356 AC trim tab question

[bud37]

Source of the post So the reservoir was empty,almost completely. There looked to be a small amount of fluid in the bilge, but not much. Is it common for the fluid to leak. I cleaned everything, cycled the tabs several times and did not see any fluid leaks.

Jason

Have a real good look and check on the outside of the boat to make sure all is clean and dry....nowadays it is possible in some areas to get a pollution fine if fluid discharges into a waterway.

[V12diablo]

I haven’t seen any signs of oil outside the boat. I will check the fluid level and lines for leaks again , as I have run the boat some now.

Jason

[km1125]

Put some oil-absorbent mat under the pump and reservoir, fill the tank or mark where the level is, then after you've gone on a couple cruises with the tabs deployed then check the levels again. Stick a piece of tape on the tank and mark exactly where the level is when stationary. Then you can tell -for sure- if it's changing on subsequent checks.

It takes very little pressure to deploy the tabs at the dock, so you might not see a leak outside (or even inside) unless it's pretty bad. Once you get on plane and there's water pressure under the tabs, the hydraulic fluid pressure rises pretty good and any small leak will make it evident. Either you'll lose some into the bilge, or you'll lose some out into the lake.

One way to simulate higher pressure at the dock is to hold the button down for a few second after they're fully deployed. You should only do one at a time because there might not be enough fluid in the reservoir to fully deploy both and still have enough for more pressure at the end of the stroke.