Use pliers and slide the upper nut half up the shift shaft to expose the plastic ferule under it. The ferule has a vertical slit that you can spread and remove with a fingernail or small screwdriver. Then shift the motor in forward and remove the upper nut half.
to cofe:
I have removed the plastic ferule. When you say remove the upper nut do you mean the nut on the drive shaft? (in pic green arrow) or the forward nut( red arrow). if it is the green arrow, the nut on the drive shaft, then I cannot get the drive shaft high enough to remove the upper nut.
Next, Besides that question is there any thing else I need to remove? or at this point do I need to persuade it with a rubber hammer? Once again I have the drive shaft disconnected, the four bolts holding the lower unit to the exhaust housing, and the forward nut(blue arrow) are removed. With all of those components loose my lower unit still will barley slide down, (see pic, the screw driver is wedged is there as far as i could go before i felt like i might break something). I feel like it is getting held up on the stud the forward nut went on to (blue arrow), my assumption is because I can pry a little towards the propeller end, but not at all at the end where that stud is. Im sorry if this is confusing, if you have any questions please ask, ill be back on this evening. once again thank you all for the help. -Ian P.S. sorry no arrows, just words, sorry i deleted paint and couldn't figure out a way to put arrows in.
