Hatch lift noise and fix...sort of

Aqua_Aura

I have always had the grinding noise I hear so many people complain about and I assumed it was the gears in the drive portion of the lift so I did grease the zerk fitting with no improvement. The other day after boating the hatch would not open but I could hear the motor running when I pressed the switch. I opened the hatch manually by pulling the pin and brought the lift home and tore it down. Apparently it went so far to the down side it got jammed and was stuck down but the jack screw is allowed to spin freely within the ram at full retraction and extension to protect the gears and motor. I took it completely apart cleaned everything and greased the jack screw very well. If you look in the photo on the right side of the jack screw at the end that is the free spin mechanism that had jammed so I cleaned that very well and re greased it. Its all back together and painted and works well however it still makes that slight grinding noise. I think to fully fix that you would have to basically polish the screw and the mechanism it goes into which I am not gonna do, I am just happy to know its clean moving freely and not grinding the gears.

Ian

Nice. I had to work on mine a couple of years ago as the jack screw had become unscrewed from the end, likely due to PO overdriving too much. But it is time to pull and clean again - and make sure it’s tight.

Black_Diamond

Cheap ar$e actuators. Big current draw type too. 

Aqua_Aura

Nice to know now that in the future I can just unscrew the big main tube and leave the motor on the boat to clean and grease the ram and Jack screw. 

Willhound

Despite plenty of grease ours also make a horrendous noise too. Whenever I hit the switch my wife jokingly refers to it as "opening the gates of he!!".

Dirtythirty

This must be an issue "across the board"  mine does the same thing...the sound draws the attention from my dock neighbors 3-4 boats away. It's embarrassing.   I keep thinking one day it's just going to stop working.

Aqua_Aura

I think I may try and add a lot more grease inside the cylinder where the jack screw is, it should atleast insulate the sound. It is atleast a little quieter than before. The zerk fitting really only greases the bottom gears and doesn't get into the upper area that's noisy. 


Hopefully this post will shed some light for boaters since this seems to be common. I know I was a little alarmed when hearing the grinding noise. I would hate for someone to pay money for a new one for really no reason and to probably have the same issue. 

Ian

Bear in mind the weight of the hatch, ours I believe to be a few hundred pounds of dead weight. Takes 3 decent size guys to pull mine back when I have to do manually.

Dream_Inn

icoultha said:

Bear in mind the weight of the hatch, ours I believe to be a few hundred pounds of dead weight. Takes 3 decent size guys to pull mine back when I have to do manually.

Yes, try it on a 400!  It took 6 of us on mine to do it, along with some creative thinking.

I'm wondering.  It looks like I can unscrew the outer tube (as AA mentioned) while everything is still attached and holding the hatch up?  I'd like to get grease in better spots (like the jack screw), but really have no easy way to hold my hatch up without it there.

Aqua_Aura

We hold our hatch up with our push pole hook thingy for the dock. You should be able to remove the top pin and yes unscrew it. Be careful the gears mesh properly and don't bind when you screw it back on.

Ian

I prop the hatch with the handle dropped into the lip. Then pull the pins top and bottom, unplug and get it out in a more comfortable place to work on it.

Aqua_Aura

Ours was hardwired with no plug but now that it is cut to remove when I put it back in I will probably add a plug instead. 

Dream_Inn

Sounds like I won't be messing with it.  My hatch is just way too large to be "propping" open.  I'll just continue putting some grease in the fitting I guess. So far, mine is pretty quiet.  

Ian

That big handle will support it fine.

Dream_Inn

icoultha said:

That big handle will support it fine.

No handle on the 400s.

Ian

Oh, didn't realize, odd. I would think it's standard, even though on the 310 it's too heavy to lift with it it's a great built in prop.

koatley

Hey there!
I have same lift on my Four Winns, common issue with the Grinding noise after several years of use.
Thanks for the pics - was wondering how to tear it down
what type grease did you use in worm gear?

Ian

Replied to your other post.

Aqua_Aura

I think I used a marine type grease. To remove from the boat just pull the pins but be ready to support the hatch lid it is very heavy, I would support it open some what so you can get your hands back in to lift it open. Motor comes off with a few screws and then you can use a strap wrench or pipe wrench if you protect the casing to unscrew the casing from the base. It's really basic but I will say that when you put it back together I would really grease up the long gear/lift tube since the zirc fitting really only greases the motor gear. The grinding noise on mine was coming from the long tube gear from years of getting used and not being smooth. 

I will probably remove mine again and polish the long worm gear and add in more grease to the tube since it still does make some noise. 

When I removed it I cut the wires in the boat since there was no connection and when I out it back in I used really good heat shrink/glue connectors that were male/female so I can unplug in the future. Motor has 1 male and 1 female so I don't accidentally connect it backwards. 

koatley

Can you Please share some detail on how you disassembled this actuator?
did you find a manual or parts list anywhere?
I have unscrewed the Outer tube but the jackscrew is bound up inside the tube.
should I be able to pull the tube completely off the jackscrew?
do I need to pull off the motor to release the jackscrew?
Did you pull and replace the seal in the top of the tube?
Or did you just clean and Lube the old Seal?

Thanks!

Aqua_Aura

There was no manual. I do remember sticking a large screw driver thru the hole in the tube so I could hold it and twist back and forth as I pulled and the tube slide out. I think I then unscrewed the tube from the jack screw and separated the two pieces so I could remove it completely. 

The top seal I left in place and didn't replace it, no need to we just cleaned it. 

In your cases you could just leave the motor on unless you want to clean the gears. 

NickCruz

Hi everyone, I'm new here and have a 270 FV.  I am working on the engine a lot so after the lift opens the hatch I take a ratchet strap and put one end on the bar behind the seat and other end on edge of the swim platform.  That way I open the hatch with the strap wide open and lots of room to work.

Aqua_Aura

So I pulled this actuator again and completely disassembled and cleaned it including the bearings. The jack screw is really pitted so I used my die grinder with a scotch pad and polished it as best I could and packed it with grease really well when I assembled.

ITS LOUDER THAN WHEN I STARTED 

I ordered an actuator from Progressive Automations that is waterproof and meant for harsh applications like marine use. I don't think it is ignition protected however since it is waterproof and able to operate fully submerged I would assume by default it is basically ignition protected. It was only $180 compared to $500 for Eddie Marine or Hardin Marine. 


If anyone have other suggestions for replacements I am open to comments 😊