need help 73 850

[clhardiman]

hello everyone by the way this is a great site, I'm a new boater and its helping me out a lot. i just bought a rinkerbuilt with a 1973 85 hp merc about 2 months ago and i took it out three weeks strait and didnt have any problems after siting for a month i take it out this past saturday everything was going fine after about 3 hours while cruising along the engine pops and dies instantly. i tried to start it back up and it was cranking real slow like it was locking up. long story short get the boat home and find out the problem with the help of iboats. the lower unit was lock up i take the drain screw out and nothing but water comes out so i pump oil in it and get it unlock and the motor turning over again i should have checked when i first got the boat but didnt know im new to boating. my question is the lower unit shot or will it be fine if i make sure that oil stays in there also what kind of oil should i put in there?

 

[Laddies]

Re: need help 73 850

The unit should be torn down and inspected as a drive shaft brg has seized so if you just add oil and run it the unit may self destruct but tearing it down now you may only need to rs place one bearing.

 

[clhardiman]

Re: need help 73 850

tearing the lower unit down is that a hard process?

 

[Chris1956]

Re: need help 73 850

The hardest part is getting the bearing carrier out of the gearcase, and getting the pinion gear off the driveshaft. Get a service manual and save all the shims. better yet get a used gearcase. where are you located?

 

[clhardiman]

Re: need help 73 850

i am in Cincinnati, oh... how long does that job take i just never really worked on a outboard motor

 

[clhardiman]

Re: need help 73 850

any ideal

 

[72 Roody]

Re: need help 73 850

It's not easy by any means, especially for the novice! Like Chris said the hardest part is the bearing carrier. I've got a 73 650 and it was a nightmare getting that sucker off. A Mercury manual if available will guide you all the way. Get a manual, see whats involved and decide for yourself if thats something you want to tackle. After all, you need a manual anyway, right!

 

[clhardiman]

Re: need help 73 850

thanks roody for the information thats how i will start off is with the manual