i think you may have burnt the armature on the trim motor you should just buy a new one they run about 100-150 dollars fairly easy to replace and i dont believe there is any gears in a trim motor but as far as the switches i would put either 3m 5200 on them or any type of marine sealent this should stop all the problems email me wiht any more wuestions at bogfosh1229@aol.com