removal of stubborn mercrusier 888

[Bcrowe]

I have a 1975 ford 302 with a mercruiser 888 outdrive. I have put the shifter in full forward and removed the 6 nuts off the upper unit and I cant get the dang drive to come off. I have beat on it with a 2x4 and hammer and it still doesnt budge. Does anyone know of any tricks to get this drive off. I just want to switch it out with a good 888. The one on the boat is shelled. I have been working off and on for a month with no luck and am getting really frustrated.
Thanks in advance,
Brad

 

[Bondo]

Re: removal of stubborn mercrusier 888

Ayuh,... Sounds like a Severely Rusted gimbel bearing/ Shaft..... Probably from bad bellows,..??
You might have to pull the motor,+ Beat it out from the inside,...
'course, that brings up that ole Snap-ring they used to use on those old drives,...
If it's Still in there,.... You might have to use the Blue-Tip Wrenches to get that 1 apart....
Torch it apart,....

 

[jtybt]

Re: removal of stubborn mercrusier 888

Carefully place a 2x4 between the lower transom assembly and the drive and gingerly lower the drive against the 2x4 several times., each time a little harder but NOT TOO HARD.

You're just trying to break the gasket seal.

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: removal of stubborn mercrusier 888

Carefully place a 2x4 between the lower transom assembly and the drive and gingerly lower the drive against the 2x4 several times., each time a little harder but NOT TOO HARD.

You're just trying to break the gasket seal.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner..Thats what it took to get my OD off an old rust bucket I once owned...

 

[Bcrowe]

Re: removal of stubborn mercrusier 888

ok thanks guys i will try the 2X4 trick first and hopefully that owrks...really dont wann pull that engine..what a pita

 

[Bcrowe]

Re: removal of stubborn mercrusier 888

Ok so im back at this again(still) I tried the 2X4 trick and managed to get about a 1/4 inch gap between the outdrive and bell housing. I was able to look at the shaft at the back of the engine and it looks like its caked in grease.. I have sprayed it with tons of penetrating oil and also sprayed some aft towards the hole in the transom where the shaft goes through(i was hoping to hit the gimbal bearing which i dont even know if its possible to hit it from there). Anyhow. Would it be possible to hook up the trim cylindars and try to use them to push the whole drive backwards. I really dont want to have to pull the engine. ALso since I didnt install the engine is there a chance it is missaligned causing things to bind making it hard to remove the drive? I am grasping at straws and am about to just break down and take it to the boat shop and pay to have it pulled(last resort). any further advice would be marvelous

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: removal of stubborn mercrusier 888

You can place your 2x4 here, and use the arms trimming UP to push the unit off as well

Don't use a crowbar or beat on the unit to get her off..

 

[jtybt]

Re: removal of stubborn mercrusier 888

Re-connecting the trim rams would be my next suggestion. Just re-check that the drive is in forward or the hydraulic will bend/break the shift.

Doesn't sound like there was much routine maintenance done by the previous owner.

 

[Bcrowe]

Re: removal of stubborn mercrusier 888

no you are right the previous owner didnt do anything with this boat...didnt winterize it and cracked the block..I wouldnt have bought the boat except it has a new engine in it which he installed...Im concerned about the allignment of the engine because of his poor maintenance of the boat... I just want this old drive off so i can put a new(non-shelled) one on it.

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: removal of stubborn mercrusier 888

no you are right the previous owner didnt do anything with this boat...didnt winterize it and cracked the block..I wouldnt have bought the boat except it has a new engine in it which he installed...Im concerned about the allignment of the engine because of his poor maintenance of the boat... I just want this old drive off so i can put a new(non-shelled) one on it.

So its a new engine, NOT the one that cracked?
New engine and old outdrive?

 

[Bcrowe]

Re: removal of stubborn mercrusier 888

Correct...well not new engine...new to boat engine...but From all i understand it is the original outdrive...I have a replacement drive to put on because this one is junk i just need to get it off...

I dont wanna go too much into the engine cause u will just tell me to pull and replace it too...i bought a mess..but love the boat so trying to make due

 

[cannonford57]

Re: removal of stubborn mercrusier 888

if the drive is "shelled" as you say,pull the top cap,remove the drive gear nut on the end of the shaft that goes into the back of the engine,pull like heck,suspect you have an alignment/rust issue.

 

[Bcrowe]

Re: removal of stubborn mercrusier 888

thanks cannon..that will be easier than what im doing now I think. Yeah the drive is no good and i have no plans to reuse it. I will try that instead.

 

[JustJason]

Re: removal of stubborn mercrusier 888

pull the top cap,remove the drive gear nut on the end of the shaft

Uhmmm... Me thinks you won't be getting that nut off that way. There's no room inside there for a socket or a combo wrench.

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: removal of stubborn mercrusier 888

You need to make sure the intermediate shift shaft & the part that it indexes withare facing forward, just because the helm is in fwd is not good enough, you must check visually on the outside of the boat........

If it is not, you must get it to that position......
If it is, continue with the procedure as you have been doing it......
You can stand on the drive if necessary, it won't break.....
Spray some Kroil on the driveshaft & gimbal bearing from the inside of the boat.....
I would also try putting a wrench on the prop nut & turning the drive in it's normal rotation....
If the engine is not aligned properly, it may have a 'high' spot that is holding it from releasing.....
In fact, I would try that first to see if it will move....
I don't think I would try removal by attempting to take the top end apart, you will not have any way to lever off the drive shaft....

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: removal of stubborn mercrusier 888

get a hoist on the engine...... then you can pull raise or lower it enough so that if this an alignment issue you can easily just pull it off....

 

[Bcrowe]

Re: removal of stubborn mercrusier 888

OK so here is an update. After looking at it even though the throttle/shifter lever was in full foward the drive was not. So after monkeying with it I got it in forward gear so that the intermediate shift shaft was facing forward. Now we go back to trying to pull the drive and guess what. Still nothing. I tried using the trim cylinders to push the drive back and hopefully get the shaft to move but still nothing. I even tried multiple different wood block strategies and nothing. So being somewhat of a hick I tried to tie the thing off to a large maple tree and after making sure the boat was solidly tied to the trailer tried to drive off in my truck and pull it out. Then dang drive is still on the boat. So, unless someone has something I haven't tried or another sugesstion, I think I am going to break down and take it to a boat shop and have the work done. The only thing I can think of is that there is possibly a dang snap ring in there somewhere that I cant see that is holding everything up but I dont know.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: removal of stubborn mercrusier 888

lift the engine.... heck only takes a few minutes more to remove it....
there is no snap ring.... there is a 600 lb engine hanging off of the last 2" of the shaft..... puts ALOT of leverage on it.... if not that then rust in the gimbal bearing.... with the engine out of the way you can access the front of the shaft and drive it out of the bearing with a block of wood and a hammer if needed.... probably won't be though

I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that after you get the engine off of it the drive will slide right out

 

[JustJason]

Re: removal of stubborn mercrusier 888

At this point, if you still want to do it yourself this is what I would do.

You have a junk engine, you don't know the condition of the drive. Unless you've already drilled, you don't know the condition of the transom. I would pull the engine out. Undo the gimbal housing/transom shield bolts, and the drive will come out with the transom assembly. At this point you can put the whole thing on a bench and strategically cut only what you have to.

 

[Bcrowe]

Re: removal of stubborn mercrusier 888

ok I will try to lift the engine tomorrow. Hopefully that will solve the problem. The engine is not junk it runs great...the outdrive however is junk and I have a good replacement already . thanks for the advice everyone. Sorry I have been such a PITA about this. Just want it done.