Why won't the outdrive come off?

[Dante04SRT]

I followed the directions on mercstuff.com for removing the outdrive. I undid the trim ram bolts, removed them, removed the 6 bolts on the outdrive, but it won't free from the bellhousing... Any ideas why? Any tips/tricks?

I have my trailer nose all the way down and I'm trying to pull it back straight off, but can't be perfectly straight because the trailer simply won't allow it.

Any help??

 

[Bondo]

Re: Why won't the outdrive come off?

Do you know How Long it's been since it was last removed,..??..??....

It sounds like the shaft might be rusted to the bearing.......

You Do have it in Forward,...... Right,..??...

 

[Dante04SRT]

Re: Why won't the outdrive come off?

Yes, it is in forward. It probably has been a LONG time since it was removed. I'm yanking the engine to replace it this weekend.

Just a quick ? with regards to getting it into first. If I have removed the shift linkage from the valve cover........ will the shifter actually shift the unit into forward? If its not in forward, will it not remove?

[edit] Just checked again, and yes, it is shifting into forward gear. Is there any special trick to getting this thing off? I'm pulling as hard as I can and its not budging.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Why won't the outdrive come off?

You can Try putting a block of Wood under it, near the Exhaust bellows,....
Then pick it Up,+ SLAM it Down........
That sometimes works......

Or,.....
Reattach the Tilt Rams,+ put the Wood in place,+ TRY the Hyd.s to push it Off.............

Or,.......
Secure the Boat to the Trailer,.... Secure the Outdrive to something that will Not Move,......
Then drive forward........ Depending on the Tow Unit,... Sometimes it takes a few Running Starts........

Or,.......
Pull the motor,+ Beat the input shaft Out of the Gimbel Bearing with a 20lb. BFHammer................


Good Luck...................................................

 

[jmills224]

Re: Why won't the outdrive come off?

[edit] Just checked again, and yes, it is shifting into forward gear

It doesn't matter if is "SHIFTING" into forward. It must be "IN" forward or it won't come off. If you have it IN forward and it won't come off, do what Bond-O said to do.

 

[Dante04SRT]

Re: Why won't the outdrive come off?

It doesn't matter if is "SHIFTING" into forward. It must be "IN" forward or it won't come off. If you have it IN forward and it won't come off, do what Bond-O said to do.

At the risk of sounding dumb, can you explain how to manually put it into forward? Clearly its shifting into forward, but I want to make 100% sure its actually there before I go beating on it.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Why won't the outdrive come off?

If it's in Forward,.......

The little Foot on the outdrive,+ the little Shoe on the Gimbel Housing will be In Line with the Keel of the boat.......

In Neutral, or Reverse,.... The little Foot can't slide out of the little Shoe......

Lay on the ground under it,+ Look Up at the leading lower part of the Outdrive,.....
You'll see them up there........

 

[Dante04SRT]

Re: Why won't the outdrive come off?

I'll have to look tomorrow.

Are you talking about this part:

??????

If so, I checked it in neutral, reverse and drive and all 3 positions on the gear shift seemed to have no effect on that little part; it was always in the same position (in line with keel).

 

[Bondo]

Re: Why won't the outdrive come off?

If so, I checked it in neutral, reverse and drive and all 3 positions on the gear shift seemed to have no effect on that little part; it was always in the same position (in line with keel).

Ayuh,......... That's the little Foot........

And,...... Your's is apparently in Forward,+ is Not shifting at all......

 

[jmills224]

Re: Why won't the outdrive come off?

I'm sorry for not being clear. I was in a hurry but Bond-o cleared it up. One mistake people make is moving the shifter into forward but not climbing under the drive to verify that the lower unit is actually in forward gear. I think your example actually proves this as you say you can "shift" from foward, neutral, and reverse yet the foot doesn't move(and I suspect that is why your pulling your drive.) If it were stuck in neutral or reverse you wouldn't be able to get it off without damaging something.

Since you've verified that it is actually in forward go ahead and use the block of wood trick suggested by Bond-O. The drive should come off in a couple of whacks.

 

[Dante04SRT]

Re: Why won't the outdrive come off?

(and I suspect that is why your pulling your drive.)

