down stuck - did I break something?

Post by amytom »

I just looked at a unit in the garage...

when you push the lever it moves two different linkage rods that then lift the catch. I stil think pulling the engine up to see wich part of the linkage is broken is the only way to fix it. For a temporary fix to get the engine out of the water you might try pulling the removable bar that sets the trim angle, it should pivot up after that.
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Re: Hold down stuck - did I break something?

Post by thinwater »

Trim rod - good idea! I've got a spare engine in the shed I can look at to scope that out.

Thanks.


Unfortunatly, the water is MAYBE 50F.
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Re: Hold down stuck - did I break something?

Post by amytom »

thinwater wrote:Unfortunatly, the water is MAYBE 50F.

Move to Florida?
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Re: Hold down stuck - did I break something?

Post by Allezcat »

The tilt lock uses a bracket which engages the "removable Tilt pin" to adjust engine tilt. You may have bent this pin. The pin has a black plastic lock at one end which is released by squeezing it while pulling on the pin. If you can get the pin out the engine will tilt but will no longer lock down until you replace it. See attachment - The Tilt pin is #13 and the bracket is # 24

Chet
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Yamaha T9.9 Bracket Unit.jpg
Yamaha T9.9 Bracket Unit.jpg (235.4 KiB) Viewed 15435 times
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Re: Hold down stuck - did I break something?

Post by amytom »

Chet, thanks for always providing the documentation. I'm not that quick at scanning. :)

Drew, Any luck with this?
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Re: Hold down stuck - did I break something?

Post by thinwater »

I'll go to the boat Sunday. I have a spare engine I studied, so I think I understand all of the comments and have a plan. I'll take a spare tilt pin and one way or the other, I will get the motor tilted. If there is more damage than that, it apears that the damage is most likely contained to parts 21-24, and these look reasonable to replace.

We'll see. I'll report.

Thanks for the tips.
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Re: Hold down stuck - did I break something?

Post by thinwater »

A painless resolution. The story, as I understand it:

* The motor mounts were 1/2 turn loose.
* I think I had ~ 2" of slack in the pull-up line. Hard to say, since things shifted.
* the engine was locked down a the time. Pull tested with the cover up.
* I put the engine in reverse while going forward ~ 3 knots, but not above idle. The rope grabbed the prop and slammed it up hard. No damage to deck or prop.
* The unnamed hook that engages rod 20 simply unhooked, because the engine was tilted with the lock engauged. The force must have over come the spring that holds the engine it down.


Repair was simple and took only a few minutes.

* Go sailing first. No reason to waste a 15-20 knot day.
* Put on shorty wet suit, farmer johns, and dry-suit top.
* Pull the tilt pin, tilt, and replace tilt pin.
* Tilt and hold the lower unit on my shoulder.
* Press the latch up with one hand while replacin the linkage with the other. It snapped right into place.
* And of course, tighten motor mounts and remove ALL slack from pull-up line.
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Re: Hold down stuck - did I break something?

Post by mikeandrebecca »

I like step 1 of your resolution the best!
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Re: Hold down stuck - did I break something?

Post by thinwater »

mikeandrebecca wrote:I like step 1 of your resolution the best!
Prioreties. It still worked, just made a little noise locked down. It was really the spector of marine life growing in the lower cooling passages that had me scared.

It's a lot easier to contemplate going in cold water when you've got memories of sailing at 8-9 knots in you memory and a big grin on your face.
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