Lifting Eye question

[gccch]

Hi guys,
I have a 97 Merc 115 which I need to lift off the transom so I may remove the tilt tube which has the steering rod solidly frozen up. I've read here that I should use the lifting eye from Mercury, but the pictures of the part all show a ring with male threads, but lokking down onto my flywheel I have male threads with a nut holding the flywheel in place. How exactly does this lifting eye fit in? Do I need to remove the flywheel first? Even then I will be left with male threads???
Thanks for any help,
Greg

 

[studlymandingo]

Re: Lifting Eye question

Look at the flywheel itself, the nut indeed holds it to the crank but the lifting eye threads into the flywheel, not the crank.

Visually verify this as some may be different.​

 

[gccch]

Re: Lifting Eye question

Well there are three holes in a pattern surriunding the center of the flywheel, I suppose the lifting eye could be using one of those, but I had thought it would have been designed to lift in line with the crank. I really would need to have the lifting eye in hand to confirm as I do not know the thread size used. Thanks for the reply.

 

[studlymandingo]

Re: Lifting Eye question

yours may be different, but mine is about 1 1/4" diameter hole, it threads into the hole in the center of the flywheel. The crankshaft and nut fit INSIDE the lifting eye.​

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Lifting Eye question

Lifting eyes are available for about $20 bucks on E-bay. They also include the flywheel puller insert. They work great.

 

[gccch]

Re: Lifting Eye question

Studlyman,
That explains it. I didn't notice the threads around the flywheel nut. The pics of the lifting eye on the pc screen are deceptive with nothing to copmare size alongside.

Anyway, I've decided to bite the bullet and cut out the frozen cable and get a new tilt tube and cable assembly. I don't know if I would have been able to free up the parts even after getting them off the motor, but this way I get new parts and don't need to lift the motor.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Lifting Eye question

Sometimes you can free up a frozen steering rod by using a pipe wrench to rock it while applying penetrating oil and/or heat.

if you can move it at all with the pipe wrench, you should be able to get it loose. It will take a half-hour or so, but it sure beats the heck out of replacing the tilt tube and steering system.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Lifting Eye question

Don't mercs still use the steering tube as a pivot pin? If so, then you still need to support the engine somehow.