lower leg removal!

[timscooby]

in the process of dropping lower leg to attempt impeller replacement, loosened bolts on the sides and the one under the anode and it drops about 7mm but no more...does this need some gentle persuation to free the drive shaft or is their a nut on top that needs undoing?<br />Merc 50 circa 87!<br /><br />thanks in advance!

 

[pine island fred]

Re: lower leg removal!

Am going thru the same problem. Early 90s mariner/merc, unable to remove the power head or drop the leg for water pump replacement. Have been able to move both about 3/8 in ( 7mm?), and things lock up. Fly wheel will not turn when the gap appears so i have stopped so I dont damage any bearing. My leg had 4 nuts, 2 on each side,1 under the trim tab and 1 a few ins. forward of the annode. Its a 50hp. 4 cyl. The fact that you do get the clearence sounds like you got all the nuts/bolts. Am guessing that the drive shaft is seized to the power head. <br /> As I have come close to writing the thing off, plan B is to use a hole saw and cut a hole in the leg. Then go in and surgically cut the shaft with a recip. saw. Have been told on another post that the shaft will cost about $400 so plan C is to try to make a neat cut and maby a welding shop can put it back together. SELOCK manual suggest cutting the shaft with a toarch.<br /> Plan to try it today, so dont make a move yet and I will advise how I made out. regards fred

 

[pine island fred]

Re: lower leg removal!

Hello tim! just did the deed and wanted to pass it along to you. Used a 2 1/8 in. hole saw and cut a hole in the leg. Pretty close to the front in line with the lower grease fitting on the pivot. Took out my trusty milwaukee sawzall with a new blade and slowly cut the shaft. It is solid, stainless i presume, it is 19 mm. in diameter. Loosened to 2 semi captive nuts and the gear box slid right out. <br /> Used 2 blades as the saw jumps around some and dulls the teeth. Blade took out about 1/16 in. of material. Will investigate buying a new shaft or having the old one welded or a sleevemade and welded over the 2 pieces. Expect the power head to come out easly now also. regards fred

 

[timscooby]

Re: lower leg removal!

thanks for taking the time fred,but before I do anything drastic I wanted to know if thier was a nut on top the shift shaft etc I was meant to undo before it would drop (3 cyl merc 50 87),would greatly appreciate any input as the manual isnt that clear!<br /><br />tim

 

[pine island fred]

Re: lower leg removal!

Hello tim! Currently have the power head upside down soaking in penetrating oil. Nothing up there holding it except corrosion. I have a bonified MERC book that covers the 3 cyl. 30 to 55 that I glance at to get some kind of idea. None of the diagrams show anything holding the shaft to the power head other than the splines. <br /> Cutting the shaft was drastic and i am faced with not being able to pull the prop shaft to remove the pinion gear with special tooling. RODBOLT may be my salvation. I know what you are up against. Stay in touch fred

 

[timscooby]

Re: lower leg removal!

shame about your engine fred, have done nothing with mine yet , been to busy , but will keep you posted<br /><br />Tim

 

[goinhungry]

Re: lower leg removal!

Probably not it, but sometimes my LU won't drop down unless I shift in/out of gear, and it won't drop unless it's in neutral. The drive shaft, forwar and reverse gears are conical shaped on mine, and if it's in forward or reverse, it often won't clear. Just an easy thing worth trying (although you probably already did it) that I didn't see mentioned above...

 

[timscooby]

Re: lower leg removal!

simple thing to do ,but have allways had it in forward gear as per the manual..anythings worth a try!!<br />cheers Hungry.

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: lower leg removal!

goinhungry, on these motors the gears have nothing to do with whether or not the lower unit will separate from the mid-section or not. The entire driveshaft detaches (splined joint) from the powerhead and is removed with the lower unit, and the shift shaft detaches (splined joint) at the lower unit and remains in the midsection. It can be in neutral, forward or reverse and will still separate, if its not seized somewhere . What motor do you have where the driveshaft comes out of the lower unit?

 

[timscooby]

Re: lower leg removal!

rodc, do you have a difinative answer as to whether or not their is something on top of the shift shaft that would be stopping the lower leg from dropping..any input much appreciated..Tim

 

[goinhungry]

Re: lower leg removal!

Rod- I never said the driveshaft comes out of the lower unit. Rather, it's as you say, where everything drops down out of the powerhead. My only thought was that shifting in and out of gear a few times, then putting it in neutral might free-up something that's stuck up near the powerhead. It's what worked for me the first time I did mine, and it is something that's really simple to do, less invasive than drilling and cutting and something I didn't see mentioned above. Only trying to help here...

 

[timscooby]

Re: lower leg removal!

and I do appreciate your trying to help hungry! and I will try when I get back off me hols!!

 

[north40]

Re: lower leg removal!

Before I demolished engine via hole saws and sawzall, I would try deadblow hammer and or try plastic or wood wedges to put some serious pressure on the splines. Sometime it only takes a small amount of pressure to break the scum. Also try turning engine upside down and spraying liquid wrench on driveshaft and letting it run down into the splines. Let it soak like this for a couple of days, occasionally tapping on the wedges. Sometimes this works,sometimes not, but if it does, you have saved yourself a pile of money.

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: lower leg removal!

Sorry goinhungry, I just wanted to clarify for timscooby. When you mentioned "conical gears" and "won't clear" I thought you were implying the gear set was keeping the two sections together. You are right that all suggestions are valuable and sometimes the simple things get overlooked.<br /><br />Tim, give the s/n of your motor and I will try and get a diagram for you. In the first post above you only mention 3 fasteners. I believe there should be four. One nut starboard side, one nut port side, one nut under trim tab (need to remove trim tab to get access to nut) and one on the underside of the anti-ventilation plate forward of the trim tab.

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: lower leg removal!

North40 that is exactly what I recommended to another member *pine island fred* just recently who was having the same problem. Wedges exert a tremendous amount of force and when used with the penetrating oil are a great combination. Trick is to get the motor upside down. A trick an old mechanic once showed me is the occasional rapping of the flywheel NUT (NOT the shaft) with a hammer helps the penetrating oil penetrate deeper into the corrosion. Oil/rap/soak/repeat.

 

[north40]

Re: lower leg removal!

Rod, I skipped right over that post.<br />Bob

 

[timscooby]

Re: lower leg removal!

Rod s/n B173969.....thanks again folks!!!

 

[gss036]

Re: lower leg removal!

There is product here in the states called PB Blaster, it is the best penetrating I have ever found and does a great job. I have read several posts over the years about using the wedge method. Patience and time will normaly get results.

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: lower leg removal!

here is a link to your motor parts breakdown for motors with s/n from B122930 thru D000749.<br />Not very high quality images but the all I could find. Look at the 'gear housing - drive shaft' section and 'shift linkage and exhaust plate' sections. You can enlarge the images for more detail. Hope this helps.<br /><br /> http://www.ishopmarine.com/ishop/js...e=M0017679&path=MM~A0000023~M0017677~M0017679

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: lower leg removal!

Has anyone in Canada ever seen this PB Blaster. I have looked everywhere for it and no luck