Rebuild or Replace Trim Cylinders

[rlamoreaux]

I have a port side trim cylinder that is leaking on my 96 Alpha1 Gen II. It is not leaking bad yet.

Any advice? Should I re-seal or replace? Should I spend $300+ for a genuine Mercruiser part or go with a cheaper (EBAY) part. Should I do both sides or just wait for the other one to leak? What about the bushings, clips and caps etc, should I replace all hardware?

Thanks

 

[RiverDave]

What kind of shape are the shafts in? Are they smooth? Is there any grooves in them? Is there calcium build up on them?

 

[Bigbore500r]

I was able to rebuild mine on my Volvo-Penta DPX drive....and thank god because those little bastards were NOS $600 each to buy!

 

[Rsqfxr]

Yeah i rebuilt mine on my bravo 1x, got the quicksilver kits from ebay

 

[Hullbilly]

I have a port side trim cylinder that is leaking on my 96 Alpha1 Gen II. It is not leaking bad yet.

Any advice? Should I re-seal or replace? Should I spend $300+ for a genuine Mercruiser part or go with a cheaper (EBAY) part. Should I do both sides or just wait for the other one to leak? What about the bushings, clips and caps etc, should I replace all hardware?

Thanks

Rebuild them at home, its pretty darn cheap and really easy.

 

[Jimmy]

The seal kits are about $100 either side.
They're relatively easy to do.
Just need to borrow a tention wrench to do the bolt up that holds the spring assembly on.
Like what RD said any burs or calcium build up can be cleaned up with Emery paper.

 

[Dettom]

I was able to rebuild mine on my Volvo-Penta DPX drive....and thank god because those little bastards were NOS $600 each to buy!

I had one go bad on my DPX drive also. Found a seal kit online for about 100 bucks and rebuilt it myself. Wasn't that hard. When I had the ones go out on my Bravo drive I took them apart, which was fairly easy and went to a hydraulic cylinder repair shop and they matched me up new seals for about 6.00 dollars. Worked fine and never had any issues. Rebuild only way to go IMO.

 

[Bigbore500r]

I had one go bad on my DPX drive also. Found a seal kit online for about 100 bucks and rebuilt it myself. Wasn't that hard. When I had the ones go out on my Bravo drive I took them apart, which was fairly easy and went to a hydraulic cylinder repair shop and they matched me up new seals for about 6.00 dollars. Worked fine and never had any issues. Rebuild only way to go IMO.

Yep I got the kit from eBay also

 

[guest hs]

Reseal them the kits are under $30 OEM Merc. You will need just a spanner wrench to remove the end cap.

 

[BDMar]

I agree with rebuilding. No need to replace them unless they are damaged. Definitely get OEM seal kits. Polish the shafts in a lathe and cleanliness is key when assembling.

 

[rlamoreaux]

It seems that the majority of replies say "Rebuild" If I only need to replace the seals, I found a couple of Alpha 1 Gen 2 trim cylinder rebuild kits on Amazon for $17.00 each. Harbor Freight has an adjustable spanner wrench for $5.00, hope it works. The kits are on order. Ill let you know how easy they were to rebuild after the fact. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Chopperman]

Rebuild em if they are in otherwise good condition. B&D rebuilt mine at last spring when they were replacing my gimbal ring and a few other items and they are like brand new.