Lower unit won't slide in- Merc 115

[Bill Collector]

I replaced the impeller with no issues and went to reinstall the unit and it's going all the way in until it hits the gears on the inside. I have about 1 inch to go. I tried turning the shaft ever so slightly about 10 times to line it up and it won't go.

Here's what I did-
Placed in forward gear.
Removed 5 bolts and zinc thing.
Dropped the unit and replaced the impeller.
Motor still in forward gear went to reassemble and that's it.
I tried moving the shifter into neutral and nothing. Returned to forward gear and went to bed.

I've read the posts that are similar and learned that I need to have the lower unit in gear? I gently turned the prop to see if the shaft turns and the prop clicked. I guess this is the clutch dog?

I'm going at it again tonight- what should I do in order? How do I know if the shifter is in forward that the lower end is also in that gear?

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: Lower unit won't slide in- Merc 115

Turn the prop backwards. A nudge is usually all it takes. I personally prefer neutral and reaching up and nudging the flywheel, but that's me. Either way, key in your pocket.

 

[jebeebe]

Re: Lower unit won't slide in- Merc 115

I replaced the impeller with no issues and went to reinstall the unit and it's going all the way in until it hits the gears on the inside. I have about 1 inch to go. I tried turning the shaft ever so slightly about 10 times to line it up and it won't go.

Here's what I did-
Placed in forward gear.
Removed 5 bolts and zinc thing.
Dropped the unit and replaced the impeller.
Motor still in forward gear went to reassemble and that's it.
I tried moving the shifter into neutral and nothing. Returned to forward gear and went to bed.

I've read the posts that are similar and learned that I need to have the lower unit in gear? I gently turned the prop to see if the shaft turns and the prop clicked. I guess this is the clutch dog?

I'm going at it again tonight- what should I do in order? How do I know if the shifter is in forward that the lower end is also in that gear?

Could it be the water tube that is causing your problem? I fought the water tube till I discovered you could put the tube in first then the lower unit and connect them at the bottom where you could see what you are doing. Just a thought. Also there is the speedometor fitting that could be a problem............Jerry

 

[Bill Collector]

Re: Lower unit won't slide in- Merc 115

OK- I'm feeding the speedo tube through and all. I just called my local dealer and he thinks the lower unit is or isn't in gear.

So to recap- tonight I'll turn the gear thing on the lower unit and then I'll turn the prop clockwise. If the shaft spins the lower unit is in forward gear. At that point I make sure my shifter is in forward and slide the unit in...grease up of course.

I checked last night to see if the water hoses were binding up and if the gear was binding and couldn't figure it out. I had my pregnant wife helping me (what a blast that was). Sounds like once in gear I just turn the prop and it will turn the shaft to line up with the internal gear mechanism.

Sounds too easy.

 

[jebeebe]

Re: Lower unit won't slide in- Merc 115

OK- I'm feeding the speedo tube through and all. I just called my local dealer and he thinks the lower unit is or isn't in gear.

So to recap- tonight I'll turn the gear thing on the lower unit and then I'll turn the prop clockwise. If the shaft spins the lower unit is in forward gear. At that point I make sure my shifter is in forward and slide the unit in...grease up of course.

I checked last night to see if the water hoses were binding up and if the gear was binding and couldn't figure it out. I had my pregnant wife helping me (what a blast that was). Sounds like once in gear I just turn the prop and it will turn the shaft to line up with the internal gear mechanism.

Sounds too easy.

Note: If the lower unit is in forward gear............The prop will rachet when turned cw. It will catch when turned ccw. If you need to line up the splines on the drive shaft you can reach up and turn the flywheel. It wouldn't have to be but a smidge to line the splines up.............Jerry

 

[Bill Collector]

Re: Lower unit won't slide in- Merc 115

Jerry- Thank you.

What does rachet mean? Is that the click? I would assume if it's in forward gear, prop will turn and so will the shaft. If it's in forward and you turn the prop back wards it will click. Is that right?

Should I take another approach and put both units in neutral? I want this boat in the water by SAturday afternoon and I'm sure I can do it, but I have no one to help me.

I don't know where the fly wheel is. On my evinrude it was on the top. On my jet ski it was under a cover so I pulled the plugs and spun the drive shaft.

 

[jddenham]

Re: Lower unit won't slide in- Merc 115

What does the speedometer tube have to do with the lower unit? Are there some motors with a built in speedometer pickup or what??

Please enlighten, when did this start, and how does it work?

I have a Clymer manual here so I will start to investigate myself.

 

[Bill Collector]

Re: Lower unit won't slide in- Merc 115

Yes there's an air tube so it must work on pressure. It is fed into the top of the lower unit. I really have no idea how it works.

My engine is a 1987 Merc 115. Absolutely prestine condition. Not a scratch on it. That's why I bought the thing.

I also have another issue with it though as it sat for two years and I lost power last time out after filling it up with super. I thing some crud got sucked up. I'm going replace the fuel line and rebuild the fuel pump tonight.

 

[jebeebe]

Re: Lower unit won't slide in- Merc 115

What does the speedometer tube have to do with the lower unit? Are there some motors with a built in speedometer pickup or what??

Please enlighten, when did this start, and how does it work?

I have a Clymer manual here so I will start to investigate myself.

I have an 88' and had a 89' that both had the pick up in the lower unit. There is a tiny hole on the leading edge of the lower unit just above the gear case that routes up through and comes out as a plastic hose above the cavitation plate at the front . This can be hooked to your speedometor. I had a 150 xr4 that had too much speed for the hull mounted pick up. At 55 mph it would flip up from the pressure and ........no speedo.