Actually, I was told in order to pull the engine, the drive had to come off. The shifting has always worked in the past, so I think that its a result of the linkage being removed.

DOES the outdrive need to be removed to remove the engine and align it back up for reinstallation?

 

[Bondo]

Re: Why won't the outdrive come off?

Yes........

 

[Dante04SRT]

Re: Why won't the outdrive come off?

Yes........

...and thus begins my Saturday quest...

 

[Dante04SRT]

Re: Why won't the outdrive come off?

I just took a look at the foot/shoe thing. Its not perfectly in line with the keel, its slightly turned. The foot is IN the shoe; Should it be able to move out of it?

My guess is that its not in forward after all or something.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Why won't the outdrive come off?

My guess is that its not in forward after all or something.

Disconnect the Lower Shift Cable from the Shifting block you took off the valve cover,+ manually Shift it into Forward.......
Otherwise,....
You're going to Break or Bend something.........

 

[Dante04SRT]

Re: Why won't the outdrive come off?

I just checked the linkage and actually got the foot to move. Yes, it is in forward, but it will NOT budge at all.

I guess I'm going to have to get tough with it.

 

[Dante04SRT]

Re: Why won't the outdrive come off?

You can Try putting a block of Wood under it, near the Exhaust bellows,....
Then pick it Up,+ SLAM it Down........
That sometimes works......

That's the one that worked... I had a hammer with a wooden handle that I was able to put between the outdrive and the bellows area and slammed it (well, assisted gravity anyway) down and finally it broke free...

Thanks Bond-o!!

A little water (half cup maybe) came out somewhere too when it broke apart. I'm guessing maybe it was trapped in the bellows.

Also, it looked like the bigger, thicker rubber seal inside was broken too - I could only find about 30% of it.

The outdrive still appears to have good U-joints and has been lubed well, as everything still has the red color too it.

Now what??

As per someone's reply to another post:

- Undo the two bolts that mount the rear of the engine (flywheel housing)

- Undo the 4 bolts that mount the front of the engine

- unplug the wiring harness and any other wires that may not go to the harness (like battery wires)

- Pull engine

Correct?

 

[MercMonster]

Re: Why won't the outdrive come off?

If you had water in the bellows, you would want to make sure the bellows are not old and cracked. I had a little water come out when I pulled my drive. I couldn't see any holes in mine until I took off the bell housing, then they looked like crap, a rip in each of them. I'd pull your bell housing and check everything back there real good, you'll need the hinge pin tool to remove the bell housing. The hinge pins are located underneath the TP and TS on the side of the gimbal ring. Might want to go ahead and replace your lower shift cable too while everything is apart. Its usually recommended to also replace the u-joints and gimbal bearing. That way you can be sure you got everything. The

bigger, thicker rubber seal inside was broken too

that you found is part of the gasket seal for the outdrive. Should come in the set. My u-joints were slightly rusty. I had a mechanic check them out and he said, "those are still good", but when I brought them home and flushed some grease into them, water squished out, so those got replaced. My gimbal bearing wouldn't turn, but after it got pulled it turned but had a rough scratchy feel to it when turning, so it got replaced. You're a few weeks behind what I just went through. Its a pain sometimes, but I'm hoping it will be worth it here in a few weeks.

 

[Fishermark]

Re: Why won't the outdrive come off?

You have it right basically to pull the engine. You will also need to disconnect the fuel and water lines. Just go slow - there seems to always be a wire or line somewhere that is easily forgotten - grounding straps etc.

Also, regarding the front mounts - the bolts you remove to pull the engine are the lag bolts that secure the mounts to the stringers. Once you have the engine out, that's a good time to make sure you can adjust the front mounts - make sure they aren't rusted up. It's a lot easier to take care of that while the engine is out, than to put it back in, and then try and do the adjustment only to find out they are seized up.

 

[Fishermark]

Re: Why won't the outdrive come off?

Just to add what I said above - I just saw your other post and see you got the engine out. I was thinking you had a v-8 when I said to remove the front mount(s) - I see you kept the front of the mount in the boat. I believe you will have an easier time reinstalling the engine if you remove the rest of the mount and reattach it to the engine, then put it all back in together. You can find out how solid your stringers are at that time as well.