• Welcome to the Checkmate Community Forums forums.

    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions, articles and access to our other FREE features.
    By joining our free community you will be able to:

    » Interact with over 10,000 Checkmate Fanatics from around the world!
    » Post topics and messages
    » Post and view photos
    » Communicate privately with other members
    » Access our extensive gallery of old Checkmate brochures located in our Media Gallery
    » Browse the various pictures in our Checkmate photo gallery

    Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!

    If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact support by clicking here or by using the"contact us" link at the bottom of the page.

Insta Trim Tab Repair ?'s

Gimme Fuel

Gimme Fuel

Well-known member
I have the Boat Leveler Co. "Insta Trim" dual cylinder trim tabs on my 253 and the hydraulic hoses are shot. I need to run all new lines to them which means fishing them through the hull. I have a couple questions:

-Can I use any common hydraulic hose or do I need the Irridium banded $3.36/ft hose Insta Trim sells?

-How much pressure can I put on the plastic nipples on the cylinders to remove the hose locking collars before they snap off? Seems chinsy to me having a plastic nipple/slip collar like that. I tried to slide it up with a little force but Im scared of breaking it. Any special tricks here?

-What fluid can I refill system with? Common ATF? It has all leaked into my bilge a while back.....

-Any special bleeding procedure?

Thanks for the help guys. I am going to remove the hoses, paint the bilge, then reinstall everything.
 
I would say need to be careful on the plastic nipples as all that stuff gets brittle with age, they no not have a bunch of pressure in these but you would need a hose that ATF would not rot(like fuel line) P/S hose would work if the size was the same, and reg ATF is all you need, you can also download and print the manual from their website, I did it for mine a while back..good luck
 
I made some progress this weekend on the Tab repair. All of the nipple locking collars came off of the cylinders fairly easy. I was hoping just the one hose needed replacing but all 4 do. As soon as they flexed at all they cracked and broke. I was able to pull all hoses through the hull and was quite dissapointed with the level of care taken to rig them. Looks like they just sealed the holes with clear silicone. Also, no sealant was used with the small screws that hold the covers that hide the through transom holes. They will be sealed when it all goes back together. I am currently repainting my engine compartment to cover the stains the oil created from these things blowing.

Looking pretty good after the first coat:
0525141418_zpsa5lklvfq.jpg

I ended up taking out the nasty carpet on the sidewalls. This will be much easier to clean.
0525141158_zpssp7p4rll.jpg
 
Last edited:
Know this is an old thread, but wondering, GF, do you have pics of your install? My Insta Trim system is down also. New hoses for sure as they are leaking now (tabs are in the failsafe up position so I can use the boat in the meantime), but I have to send the motor unit to them. Mine would not lower the tabs. Tank was low, refilled with ATF, but no go. Motor works ok, but no pressure. Removed the unit and drained the fluid. At the end, there was some nasty stuff coming out of the fill/drain hole. It was very thick and clumpy looking and could very well, have clogged up the sump tube.

Hoses are very brittle and were a PITA to remove, so I just sliced them at the nipples to get them disconnected.

Did you wind up with the hose from IT? How much hose?
What did you wind up using to seal the new hoses in the transom?
 
No, I did not buy the IT hose. I went with a higher quality hose from my local hydraulic shop. It was a Gates hose product. Much cheaper and higher strength as well. Seems to hold up so far. Only downside was the ID is slightly smaller so it was a PITA to get the new hose on the plastic cylinder nipples. I also upgraded from the little plastic slip over hose clamps to small stainless worm gear ones. I had to run all new hoses and did so in the same place they were from the factory. I did do a better job IMO of sealing up the transom holes and sealing the little screws that hold the hose covers on the transom. There was no sealant from the factory on the external screws which I did not like. I used a really high grade silicone for the install to seal it up.

This is about the only pic I have of it:
0616142117b_zpsdr8gpbyt.jpg
 
Thanks for the info. It looks like mine was also done with silicone that has now turned yellow with age. I did my new exhaust tips with silicone and it doesn't seem to pose a problem, so I will probably do the same as you. I was thinking 4200, but that might be overkill and a PITA if I ever have to replace them again. I will probably go ahead and use the IT hose, since they can just ship it with my trim unit when it's repaired. However, In the meantime, I will look around and see if I can find any comparable hose that might work.

Did you have any problems removing the old hoses thru the transom? Doesn't look difficult, just worried about old hose breaking off and not coming out. Aren't there supposed to be some type of hose covers/clamshells in the holes to protect the hoses? Might make it easier to get the old hose out.


Wish I had the motor out of mine. Would make it so much easier to work on. Plus I could clean and repaint the bilge to make it look purdy.... Need to replace the bilge blower hoses, as well. Found a tear in one yesterday. Not to mention that several of them are almost flat now from being stepped on over the years.
 
Yea, my silicone was nasty. MY hose blew enough oil that it slid out easily and like I said the seal job wasn't the best to begin with. It didn't put up much of a fight haha.

I wouldn't use 4200 either. A good pure marine silicone is more than adequate. You will have to take those covers/clamshells off. I took the time to paint mine white from faded grey while I was at it. I also put silicone in the screw holes for those when I reinstalled them then shot silicone up them as well.

The motor is actually really easy to remove. Only difficulty is access to a sturdy chainfall. Other than that it is a 1.5 hour job on our boats. I did all new bilge blower hoses on mine as well because they were the same as you described. The bilge looks soo much nicer with a coat of paint too. It is worth the effort.
 
If I'm not able to sell my boat this spring, I may pull it out in the fall and winter so I can clean up and paint the motor compartment. I hate to be the only guy with an ugly bilge area. If I do pull it, I may go ahead and refresh the motor while I have it out. Save some time in the long run. I took it out Monday for a spring shakedown run and it ran great after I found a plug wire off and re-timed the motor (that's another story). I just hate to mess with it too much as it still runs pretty dang good.

Contacted Insta Trim and talked to Brian who was very helpful and patient while trying to troubleshoot the problem. He said that when they ship the hose, they would include new clamshells and outside covers. If I read their info correctly, they only charge for parts to repair the unit and bench test to make sure it is working properly. They do not charge any labor to make repairs. If correct, not too bad a deal. They also said that if they break anything (like the double nipples for hose connections on the sides of the unit) they will repair them free, since they may break them off, so they can get the cover off.

The little OEM hose clamps that are supplied are still good, but I think I will also change them out and use the stainless screw down clamps. Most of the time, the OEM style clamps never seem to work/seal as well the second time you use them.

Once I finish the trim tabs and the blower hoses, I think I will tackle my carb again (unless it sells first). Had it overhauled 5+ yrs ago and due to all the stinking ethanol in our fuels (my opinion), it appears that it needs it again. Starting to soot up the transom and under the swim platform again. Looks hideous. Can't decide if I am going to do it myself this time or take it to a carburetor guy here in town. Last time, I took it to a racing carb guy, who has since retired, but it ran perfect right off the bench. Only thing I had to do was turn down the idle screw a half turn. Wasn't cheap, but it was worth it.

However, first things first, but my list of things to do seems to be getting longer, not shorter.

Thanks for the info.
 
That maybe true.......well, it was cleaner back then than it is now. Lets just say I need to get a catch-can breather system.:o:p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top