I’m replacing the hoses on my 1987 Mercury Classic 50 outboard trim & tilt. It has a remote pump in the boat. When I disconnected my old hoses, which are on the bottom of the pump, the fluid drained out. I was expecting to replace fluid anyway. Now for my question. Here is a quote from my online manual regarding fluid:
“use clean MS,SD,SE,SF 20W,or 5W-30, or 10W-40 or equivalent oil to fill the hydraulic reservoir. Use one of these oils to flush the system.”
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Would SAE oils work? Since I can’t find any of the other letter designations. Someone suggested transmission fluid, but the oil that I drained looked like motor oil.
Some power steering call for trans fluid, some specifically power steering fluid, while others engine oil. We’ve got some big trucks that carry either or.
“If Bruce Jenner can keep his wiener and be called a woman, I can keep my firearms and be considered disarmed.”
Buy a gal. of trans fluid at Walmart for $8.00 and use it for trim and steering pump. Also buy a squese bottle like used for picnic catsup and mustard and fill with TF, makes a great filler!
Ok Chris V & boatpoor, what happens if my trim cylinders have some motor oil still left in them and I add transmission fluid to it? Will they mix together ok? I just don’t want to screw up my pump or cylinders. It’s tough to find parts for this 30 year old engine.
Ok Chris V & boatpoor, what happens if my trim cylinders have some motor oil still left in them and I add transmission fluid to it? Will they mix together ok? I just don’t want to screw up my pump or cylinders. It’s tough to find parts for this 30 year old engine.
Bob Van Gundy
Custom Aluminum Fabrication
Residual oil will not hurt, but if the service manual calls for 10w-40 that’s what I would use. Trans/power steering fluid is anywhere from 8-12 weight. Different manufactures and different style pumps require different style oils. I’m sure your power steering pump is either a vane or gear style pump. I’d prefer the thicker viscosity like recommended.
Put some Dextron in some modern rack and pinion systems instead of the required specific “power steering” fluid and I can tell you the results. Seal failure.
Modern lubricants have gotten very complex and many manufactures use odd seal compositions that react differently to specific fluids. Put Dextron in an older ford transmission that requires type F… failure. Ford now calls for Mercon V and Chevy calls for Mercon VI , both very different oils and over time will cause failure as well if used in wrong application.
That said in your older system I doubt you’d have issues with transmission fluid.
“If Bruce Jenner can keep his wiener and be called a woman, I can keep my firearms and be considered disarmed.”
I had some 5W-30, so that’s what I used. Got everything hooked back up, filled the reservoir, cycled a few times, refilled & repeated until it stayed full. It works like a champ. The only Issue I had was with the battery cable terminals. I had taken the cables off to prevent any power to the pump. When I hooked them back up, the key switch wouldn’t work to start the motor. No power. Traced it down to the terminals. After a quick trip to Wally world, everything is good.