lower unit not winterized,how bad is it?

[mercuryblues]

I have a 1966 mercury 65 horsepower 4 cyl outboard.I thought I had drained the lube but I went out today to and discovered I had not.I thought maybe I would be lucky and drained the wated and filled with lube and started the motor it fired right up but when I shifted in gear I noticed the prop was not turning so I took the prop off and the cover nut behind the prop was split in half,I can see the bearing carrier assembly is cracked in two of the four "brackets",or "spindles",not sure what they are called.I can put the motor in gear, forward or reverse and the prop spins freely.How far back do I need to dig into the lower unit? Would a bad bearing carrier display the symptoms I have described? Also do the bearing carriers just pull out or thread out,I have a manual but it is not real clear on this.Thank you in advance for your time

 

[mercuryblues]

Re: lower unit not winterized,how bad is it?

I really could use some help here,also I wanted to ask,I see in the manual a blow up picture of what I hope is what is all on my prop shaft it appears it is a bearing carrier with a roller bearing inside it and then a reverse gear that is behind it,it looks as if this just slides down on splines on the shaft,and then the forward gear,would water break these gears or what?Also I really can't tell what holds the prop shaft in place.Please someone with experience on these motors reply.Again thanks for your time.

 

[Docdoc]

Re: lower unit not winterized,how bad is it?

I have never heard of this kind of damage coming from freezing in a lower unit. There must have been a lot of water in that thing. Sound more like collision damage to me. Is the shear pin on the prop busted? It usually goes through the prop shaft and seats in a groove in the back of the prop.If you can turn the prop by hand while it is in gear, then you may have a broken shear pin. All you have to do is replace it. Another probelm might be you have a spun hub, but not too likely. I'm not sure about the bearing carrier damage you are describing. That could be the source of water in the lower unit. I would take the unit completely apart and check the whole thing for corrosion and damage. If it looks pretty bad, you might think about investing in a rebuilt or used lower unit. Good luck!

 

[mercuryblues]

Re: lower unit not winterized,how bad is it?

Thank you for your post,I have taken the prop,thrust washer off and with the motor in gear at the controls I can spin the prop shaft in either direction freely if this helps.

 

[Docdoc]

Re: lower unit not winterized,how bad is it?

Have you tried to put the motor in gear manually? Try that and if the shaft still turns freely, then I would suspect the pinion gear on the drive shaft is not engaging. It may have stripped splines or may have been pushed upward and is not engaging the forward and reverse gears.

 

[mercuryblues]

Re: lower unit not winterized,how bad is it?

Ok guys I need a little advice as this is my first boat motor and have not had to do much to it yet but I am willing to try about anything.I pulled the lower unit.I tried spinning the driveshaft it spun independantly from the prop shaft which also spun freely.I was trying to pull the prop shaft out my friend was tapping the motor where the manual said to and the prop shaft slid out a little.Then I pushed back towards the driveshaft and a funny thing happened,if I keep pressure on the prop shaft while turning the driveshaft they both turn.Does this mean that my prop shaft was "frozen" in place and even though the mechanism from the control cables was doing its job and moving the levers and rods,the prop shaft was stuck in the neutral position from sitting all winter.What should I do now I am thinking of redoing the water pump while I have it out and cleaning everything up and lubing everything and putting it back together with all new seals.Is this adviseable or should I dig deeper.Thank you all in advance.

 

[roscoe]

Re: lower unit not winterized,how bad is it?

Personally, I would dig a bit deeper, inspect it all for damage and wear, replace the seals and broken carrier bearing bracket. I would like to get it all checked out and fixed the first time, and not have to worry about it.

 

[mercuryblues]

Re: lower unit not winterized,how bad is it?

Hello again,I have a new problem now I tried putting the lower unit back in,it would go in far enough that I could almost get the threads started on the studs and then a clanging noise and it would stop,finally after messing with it over and over I got it in.It bolted all the way up till I have 0 gap between the two housings.I can turn my flywheel and the prop shaft turns with it.but if I go to put my prop on the prop shaft must pull out of place because it goes right back to the out of gear thing where the prop shaft spins freely in either direction,and icing on the cake,I had unhooked my throttle cables to determine if they were indeed doing anything prior to dropping the l/u,and now the little bolt that they hook to inside the motor casing is absolutely froze in place where before I pulled the l/u it worked fine.Does this mean I have something in a bind and should drop it again?Also is there a way to get access to actually see the mechanism that is switching the gears from forward to reverse?Thanks again to all who post.

 

[mercuryblues]

Re: lower unit not winterized,how bad is it?

Does anyone know how the linkage works on this motor,can anyone tell how you can check your linkage?Thanks again.

 

[1968_Red_fish_IMP]

Re: lower unit not winterized,how bad is it?

Quote:Also is there a way to get access to actually see the mechanism that is switching the gears from forward to reverse?Thanks again to all who post.<br /><br />Hi~ the shift cam is the last thing that you will find in the lower unit, it is all the way in. You need the special tool to remove the carrier nut, and then probably a slide hammer with inside jaws to remove the carrier. Be careful when removing the carrier, once it is loose from using the slide hammer, slip it out gently, because there is a drift key and it is very small that will want to fall inside if your not careful. Once you have the carrier out then the prop shaft will come out, as you remove it the cam follower will probably make a clunk sound as it falls out the end of the inner propshaft and into the gear housing. Thats no problem, your wanting to go all the way in anyway, RIGHT?....this information should be in your manual. The shift shaft comes out the top side, read your manual on r&r of the shift shaft.<br />Good luck!