 

[jebeebe]

Re: Lower unit won't slide in- Merc 115

Jerry- Thank you.

What does rachet mean? Is that the click? I would assume if it's in forward gear, prop will turn and so will the shaft. If it's in forward and you turn the prop back wards it will click. Is that right?
No.......just the opposite. In forward gear if you turn the prop cw it will click. if you turn the prop ccw it will turn the driveshaft. You are right to put both units in neutral. Less confusion. Take off the hood and the flywheel will have teeth all the way around it. about 12 inches in dia. turn it a little and the splines will mach up........Good luck .........................Jerry

Should I take another approach and put both units in neutral? I want this boat in the water by SAturday afternoon and I'm sure I can do it, but I have no one to help me.

I don't know where the fly wheel is. On my evinrude it was on the top. On my jet ski it was under a cover so I pulled the plugs and spun the drive shaft.

No.......just the opposite. In forward gear if you turn the prop cw it will click. if you turn the prop ccw it will turn the driveshaft. You are right to put both units in neutral. Less confusion. Take off the hood and the flywheel will have teeth all the way around it. about 12 inches in dia. turn it a little and the splines will mach up........Good luck .........................Jerry
......................

 

[emckelvy]

Re: Lower unit won't slide in- Merc 115

Sometimes the darn things just slide back in slicker than Snot. Then there are the ones that fight you!

I just had one of the latter this week, a '76 850-4 and the shift shaft just wouldn't line back up no matter what gear I put it in.

What finally did it was to disconnect the throttle cable so I could get at the shifter, then disconnect the shift cable. Pulled the cables out of the way so I could have room to slide the shifter arm back and forth on the guide.

Positioned the shift linkage to the approximate Fwd gear position, pushed the lower unit up until it was bearing on the shift rod; then, while holding the lower unit up with one hand, 'jiggled' the shifter arm a bit with the other hand and it slid right in!

What happens is the shift cable is holding the arm in one certain position, which just happens to be a 'smidge' off from perfect alignment. So, it won't go in. When you undo the cable it allows you to get those splined aligned-up Just So.

I certainly prefer it the other way when they go right together!

If you have the lower unit in Fwd gear for reinstallation, make sure you position the shift shaft fully CCW such that the slightest movement further CCW shifts the gearbox to Neutral. The shift shaft will move quite a bit with the gearbox in Fwd and this is the most common mistake made when reinstalling a Merc L/U.

BTW if you didn't mess with the reverse lockout cam on the shift shaft, you can also use the cam as a good indicator of correct shift shaft position.

With the shift shaft in the correct Fwd-gear orientation, the reverse lockout rod will hit the cam at approximately the middle of the "ramp" on the cam.

As soon as you shift to Neutral, the cam rotates along with the shift shaft and the top, flat portion of the cam is presented to the lockout rod (this is what prevents the lockout hooks from releasing off the tilt pin when you're in Neutral or Reverse).

HTH & G'luck..........ed

 

[caldog101]

Re: Lower unit won't slide in- Merc 115

Bill collector
Just put in a new impeller yesterday in my 1984 in-line 6 115 hp mercury.The lower unit came of real easy"giving me a small sense of security"and I figured this is a piece of cake!! having down a few impellers on evinrude's and johnson's, i put it in nuetral before i took it of and with a magic marker marked a few reference points ,well it tooke me 45 minutes in the sun by myself to put it back together,it would not line up,i had my left hand turning the flywheel right hand keeping upward pressure on the lower unit and a small vise grip on the shifter finally got it together and when i started it in nuetral it it somehow was in forward gear,so i take it of again and put shifter in neutral and turn lower unit shifter spline till the prop spins freely and finally got it back on hope this helps

 

[ricksrster]

Re: Lower unit won't slide in- Merc 115

The last time I had my off I had to move the exhaust tube a little to get the lower unit back on.

 

[emckelvy]

Re: Lower unit won't slide in- Merc 115

The last time I had my off I had to move the exhaust tube a little to get the lower unit back on.

Yeah, that's a good point, also if the rubber exhaust tube gasket is messed up it'll make it hard to get back together.

 

[Smokin' J]

Re: Lower unit won't slide in- Merc 115

I always intall lower unit in neutral, that way there is no chance of wrong gear. make shure shift rod is lighned up and push the lower unit up. the last 1/4 inch may be tight while the exaust tube compresses the rubber seal.

 

[twigass]

Re: Lower unit won't slide in- Merc 115

i find it easier in rev myself, and the last time i took mine apart and put it together i got the little plastic tube misaligned and it actually spliced it once i found that out i got a new 1 and properly installed it and it went together like frosting on a cake. but reverse is for me seems alot easier

 

[Tadd_P]

Re: Lower unit won't slide in- Merc 115

if the unit slid up so far and stopped then you arent getting the shifting gear splines lined up when setting your control lever just barely set it into forward and as you are putting pressure upward on the lower unit have a buddy slowly move the throttle lever back and forth till it goes on. can be sort of tricky but this will work for ya but ya cant do it alone. Unless you like walking back and forth

 

[Bill Collector]

Re: Lower unit won't slide in- Merc 115

Here's the latest. I put another two hours into it on Friday and on Saturday, took it to the dealer. They just called me and said the lower unit won't come out of gear, so they're taking the lower unit apart to "slip the dog in"? I guess i must have turned it into gear a bit too far...Well....lesson learned.

 

[Dreddrs25]

Re: Lower unit won't slide in- Merc 115

How'd everything turn out? Just wondering.