I am going to take my motor off ( Mercury 1989 90Elpto) What is the best way to lift it off the boat. I have a Motor hoist but I dont have a clue to where to strap it or what. Please help. Thank You.....
Any Merc dealer can hook you up with the lifting ring.
Or you can use a flywheel/harmonic balancer puller.The flywheel should have bolt holes on the top.
Lift ring is the best way to go.J
A lot of motors have a lifting behind the flywheel at least the smaller ones. Or you could use 2 3' straps around the motor and lift it that way. I have seen many things done...
Matt
Before I got smart enough to just buy the lifting eye from Mercury, I had built a cradle of sorts to attach to an old manual transmission jack I didn't use anymore. I made a crib out of wood that would slide over the lower unit and support the motor by the lower unit and anti-cavitation plate. It still took two guys to be safe but it worked for the first few times, but I finally broke down and spent the $40 or so dollars for the right tool. It's so much nicer to just screw in the tool and lift the motor with no worries.
26$ for a lifting eye AND a flywheel puller. Hard to beat price and very handy.
BTW, the "welding a ring to a bolt" won't work, cause you'll need the external threads like a bolt but it will need to be hollow inside to accomodate the flywheel nut and crankshaft top end.
So, if you want to do it yourself, you'll need to:
1- buy a 1 1/2" - 16 graded bolt
2- get a 1 1/4" drill bit
3- drill throuht the bolt, leaving a 1/8" wall
I bought a set for my merc. Mine is a piece of pipe threaded on the outside with a cap and a ring welded to the top getting a shop to use the proper threading die , and welding the cap and ring , will cost you more than buying one. The pipe looks to be 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 O D.