power trim/tilt Yamaha 60 2 stroke

Rams for trim and tilt will not retract fully w/ motor in upright and locked position. She will tilt and trim all the way down under the weight of the motor, Except for 1 episode last week while launching, pulled back to parking area and tried it again and she was fine. Fluid is full to the brim. I can hear the motor running normally, but rams will not retract into the cylinder. Any Thoughts?/// Thanks in advance.

 

Thanks Brett. The rams are as smooth as a baby's behind- no scoring or corrosion. I did find a small leak from the outer seal on one of the trim cylinders, replaced this. At that point, I assumed i would have low fluid level from the leak, but it was full and looked nice and clear. I think you're on to something with the brushes, something is causing the rams to hang up when they're not under load. Is shop manual accessible on line, or do you need a printed copy?? Thanks again,
Joe

 

Thanks Guys,
Let me clarify, the issue with the ram for the tilt started awhile ago, so I started to inspect the external components and found some weeping around the port side TRIM RAm, right at the dust cover seal. I assumed that I had been leaking for a while and would be low on Hydraulic fluid and assumed this was the issue(maybe that's what I get for assuming). Anyway, I changed out the external seal without opening the cylinder ( I know, I'd never heard of this either) and then cracked the bolt to fill the res. As soon as I cracked the bolt fluid began running out (boat was level) so I assumed fluid level was not the issue. Sounds like maybe the bad seal allowed air into the system?????  I will try  the manual release screw and lift method this weekend. Creek, got it --didn't understand the meaning of brushes. But yeah, the motor seems to be working fine, I can hear it and she tilts up and just fine when under load.

Thanks again.

 

Ahh, the plot thickens..... I changed the wiper then. Believe it or not, I did actually look at the schematic and thought that was a seal. I was a bit surprised (But happy) when the gentleman at the yamaha dealer said I should try this first without opening the cylinder. Should have known better, there are no easy fixes. I am still going to try the release screw method and see if that works. Don't know if i want to open the cylinder until i'm certain there is significant leak. BTW she is a 1997. Thanks.