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I'm wondering if anyone has had experience with a similar motor? The motor does not have power trim - rather a "tilt assist system" as Mercury calls it.( a cylinder) This motor weighs in at approx. 225 lbs - I was under the impression that the "tilt assist system would enable a person to move the motor up and down rather easily by hand - raising this motor by hand is extremely difficuly while in the boat pulling on the cowl cover as the manual suggests. Standing on the ground behind it it is still very difficult to raise - seems like the entire weight is there - isn't the lift assist device suppossed to assist in this aspect and make it very easy to raise? If anyone has experience with this type of motor I'm very interested in hearing about your experience. Thanks in advance.

Well i have a 2001 30HP 4stroke merc and i have a power trim so i'm not sure where that information came from. I know someone who has a 50hp 2stroke merc with a self-adjusting trim though.

John:

The info comes directly from their manual which I have in front of me. Power trim and manual tilt are 2 separate animals.
The manual states,
"Models without power trim are equipped with a tilt assist system that allows the operator to easily tilt and lock the outboard at any tilt position from full down to full up" This is what my motor has.
Thanks

Yeah the manual tilt is a bit of a pain.. i know someone who has one on their 50hp 2 stroke and he doesn't like it either... a good investment is adding a true trim but that comes at a price probably $700+ as a guestimate

http://www.mercurymarine.com/mercury_30_fourstroke

I see it listed here.
Sounds like a gas shock like you would have on a car to raise a tail gate window or similar (like a mini-van). Likely would help take some of the motor weight going up, and keep from crashing the motor as it is going down.

But, like any shock on a car, 4 or 5 years of use and it may be time to replace.

Good luck.

M.T. Livewell

225 pounds! Ouch. That's a lot to be manually adjusting the trim. I'd just find a happy position that throws you on plane easily and gives you good speed. Playing with that all day can ruin a day in a hurry.

Hi Dave,

I have a 97 Mariner 30 hp and it sure sounds like the same setup as me. Sounds like a fancy marketing term.

I did as Markus suggested. Played with the tilt once to find a good general setting and left it. If I need more of a 'tilt' there is a manual switch on the motor that will drop a wire gaurd out and increase the tilt. Mind you, you still have to manually lift the motor up by the cowling. I think this is more for shallow water applications.

Thanks fellas for your comments/replies. The cylinder is very similar to a gas shock - I was wondering if there was perhaps a control on it I wasn't aware of.
The 4 strokes are huge - I bought the motor in December and just put it on the boat on Friday. Quite the job - me and a chain hoist and assorted paraphenilia. The chain hoist made the job so easy - trying to manhandle it is pretty difficult - no easy places to hold on to.

Finding a good position on the boat is a good idea - however trailering everywhere necessitates raising the motor each time - still a bit of a hassle.

Thanks again for the responses - I'm going to check into the cylinder to see about adjustments etc.

P.S. I love this site - always great info, respectfull and pleasant people to deal with - unlike some of the other forums I watch.

Dave