That’s very helpful, thank you. Because before I knew it the entire thing was in pieces. The oil seal under the water impeller was shot. Once that was removed the fun began. Top drive shaft bearing was in pieces. Steel on aluminum, and two plus days later I have it out. Some scratches on aluminum surface. What should I put between the new bearing and old surface, if anything. I tore it down to hopefully find all the needle bearings.
After a 10 day holiday in Alaska I’m back. Trip was great by the way. Lower unit is back together, and on the motor. Tomorrow we launch. I took spark plugs out and turned the flywheel. Feels right. I changed 2 oil seals, prop shaft, and the top drive shaft one under the water impeller. A few o’rings were in the kit. Bonus points. Also came with the seal on top of the impeller cup. At this point I’m surprised it worked at all last fall. I changed gear lube every time I ran it, no matter for how long. It was getting cleaner but more milky. Once I had it apart I’m pretty happy I didn’t see its condition at the start. I’d say I got lucky and it held together. I’ll see tomorrow if my luck holds.
