Oopps pulled the wrong screw out of the foot to change oil!!!! HELP

[norqqq]

I was changing the lower unit oil in my 85hp Force.<br />I pulled the wrong screw out... The screw I pulled out was a long screw. That must have had something attached to it.... After I put it back in the prop will not turn..... What was this screw holding?? <br />What do I need to do to fix this problem??<br /><br />I found the oil plug after I made this fatal mistake.<br />Thanks for any info you can give <br /><br />Ron<br />

 

[turtle1173]

Re: Oopps pulled the wrong screw out of the foot to change oil!!!! HELP

Bubba,<br /><br /> Ah Oh, This was probably the shift pivot screw. When you shift gears, the action either pushes the lower unit gear assembly forward or pulls it backwards. This puts your motor in either forward, reverse or neutral. As the name implies, this action pivots on this screw.<br /><br /> Some others may have a trick for putting the screw back into the assembly but, from what I know, you will have to disassemble the lower unit to get it back in there. Sorry for the bad news <br /><br />Shane

 

[jpbaker]

Re: Oopps pulled the wrong screw out of the foot to change oil!!!! HELP

Ding Dongitt!!! I'am affraid Turtle is right.<br />Was getting some help from my friend (who did this stuff for about 8yrs.) and he said that most of the repairs involving Oops!!! was do to this very thing and is a common mistake.Unfortunately "T" is also correct in that you have to take it apart to fix..Sorry

 

[roscoe]

Re: Oopps pulled the wrong screw out of the foot to change oil!!!! HELP

Do not run the engine!!!<br /><br />It will shred the lower unit gears.<br /><br />Get a repair manual.<br />Drain the oil, drop the lower unit.<br />You don't say what year your engine is. For some models, you can access the pivot assembly from the top, after removing the waterpump and plate.<br />So you could repair this without a total dis-assembly of the lower unit.<br /><br />When you are done, put a glob of silicone seal over that dang screw, so no one ever removes it by accident.

 

[scotiany]

Re: Oopps pulled the wrong screw out of the foot to change oil!!!! HELP

Roscoe, great idea about the silicone over the screw. I'm going to do it tomorrow. I'm going to use RTV silicone not silicone grease.

 

[norqqq]

Re: Oopps pulled the wrong screw out of the foot to change oil!!!! HELP

The year mod is about a 90 91 or 92 <br /><br />Is there anything tricky about getting in the unit?? I have been in a few mercruisers and johnson but never a force..... <br /><br />Easiest way of doing this is to ??? and then????<br />Things I need to watch out for??<br /><br />Thanks!!!

 

[tmiller4090]

Re: Oopps pulled the wrong screw out of the foot to change oil!!!! HELP

Hello Bubba,<br />I did the same thing about a month ago on a 1988 85 hp force.heres how I fixed mine.<br />-buy a repair manual,believe me you need one,it will pay for itself <br />-drain oil<br />-dissasemble lower lower unit according to manual down to the pinion gear,remove shaft<br />-drop lower unit from motor according to manual<br />-remove upper and lower water pump housing <br />-now the shift shaft should come out of the lower unit ,if the shift piviot screw is removed<br />-look in the cavity where the shift shaft came out with a flashlight you should be able to see the shift yolk that fell off when you removed the screw,this is what caused the problem.retrive it with a magnet<br />*the manual will show where all this is*<br />-now comes the only tricky part,reinstall the shift shaft an cradle securing it with the shift pivot screw(the one that started all this mess).<br />put a dab of grease on the end of your drive shaft to hold the yolk in place and put the yolk back on in the groove.now gently install the drive shaft watching for it to come into the cavity where the shift shaft+cradle is.as it comes through manuver the shift shaft up and down until it aligns with the yolk,try not to knock the yolk off the shaft,when you get it lined up gently push the drive shaft the rest of the way in.you may have to turn it a little to get it to line up with the pinion gear.<br />-then reassemble --you probally want to get a lower unit seal kit +water pump while your doing this.<br /> This worked for me and wasn't too bad.Good luck, if you have any more questions just ask---Troy

 

[norqqq]

Re: Oopps pulled the wrong screw out of the foot to change oil!!!! HELP

Thanks for your help!!!! I was able to it it with your help Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br />From what I hear I will be back <br />Thanks

 

[roscoe]

Re: Oopps pulled the wrong screw out of the foot to change oil!!!! HELP

Wow Bubba, you work fast.