www.iFourWinns.com

Hi,
I found another problem on my V258, 2008.
My drive trim is not working properly.
The hydraulic pump seems to loose power, here is what is going on:
When I am triming the drive up it stops after 10 seconds and it doesn't want to go down anymore. After 10 seconds of waiting, it can move again, but just a little bit (for 2 sec). Then I have to wait again to move it a bit and so on...
what could that be? Faulty trim pump? Low oil level? Air in the system?
thanx

Have you checked the level? It sound like you have not. It would be the first thing to do, I am sorry to say.

Of course I would have checked the oil level but the problem is that I was told that oil level can be checked only when the boat is out of the sea...
And I couldn't have found the oil for the stern drive trim in the engine bay...

I have a funny feeling that you are combining trim & out drive oil as one. I could be wrong!?

Your trim oil pump, should be located in the engine compartment, against the transom. It can be checked anytime, in or out of the water.

Well, thanx for that cause I was looking allover the engine compartment and couldn't have found it...I was not mixing the stern drive oil and trim oil
I have Volvo Penta 5.0 GXi, 2008.
So, the trim pump is in the engine bay you said, but where exactly...? And the trim oil reservoir is also there? Or there is a kind of window on the trim pump to check the oil?

My 2008 Volvo has the outdrive trim fill on the side of the drive, outside the boat and under water when the boat is at rest. Inside the boat you can find the trim tab pump and reservior. But the pump that controls the angle of the outdrive is outside. This only applies to later year drives and maybe even certain models.

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2008 V358 Two-tone Blue V/P Dual Prop 320 HP
Lake Winnipesaukee, NH

It should be bolted to the transom inside the engine compartment. The reservoir is clear so you can see the level. It sounds to me like the fluid can't get back to the reservoir quick enough due to a blockage or valve issue. I just had that problem with a trim tab.

So, the reservoir should be in the engine compartment?
I will really try to search for it again...
Can it be seen easily or it is hidden somewhere?
It is 2008. 5.0 gxi Volvo Penta... Vista V258

It's plain to see on my 2004 268. Have someone hit the switch and listen for it. I'm not familiar with the external type and am just speculating that it's mounted as mine is.

I have to agree with those saying it's in the engine compartment. I have an 03 248 and mine is plain as day. Mounted on the transom, port side. It's tucked in pretty high. In my engine compartment, looking towards the stern, follow the port stringer straight back, look up (you may have to squat down). I can't imagine they've changed the location.

Good luck!

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-Tony
2016 Robalo R200 w/Yahama 200!

Previous boats:
2003 Four Winns 248 Vista - sold
1994 Sunbird Corsair 200 - sold
1980 Checkmate Predictor - sold

When my boat showed up in 2008, my mechanic said it was the first he saw with the trim pump attached to the outside of the outdrive. It's on the starboard side of each drive shield. Thats the part of the drive attached to the hull. If you follow the hoses attached to the trim cylinders, they lead to the pump. If you turn your helm to port you have a better view.

There is no way to change the pump or fill the pump with oil when the boat is in the water. I've searched the web and can't find a good photo but since your boat is the same year it is possible, you have this system.

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2008 V358 Two-tone Blue V/P Dual Prop 320 HP
Lake Winnipesaukee, NH

I had a problem with my drive trim on my V278. In the end I could not trim my drive up at all and on top of that if I hit reverse my drive would pull up then when I shifted from reverse my drive would drop back down. I do believe you are correct in that oil level cannot be checked in the water. There was a service issue on the drive pump and mine was covered under Volvo's extended warranty. I believe they came out with a different system to replace the one that was on my drive. Your problem sounds very similar to mine. Check with your dealer and see if they can get more information on it. I'll dig through my old records to see if I still have some of the documentation from when they replaced mine. I hate to tell you this but the repair would have been quite expensive if mine had not been covered under the warranty.

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2008 Vista 278 Volvo Penta 8.1 Gi 375 hp
1999 Horizon 220 5.7 GSi

My mechanic also said that oil cannot be checked from the inside of the engine compartment and that everything is outside, on the drive actually...
That's why I was surprised when guys here said that it is in the engine bay...
My mechanic said the same what says in last 2 posts...
So, the only solution will be to take the boat outside I guess...
And what about driving it with the faulty trim pump? Cause it works after all, I just have to press it, then wait, then press again...
And I can service it at the end of the season...
Can it make some more damage if I do so?

Based on what happened to me my guess is your trim pump is almost toast already so I don't know that you can do much more damage. I understand that is why Volvo replaced the pump with a modified system. I rode around with mine inoperative for a while waiting on the part. I just had to be very careful about reverse and that's tough to do when you back into a slip. Ask your mechanic. You will not be able to make it to the end of the season if yours ends up behaving like mine did when it failed. My problem started out similar to yours.

I believe the trim level others are seeing inside the boat is the reservoir for the trim tabs. Initially that's what I mistakenly believed was my drive trim oil.

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2008 Vista 278 Volvo Penta 8.1 Gi 375 hp
1999 Horizon 220 5.7 GSi

I checked the Volvo sterndrives manual for 2007, the pump and fill port are outside of the boat and underwater inside the drive housing which is strange to me since like most people mine are mounted inside on the transom. I'd post the photo but I haven't figured that out yet for this forum. You can look up the manual here.

http://www.volvopenta.com/volvopenta/gl ... gines.aspx

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2004 Vista 298
Twin 5.7L Volvo Penta GXi-E