Well, I went fishing over the weekend and it's supposed to freeze tonight and I can't get my motor to go down. It actually already froze the other night so damage is probably already done, but I don't want to make it worse...if that's possible. It will go up, but not down. It's only supposed to be 29 as opposed to the 11 it was the other night but I'd still like to lower it.

Also, if there is a crack in the lower unit thanks to freezing water, is it visible from the outside of the motor? Sometimes I think people like me shouldn't own a boat when we don't know much about how they work...

Oops, I never really asked my question. Is there a way to manually lower it? It's a 92 Johnson 60 HP. I know a friend's dad had an older motor where the hydrolics didn't work at all and he manually lifted and lowered it. I just wonder if that's even possible without being a mechanic.

There is a manual release screw on the port side tension bracket should show a small picture of the motor trimming loosen the screw and mirror should fall

Flat Head screw on the side ....usually reverse thread ...back off enough to get it down will take some muscle to get it back up .,,,hope this helps

Thanks a ton guys! Gonna go attempt it now.

What about a crack in the lower unit? Is it visible on the outside?

Crack the lowest screw on your lower unit and pay attention to what comes out ....water....bad ....milk.....bad .....oil....your in good shape..

It may not show a cracked but like he said check your gear oil if it is milky you might have cracked it buy it would need to be pressure tested

Ok, got the motor lowered. THanks again!

I'll wait until daylight to crack the screw and see what comes out. I'm guessing it won't be just oil. It was 11 degrees Mon morning and about 1/4 (total guess) of a cup of water poured out when I lowered the motor. I can only blame myself. The motor was already having problems which is why I left it on the street instead of parking it in the driveway like normal, at which point I lower the motor. Since I am going to be taking it to have it looked at, I left in on the street and forgot to lower the motor. Freaking boneheaded move...

You may be ok don't kick your self just yet the cup that came out was not in a place it was going to crack it's what's in the gear case

In an emergency situation I removed the vent screw (upper screw) and placed a piece of duct tape over the screw hole to protect it and to allow for expansion just in case there was water. a few days later I drained the lower unit and no water all was well re-filled and was set for the rest of the winter. I am not saying this is advisable but I was caught with no time to drain the lower unit to check for water and refill before the freeze.
Tom