changing driveshaft hard or easy?

[pcrussell50]

for 1975-era evinrude v4's.

i may find myself needing or wanting to change the driveshaft on my 1975 v4 evinrude 135hp. what i want to know is, will i need special tools or special measurement equipment and/or shop presses and all to get the the shaft and swap out the new one.

for reference, i'm completely comfortable removing lower units and changing impellers, and i build my own automotive race engines...but i'm not particularly knowledgeable when it comes to geartrains and gear clearances and setup.

thanks

-peter

 

[Mas]

Re: changing driveshaft hard or easy?

If it is anything like my 20hp, the drive shaft will easily side out of the crank and pull gently out of the LU. You should have a little vacuum from the LU as you pull up gently. You can remove the vent plug to even out the pressure. As long as the replacement is the same length, you should not have a problem. Just make sure that you use moly lube on the splines but not the top of the drive shaft. If you put lube on the top, the shaft may hydraulic and you'll never get it off.

Again, I do not know you motor so results may vary.

MAS

 

[freddyray21]

Re: changing driveshaft hard or easy?

hold the lu upright and in the same position during the procedure. The driveshaft as already stated should just slip out. You should then slip the new one in right away. If you move it around the pinion gear can move slightly making it harder to line up the driveshaft in it.

 

[pcrussell50]

Re: changing driveshaft hard or easy?

it looks like there's a big nut holding the pinion gear to the driveshaft:

Sooo, back to my original question: looks like i will have to disassemble the lower unit to change driveshafts. does it require special tools like presses and micrometers and such? or can a careful, mechanically inclined guy with a wide variety of ordinary tools handle it?

-peter

 

[F_R]

Re: changing driveshaft hard or easy?

The gearcase does need to come apart so you can get that nut off. The pinion is a tapered spline fit on the end of the shaft, but it comes off pretty easy.

Yes, as I recall, it does require a special tool to shim the pinion whenever the pinion and/or shaft is replaced. The tool is a gauge that fits between the pinion and thrust bearings on the shaft.