Mysterious ball bearings in lower unit.

[Brentaddington]

i had water get into my lower unit of my 1999 Force 120 Outboard and it froze over the winter pushing my carrier bearing assembly out, breaking it. i replaced it with ebay part 12596T2 which im not sure if this is the right one considering when i turn the shaft for "forward or reverse engagement" it just stays in forward engagement.. but anyways i found 2 small round ball bearings stuck to the magnetic drain plug. should i be worried? i assume yes. Help Please!?

 

[muskyfins]

did you find the balls before of after you replaced the carrier? I assume after. dis-assembly of carrier might be an order to check if new bearings are intact

 

[Brentaddington]

From what I observed when I put the new carrier in all the bearings were roller bearings not ball bearings right?

 

[pnwboat]

I would suspect that they may be part of the Forward/Reverse shifting mechanism item number 10 in the diagram below.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Yes, you should be worried! Those are probably "Detent" balls that lock the dog clutch in forward or reverse. This prevents popping out of gear. Old Evinrude lower units had the same arrangement.

You should remove the prop shaft and reverse gear and check the dog clutch assembly AND the actuating rod that moves the clutch. Remember to check the shift cam to ensure it is not broken or loose on the shift shaft.

Consider yourself lucky that the lower unit casting was not cracked but anytime you have a freezing situation more damage than obvious may have been done and a complete tear-down and inspection is warranted.

 

[Brentaddington]

Thank you all for the help! I'm new to this so once I remove the prop and carrier bearing assembly, how do I check the dog clutch and actuating rod? What do I need to further disassemble ?

 

[Brentaddington]

Okay I have all three bearings. Where do I put them ?

 

[Grub54891]

Okay I have all three bearings. Where do I put them ?

Look at the link pm boat put up,item 10

 

[Brentaddington]

it looked too easy to be right. I wasnt aware that they were just spacer bearings.. Again i appreciate the help guys. the foot is put on and functioning perfectly. im just having issues with the water pump now. just replaced the impeller with supplied gaskets and i never saw where the O-Rings went considering i didnt remove any when pulling the housing apart. theres water pouring from where the shifter rod goes into the foot. there was no rubber seal removed from where the top of the impeller housing meets the drive shaft. every video ive seen has some sort of rubber gromet that seals it maybe im mistaken.

 

[jerryjerry05]

The "kit" fits many different units.
The o-rings might not fit you app.
There usually is a rubber seal that fits on the top of the pump in most Mercury lowers.
From the parts diagram you don't have or need it.
Is the pump installed right?
The pickup tube meet the water tube seal?
The plate to housing gasket didn't slip?
Pumping good water?

 

[Brentaddington]

The "kit" fits many different units.
The o-rings might not fit you app.
There usually is a rubber seal that fits on the top of the pump in most Mercury lowers.
From the parts diagram you don't have or need it.
Is the pump installed right?
The pickup tube meet the water tube seal?
The plate to housing gasket didn't slip?
Pumping good water?

its pushing water out of the top spout just fine. none of the gaskets slipped that I could tell. the pump is installed correctly. maybe its just coming from where the housing meets the seal in the upper unit.