hydralic tilt/trim problem

not sure if this is the right forum, i have a 1997 125 merc outboard with a single ram hydraulic tilt/trim, the issue i am having is it will not lift the motor on its on when all the way down, if you help lift it will engage and lift on its own about 1/4 of the way up, it will either stay up or slowly fall back down, if you hit the button to bring down it will come down to about 1/4 of the way down and just free fall back down, you can hear what sounds like fluid gushing…..just wondering if anyone here would be able to help me out, thanks

It is somewhat similar to the issue I had with my 2003 125. Mine would go up only half way. I believe it is an internal valve issue that may not be repairable. I heard that the vendor for the trim had cleanliness issues that caused the valve seats to malfunction.

Hopefully someone here has more input.