Re: guy I no I have a mercury but....
No linkage to undo. Make sure you get all the nuts. There's one under the skeg (that aluminum fit at the back of the lower unit).<br /><br />If you're sure you got all the nuts, & it still won't come off, the driveshaft splines may be stuck in the bottom of the crankshaft. As I said, common on those older Mercs. Work at it for a bit, being careful not to break any of the castings on the lower unit (easy to do). <br /><br />Still stuck? OK, remove all the nuts but the two in the center of the lower unit. I mean the two studs facing UP in the center of the lower unit. Don't remove those nuts, just loosen them up about 3/8 of an inch. Now back the boat/motor/trailer into the water at the launching ramp, fire up the motor, and GENTLY run it in forward and reverse a couple times. <br /><br />Often that'll do it. In forward, the thrust from the prop tries to rotate the lower unit forward out from under the motor. The reaction force tries to pull the driveshaft down. Combined with the shock, vibration and heat, that'll often do it. If you can't make it to a ramp, running on the flushmuffs in the driveway might do it.
