Tilt Tube Bushings

[Chaz]

Post # 10 is still applicable :

If yours is unacceptable to you , best thing to do is take it apart and clean it up and look at every single part and piece .. it will tell you what it wants .. not what any of us "think" it needs ..

The reason you can't find bushings .. is they were never used there either ... little Yamaha's yes , big Merc's no.

Repair or replace .

[Basnova]

Transom brackets are no longer available from Mercury. Do you know how I might get them?

[Chaz]

Are you sure that's the problem ?
Easy to buy parts you don't need. The brackets don't have much engagement area. The tube will wear them out ... if the nuts are loose and / or there is no grease in the tilt portion of the swivel bracket and the tube is stuck. (rotate in the place of least resistance)

If you look around, you can find individual parts or a complete clamp assembly , pretty reasonably.

Sometimes you can find a complete motor with a good center section and a destroyed powerhead for less than just the brackets .. just gotta beat the bushes ..

I've seen guys shove a screwdriver between the nut and the bracket (1" side of the tube) and use a standard socket on the 7/8ths side , nut. I forget at the moment what size it is .. but I turned down a cheap Harbor Freight socket to fit in the tight spot provided ..

[Basnova]

No, I am not sure the problem is in the transom bracket, but comparing the up and down movement of the swivel bracket in the starboard transom to what I see in that Yahama video I posted, it sure looks like it might be wallowed transom brackets, especially since there are no bushing there, and you said you've never heard of the tilt tube itself wearing down. What puzzles me is how it sometimes looks like there's no play. The tilt tube can't be stuck in the swivel bracket, otherwise I would see the tube twisting in the transom brackets when tilting up and down, which I don't see. The tilt works very nicely and smoothly.

Makes me wonder if the tilt tube nuts are indeed loose. Trouble is, I don't know how tight the tilt tube nuts are supposed to be. I assume they shouldn't be cranked so much that you pinch or bind the swivel bracket between the two transom brackets, but should the tilt tube nuts be torqued to a certain spec, or do you just make them "tight" by feel?

While I'm there, if I take off the steering ram and remove the tilt tube nuts altogether, I should be able to see if the transom brackets are wallowed by looking at the tilt tube from the side as I tilt up and down, correct? Maybe I should leave the tilt tube nut on the opposite side of where I'm looking in place, so it doesn't move side to side when I tilt up/down, then do the reverse on the other side?

I've seen guys shove a screwdriver between the nut and the bracket (1" side of the tube) and use a standard socket on the 7/8ths side , nut.

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying here, or why you're saying it. Maybe I haven't look closely enough yet, but I don't remember mine looking like I would have a hard time holding a nut on one side or another, but I will look tomorrow.

Thank you again!

[Chaz]

I never said the tube doesn't wear. All parts wear, just some quicker than others .. ?

[Basnova]

I figured as much, but since you hadn't heard of one failing, I figure it's not common. Additionally, you've had swivel brackets in for reaming and bushing inserts, so I figure that the tilt tube is stronger than the cast bracket parts, so it's likely a bracket.

That said, I wasn't going to just buy brackets without knowing for sure what's wrong, I was just trying to find out what people are doing these days, since they say NLA on the Merc site.

[Dave S]

Dave S ....has......many old 1 ram parts......not sure of interchange with newer.........

[Basnova]

I've been meaning to post back here to adhere to forum etiquette, but time got away from me. Turns out the tilt tube nuts were just loose. Thanks so much for your mentorship on this. I really appreciate it.

Tube is more accurate. Pin has one less letter to write .. LOL
Actually , aftermarket side steering unit's have a solid pin arrangement , so both are correct ..
Much like John Deere .. Merc uses an odd ball size 1.032 tube/shaft ..

I call a swivel bracket .. the bucket , but that's another story ...

Welp , if the pin bore of the bucket was solid all the way across , there would be no where for the grease to go in , let alone travel out to each end. Nor hold any in reserve.
So there is somewhat of an open area in the middle , with aprox. 2.500" of engagement area at each end.
Once it start's making mud (brown/metalflake grease) damage is being done.

If the tube nut's were left loose , chances are good that the transom bracket hole's have been "wallerd" out.

The question was asked of you if you have a single ram , or three ram . Single ram uses a boat mounted pump with two hoses running externally to the cylinder.
Still some out there , but getting a little harder to find a good one / worth more money.
Three ram is one self contained unit , still plenty out there , easier , cheaper to just replace the one you have.
Your diagram / link is that of a single ram .. so which do you have .. ?

The "brand new" one's I have done .. were/are for guys who want everything as tight as possible , usually for racing purposes.

If yours is unacceptable to you , best thing to do is take it apart and clean it up and look at every single part and piece .. it will tell you what it wants .. not what any of us "think" it needs ..

[stas1000]

I've been meaning to post back here to adhere to forum etiquette, but time got away from me. Turns out the tilt tube nuts were just loose. Thanks so much for your mentorship on this. I really appreciate it.

Thanks for the update Basnova It helps many more people than you know. I'm sure I'm not the only one that reads a lot ,,,but don't post much. Thanks to the great group here that shares their knowledge!!

[Basnova]

Thanks for the update Basnova It helps many more people than you know. I'm sure I'm not the only one that reads a lot ,,,but don't post much. Thanks to the great group here that shares their knowledge!!

No kidding, these guys really know their sh|t!

My company has a forum for supporting customers, and I HATE when they don't post back whether some suggestion helped or not. Makes me not want to help them the next time.

[Chaz]

Bass, glad to see ya got it figgert out ..

[Basnova]

Bass, glad to see ya got it figgert out ..

Thank YOU so much for pointing me in the right direction. A shop replaced my jackplate, and apparently put it back together sloppily. I didn't think the tilt tube nuts would have had to be messed with for that, but I guess they must have. But, that's last time I go to that shop! I guess it's like the saying goes, "If you want something done right..."