Pulling Mercruiser from my Century

[bonanzaman]

Hello, guys.....I am finally getting around to pulling the motor from my '76 Century Sabre (233 Mercruiser/Velvet Drive) for overhaul. I have pulled plenty of auto engines, but 1st time for a boat. My question is, what is the correct order for getting it out? Looks to me like I can remove the drive to engine bolts, and remove the forward engine mounts, disconnect everything, and pull her out. Or, is it better to disconnect the prop shaft flange, and loosen the rear mount clamps to swing the drive up? Any help here would be great! Don't want to put undue stress on anything!

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Pulling Mercruiser from my Century

Howdy,


If you slide on up to the following link (below) you should be able to find a Mercury service manual that outlines exactly what to do...

Sticky: ------------ADULTs ONLY -------------------------No Exceptions-----


(A, B, C or V-35 Bonanza?)



Cheers,


Rick

 

[bonanzaman]

Re: Pulling Mercruiser from my Century

Thanks, Rick.......I downloaded the manual a few days ago, but under "engine removal" it says v-drive must be removed 1st, and when I look at "remove drive" it says engine must be removed 1st!.......those old manuals are dense due to all the engine and drive variations, so I'll dig some more! Thanks!
(N35 Bonanza, 1961)!

Mark

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Pulling Mercruiser from my Century

N model! A very good year .... I always wanted a J/K/M model!!!(most of my time is in a C model...)


I am not familiar with Velvet drives (Although I think I may be working on my brothers ski boat in the near future)

If you can remove one or the other without forcing anything you're probably OK. (you might even be able to pull it all together!)

I would vote for removing the engine first if it can slide horizontally far enough to clear the drive before going up.

 

[bonanzaman]

Re: Pulling Mercruiser from my Century

Yes, it looks that way to me, sooo, I'll pull the bolts and if she goes forward enough, I should be good to go. ........yes, I had a D35 for a few years and the early 35's are sweet handling planes, even lighter touch than my N!
Thanks for the input!

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Pulling Mercruiser from my Century

Considering you will be disturbing the engine alignment ,the easiest way is to remove the engine and trans as a unit because the trans is actually supporting the motor . Use .003 (I think) per inch of flange dia. when readjusting the motor mounts.

 

[bonanzaman]

Re: Pulling Mercruiser from my Century

Yes, I see what you mean.......my thought was if I only had to remove the 2 foward mounts, then I could re-align on installation by adjusting 2 mounts instead of 4. Not sure how far foward the motor will have to go in order to clear the input shaft anyway.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Pulling Mercruiser from my Century

Velvets are about 2 inches of input shaft but it`s the re-alignment of the shaft coupling that counts .

 

[bonanzaman]

Re: Pulling Mercruiser from my Century

Exactly!.......that's why I'd like to leave the drive in the boat.....don't have to break the flange coupling apart at all......just have to line up the engine to the drive by adjusting the forward mounts on re-installation. The drive should stay in the same position if I leave the aft mounts and the flange alone. Does this make any sense at all??