TOPIC: Grrrr, disassembly problem!

Hey guys, I can't get the merc forum up, so figured I'd post here.

Can't figure put how to get this tilt off the swivel. Driving me to distraction!

What I tried to do today was see if I could get the tilt working good enough to maybe get the steering shaft out so I could get the tilt stuff off. Yuk, yuk, yuk. Tried MAPP gas on the tilt where it wraps around the steering shaft, kept pounding the tilt mechanism with my 3# sledge to not much of any avail. tried pounding the end of the shaft where you can see I put two nuts on. No luck.

Even if I could get the tilt to work, it's in crummy shape compared to either of my other two swivel/tilt units. Problem is, the other two are early ('63) and what Merc says I need is this later heavy duty swivel (the one here is a '68 1250). It's the second to the last thing I need to do, and it's turned into a real bear.

On the positive side, as of this afternoon, I have everything I need to hook up the PT&T. I ordered 4 new hoses October 16 and got the last one today. I have some work to do on the old stuff, but not much.

Any hints or suggestions here? Or should I just ignore Merc's warnings, and put my PT&T on my '63 1000 just as it sits? That would sure be a bunch easier!

Frank

Hey Frank. I have done a few and they tap out pretty easy in all the cases I have seen. Most often You drive the new tube in and this pushes the old one out. If it's frozen that bad "I see you have it down to just the pivot and transom mount" You may try soaking it in a bucket of diesel fuel for a few days. Heat, oil and a brass hammer is all I know to tell you. There is no secret nut or magic pin holding the ones in I have done.

sorry can't offer no advice frank but i'm in your boat too. can't post on merc outpost...won't recognize my password. ron

Ahhhhh.... the wonders of cad plated steel, salt water, and aluminum!

Your'e gonna have to get serious on this bugger. The tilt tube has corroded itself to the aluminum. You will need lots of penetrating oil, some patience, and a plumber's torch. Your mapp torch may work, but you gotta get the thing smoking "scary" hot. I like the plumber's torch because they use accetelene and a special tip that draws in ambient air to make it blasting hot without smudge. DO NOT confuse this with an OXY accetelene torch. I picked mine up at a yard sale for 5 bucks, went to the welding supply & they fixed me up with a tiny tank of gas for 30 bucks. It'll last for a lot of jobs.

Turn the thing upside down & spray the neck out of the tilt tube where it enters the aluminum housing and motor bracket. Then heat the aluminum in the center of the tilt bracket, so the heat draws in the oil from both ends of the tilt tube. Let it cool some, Spray a bunch more oil on, then heat it again.

You may have to repeat this a couple times a day for a week or more, if it's bad enough. The hot/cool cycle will slowly pull the oil into the bores. Wait for the aluminum to cool a bit before pounding on the tilt tube. Never heat the tube, heat the casting.

When you pound on the shaft, be sure the bracket is firmly backed up by some heavy object, so it can't posibly move. You don't want the energy of the hammer to be lost via movement of the housing & bracket.

Be careful not to mushroom the tilt tube, as if you do, it will not come out & you will have to drive it out from the other side.

Great advice Heather and Bruce, thanks! I'll keep y'all posted.

Frank

Have you tried logging in with your original user name and password on the Merc forum?
My originals work fine, which are different than what I use here on this new ( www.fiberglassics.com/glassic-forums ) forum.

http://forums.fiberglassics.com/forum917/

216.230.7.110/forum917/

Yes Chris, that's what I have been doing. The letters url doesn't work for me, but the #s one does. I wonder what's up with that?

How are you doing?

Frank

Good morning Frank. Hope you are well.

I wonder if the post about ultrasonic cleaning www.fiberglassics.com/glassic-forums/main-forum/ultrasonic-cleaner might be an answer to your problem. I know that there was some argument as to the proper name, but if you could get a storage tub big enough to submerse the assembly into, it may be the way to go. I also saw this method used on HotRod TV, or Motorheads are us, or one of the cable car shows. They swear it works great for removing rust and corrosion, just a thought.

Thanks Mark, but I guess I'm giving up on it. I'm gonna go ahead and mount the PT&T I got on my '63 1000, and see what happens. It's not really a safety issue, rather one that if the swivel cracks the tilt/trim stops working. Maybe in the meantime I'll see if I can find another '67 or later swivel. This one is just too badly corroded for me to keep fooling with.

Ultrasonic cleaner eh? Never heard of it, but I'll see if anybody in the area does that stuff, and see what the deal is.

Frank

I disagree Frank, in that I think it is a safety issue. The overall strength of the transom bracket was not originally designed to be operated under power at the angles the T&T will allow.

There has gotta be a way to get that tilt tube out of there, somehow.

Would Tim happen to have a spare transom bracket for you as an alternative?

The way I understand this Chris, there is no safety issue. If the unit fails, it usually fails at the bottom of the swivel, thereby making the power trim inoperable. Am I missing something here?

Frank

C'mon now Frank - your not gonna give up that easy are you?

Have you tried what Heather & I suggested - with the right tools? I've gotten stuff unstuck that people swore would never come apart. you have to be patient & let the penetrating oil do the work. It can take weeks. Seriously, weeks. Work on something else while the oil is doing the work. Walk by it each day & give it a spray. Then forget about it. You can't boat right now anyway.

After hiting it with the spray for a week or so, take it to a machine/auto shop & have them drive the TT out with a hydraulic arbor press. I can asure that it will come out.

Have faith & let the oil work. It will.

Well Bruce, I suppose I could walk by twice a day and spray it. I've had folks that were Merc mechanics for decades that tell me unless I'm racing or something, no big deal putting PT&T on my '63. If the swivel splits, the motor falls back against the transom, but the motor stays on the boat, no safety issues. So why spend all this time on a corroded swivel? Sounded like a good idea in theory, but my back, shoulders and hands can't take much more abuse. Now a spray can isn't too bad. I'll try that for a week or so as I get ready to put this PT&T on my '63!

The other alternative of course is buy another one not in such bad shape. I got a combo deal when I got this one, and far as I'm concerned, I got treated right. Problem is money, or the lack thereof...

Frank

Good luck with it Frank, & I agree on your back - a rusty motor part aint worth being laid up for weeks!

Bruce Gerard wrote:

A rusty motor part aint worth being laid up for weeks!

Agreed, ,make your preparations for the alternative but keep picking at that tube. I wish you were closer. I would get it out for you no charge.

Save the back, lord knows I have spent more than half of mine to date.

I remember the old timers telling me to be good to my back becasue I would miss it when it's gone. I had no idea how those words would came back to haunt me.

I got the Power Cat in '07, figured I'd have it done in '08. I mean, I built a hot rod from scratch in three years, how hard could a boat be? Plus I been playing with boats all my life. Then my back went out on me summer of '08, laid me right up, missed a bunch of work and couldn't do anything for a while. Got better, progressed some more on the PC in '09, then the same thing happened all over again last year, combined with a hernia. I did fine with the hernia surgery, but my back is till acting up on a daily basis. I can only do so much, and I really don't want another episode this year like the last couple. So I do exercises everyday, and am getting much better at listening to my body. I think.

I sure am glad I built my hot rod when I did. No way I could do it now. If I can just get this boat done...

People always say they want "stuff" if they had one wish. Not me. If I had one wish, I want to be invincible!

Frank

I would just drop it off at a machine shop... Here in the midwest, that's a $20 job on a press. I think even a local NAPA parts store with a machine shop could handle that. We could push wrist pins into pistons cold with our hand press. Just my $.02