Trim and Tilt

Hey folks, I'm looking at a 1981 Johnson outboard that belonged to my brothers preacher who died last year. It is suppose to be a very low hour motor that has been very well cared for. I haven't actually seen it yet buy my brother was able to write down the serial and model number. According to the charts I've been looking at it does not have trim and tilt on it and my brother said he didn't remember seeing a tilt motor. I've actually never had a motor without one and was wondering how you got the motor up when launching or taking out? It looks like it would be heavy as all get out, especially with my old shoulders. Can some of you tell me the procedure for working with a motor without trim/tilt and how you get that motor up? Also, could the motor be retrofitted with a trim/tilt unit? Thanks for your help.

I'm sure you can add a trim unit to the motor. Otherwise it's just a little muscle to raise the motor manually.

They usually have a manual assist piston to help tilt it and lower it slowly. They also sell something that fits over the motor with a long handle to help give better leverage for tilting. But my 94 Mercury 60/45 jet had the manual tilt and I still had to put both feet against the transom to help me tilt it up to the locking position. I'm only 5'6" and around 150 lbs so I didn't have much leverage for tilting a 200 lb motor. I did that for one season and then bought a completely new power tilt/trim setup off Ebay for $400 and it was worth it.

Really gonna depend on what size hp the motor is, I have a 60hp Merc and recently put a PTT on, best money I've spent on my boat. I had to replace the transom brackets because the stainless bolts holding the trim at the bottom were seized.

60hp is pretty heavy to tilt from inside the boat, not that big of a deal when you're on the outside of the boat.

I can easily put the motor up when fishing the shallows and adjust the tilt when on plane.. Once you get the serial number for the outboard, just hunt down the p/n for the power trim unit and start your hunt on eBay or Craigslist.

What size motor is it?

The trim/tilt units for those early 80's Johnsons are a little hard to come by. They are usually the two piston version that sits outboard of the motor bracket. There's a little saddle bracket that bolts onto the swivel bracket. You'll need to find one with both pistons, the motor, the lower bracket, and the saddle bracket. Most times a few pieces are missing.

You'll probably be better off looking for a used CMC PT-130 or PT-35 unit. I've seen them routinely around $300-$400 and they are all one unit which is easy to mount. Plus you can use it for any other motor in the future.

Good luck!

kofkorn said:

What size motor is it?

The trim/tilt units for those early 80's Johnsons are a little hard to come by. They are usually the two piston version that sits outboard of the motor bracket. There's a little saddle bracket that bolts onto the swivel bracket. You'll need to find one with both pistons, the motor, the lower bracket, and the saddle bracket. Most times a few pieces are missing.

You'll probably be better off looking for a used CMC PT-130 or PT-35 unit. I've seen them routinely around $300-$400 and they are all one unit which is easy to mount. Plus you can use it for any other motor in the future.

Good luck!

Click to expand...

One thing to be aware of is that the CMC PT-130 pushes the outboard further back, basically like a jack plate. Not good for a tunnel hull. If you don't have a tunnel, then go for it.

I specifically went with a mercury factory power trim so that I wouldn't have to push the outboard further back.

Good luck!

kofkorn said:

What size motor is it?

The trim/tilt units for those early 80's Johnsons are a little hard to come by. They are usually the two piston version that sits outboard of the motor bracket. There's a little saddle bracket that bolts onto the swivel bracket. You'll need to find one with both pistons, the motor, the lower bracket, and the saddle bracket. Most times a few pieces are missing.

You'll probably be better off looking for a used CMC PT-130 or PT-35 unit. I've seen them routinely around $300-$400 and they are all one unit which is easy to mount. Plus you can use it for any other motor in the future.

Good luck!

Click to expand...

My motor is a 1981 and boat is not a tunnel hull, just a standard transom. I'm not familiar with a CMC PT-130, what is it? Would a power T/T unit that fits between the brackets fit my motor? I've got a good lead on where one of those is for a good price.

doodlebug said:

kofkorn said:

What size motor is it?

The trim/tilt units for those early 80's Johnsons are a little hard to come by. They are usually the two piston version that sits outboard of the motor bracket. There's a little saddle bracket that bolts onto the swivel bracket. You'll need to find one with both pistons, the motor, the lower bracket, and the saddle bracket. Most times a few pieces are missing.

You'll probably be better off looking for a used CMC PT-130 or PT-35 unit. I've seen them routinely around $300-$400 and they are all one unit which is easy to mount. Plus you can use it for any other motor in the future.

Good luck!

Click to expand...

My motor is a 1981 and boat is not a tunnel hull, just a standard transom. I'm not familiar with a CMC PT-130, what is it? Would a power T/T unit that fits between the brackets fit my motor? I've got a good lead on where one of those is for a good price.

Click to expand...

https://www.amazon.com/CMC-13002-PT-130-Power-Tilt/dp/B0000AZ846

Ouch ... by careful on-line shopping you can shave $100s off that price. With a 40hp, I'd also get the PT-35 model, but that's me.

DaleH said:

Ouch ... by careful on-line shopping you can shave $100s off that price. With a 40hp, I'd also get the PT-35 model, but that's me.

Click to expand...

I was just showing him what it was buy doing a quick Google search on it since he did not know

I have a Panther Marine 35 on my kicker but I would not recommend one

doodlebug said:

My motor is a 1981 and boat is not a tunnel hull, just a standard transom. I'm not familiar with a CMC PT-130, what is it? Would a power T/T unit that fits between the brackets fit my motor? I've got a good lead on where one of those is for a good price.

Click to expand...

Motor size is important. Most of the smaller motors (75hp & less) from the early 80's don't have room to fit one of the T&T units between the brackets. Is it possible to work one in? Not sure, but it would take a LOT of hand work to make it happen. You won't be able to take one of the T&T units from a larger motor and mount it without modifying something.

I've got one of the PT-130's on my tracker with a 50 hp on it now. It works very well and was simple to install.

Good luck!