Hydraulic tilt/trim line leaking

serpico1

I have a 2004 Rinker 312FV with twin 4 Volvo 5.0 OSI-F stern drive engines.  The Port side hydraulic trim line is leaking. I had the marina mechanic look at it, (unfortunately, I do not fully trust his opinion, I have been burned in the past by them.)  He stated that it was the low pressure line leaking. He said this line runs inside the boat.  Which doesn't make sense, since the line is leaking outside the boat, as I can see an oil sheen in the water from the leak.  He also said that in order to change the line, he has to remove the engine from the boat.  Again, I cant believe that just to replace a hydraulic line that the whole engine has to come out of the boat.  This doesn't seem right to me.  Does anyone have experience on replacing the hydraulic trim line?

howardrams

I don't know Volvo sterndrives but on a Mercruiser a leaky seal on a trim cylinder could account for some sheen on the water.  If your mechanic is right and your fluid leak is inside the boat between the trim pump and the transom area, the engine could be blocking access.  How much trim oil are you losing?

serpico1

If the boat is sitting, it takes a few weeks to go dry.  If I start using the trim up/down, then it blows through a quart after a few times of going up/down.  If I leave the drives trimmed out, after about two days, they gradually lower back down and the oil is almost gone.  but there is absolutely no oil in the bilge.  all the oil is outside of the boat.   So I cant understand, how the leak is from an inside connection.  definitely cant believe Volvo would design a boat, so that the engines have to be removed to gain access to the hose connection.

jimmystoy

Just pulled my 2005 270 for a leak in my trim lines outside the boat. There was a sheen in the water around my prop as well. I can see that the hose goes thru the hull all the way to the pump. I've not yet talked to a mechanic but I sure hope that removing the engine is not necessary! Serpico 1, your post was in July. Have you resolved your problem yet?

Michael T

Jim are you sure it is your trim line and not a prop seal? A bad prop seal will leave a sheen on the water too especially in the vicinity of the prop.

jimmystoy

Mike I'm pretty certain. After losing the fluid my trim reservoir is about empty and the drive won't go up. I just have not confirmed which hose yet. I've also not been able to find any hose replacement videos. My drive oil reservoir fluid level is full.

Michael T

Yes, Jim I think you are on the right track. Of course you have checked the internal connections on your trim line hoses, particularly where they meet the trim fluid reservoirs. BOTH trim reservoirs were leaking on my 2014 Rinker EC360. I didn't notice until I saw a sheen in my bilge water. They were leaking (slowly) where the hoses connected to the trim fluid reservoirs. Both were slow leaks and hard to see as the hose connections on mine are obscured behind other parts of the engine. The sheen in the bilge then on the water after the bilge pump activated a few times was the give-away. I then followed the hoses and saw drip lines running down the inside transom wall. The fix was easy - once found. Good luck for an easy fix! 

jimmystoy

Mike, now that my boat is on the trailer I'm going to fill my reservoir and have someone activate my trim while I'm at the out drive to see where the flow is. I'm sure it wont be an easy fix but hope that it's one I can do myself. Still wondering how Serpico 1 dealt with his similar problem. The dilemma of having one continuous hose that goes thru the hull behind the engine in such a tight spot is a bad design but as they say.... "It is what it is" at this point. Thanks, I can use a bit of good luck!

serpico1

jimmystoy said:

Just pulled my 2005 270 for a leak in my trim lines outside the boat. There was a sheen in the water around my prop as well. I can see that the hose goes thru the hull all the way to the pump. I've not yet talked to a mechanic but I sure hope that removing the engine is not necessary! Serpico 1, your post was in July. Have you resolved your problem yet?

No, I didn't resolve the problem yet.  I ran the boat without using the trim, ate up some gas, because it wasn't running efficiently.  But, I figured, I would wait until October, when I pull the boat out for the season and have a look myself or get a second opinion from a Volvo authorized mechanic .  I have a service manual and it doesn't mention anything about having to remove the engines to replace the lines.  If anything, I would have to pull the drives off to get to the outside line.  but not the engine.  So, I wil see in October

jimmystoy

Cool, If I get any helpful insight on the problem I will give you a follow up.

georgec14

there is a block on the bottom of the out drive  that the lines connect to . they a very prone to corrosion and leaking . they leak very slow . good luck captain . you can replace this block with out pulling engine. 

serpico1

Thank you.

I didn't think the engine would have to be removed.  that would be very poor design on Volvo's part.  But, you never know..  The block behind the outdrive, would make more se4nse, since the oil is leaking into the water outside the boat and not into the bilge. So the leak would have to be a connection on the outside, not the inside like the marina mechanic said.

jimmystoy

Hi serpico1, I was wondering how you were able to resolve your problem with the trim line leak. Did you find that the lines were the type that ran thru the transom and did the engine or out-drive have to be removed in order to replace it? Or was it an easier fix because your lines were connected to a block near the out drive as goergec14 suggested? I have the XDP out drive and and it has one ram with two trim hoses that run thru the transom to the reservoir. The leaking one will have to be replaced this winter. Any further insight would be helpful.