mercruiser 165 drive shaft housing installation

[michael s.]

ok i replaced water pump my next question is when i shift gear housing assy. into forward gear do i need to shift it on the boat also or just in the housing?and do you have any suggestions for me to shift cuz i ain't got the shift shaft wrench as it shows in manual man this shade tree boat mechanicing can be a pain as i have recently determined

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: mercruiser 165 drive shaft housing installation

Make sure the small oil seal is in place
Because were going to turn the impeller backwards, lubricate it with soapy water or some A/F poured into the pump housing.
Control box in full fwd, turn splined shaft in lower unit full clockwise while turning prop counter clockwise untill locked ,do not allow prop to turn at this point.Raise lower unit ,turn prop ccw a little bit to align the driveshaft,you`ll feel it .Put on the foward most nut about 2 threads to hold the lower unit, align shift shoe on splined shaft , install side nuts, and tighten making sure shoes stay aligned. Install rest of nuts.

 

[michael s.]

Re: mercruiser 165 drive shaft housing installation

ok doc i did that and now when i crank it on hose the prop is spinning.soooo what step do you think i may have missed?

 

[ziggy]

Re: mercruiser 165 drive shaft housing installation

any chance you slipped out of gear in the lower while mating the upper and lower? if you move the prop cw at all after you've got the lower shifted into fwd. it easily shifts out of fwd toward neutral.. then the mismatch occures. load the prop with a bungee into fwd. if while mating the two. the lower drive shaft splines don't line up with the upper, continue to turn prop ccw to get the drive shaft splines to line up.
in lieu of a shift shaft tool (i don't know what that is) to shift the lower only, i just use a socket. don't know what size. but one of the 6 point 1/4'' drive sockets in my set fits the shift shaft.

 

[Fishermark]

Re: mercruiser 165 drive shaft housing installation

ok i replaced water pump my next question is when i shift gear housing assy. into forward gear do i need to shift it on the boat also or just in the housing?

Did you remove the lower unit only? Leaving the upper gearcase attached to the transom assembly?

Or did you remove the entire outdrive, replace the water pump, re-assemble the outdrive, and are now trying to re-install the entire drive?

Two different things and two different answers to your questions.

Will it shift out of forward gear with the engine off? If not, it is possible you forgot the washer on the shift shaft.

 

[michael s.]

Re: mercruiser 165 drive shaft housing installation

i just removed thre lower unit to replace the water pump. i think maybe if according to doc in above post i need to move control in boat to full forward then this may be my issue . i just engaged about 1/4 way not full forward and i'm guessing that when i pull back to neutral that it is not totally disengaging forward gear. does this sound correct?

 

[ziggy]

Re: mercruiser 165 drive shaft housing installation

the helm remote must be in fwd. you can tell if so by looking at the coupler up under the bellhousing. it'll be facing parallel with the boat when if full fwd.
this is a pic of the coupler in neutral. it be further to port if in reverse. it'll be facing fwd if in fwd..

i'm laying on my back looking up at the drive in the pic.

 

[michael s.]

Re: mercruiser 165 drive shaft housing installation

ok so full forward on control inside boat , then shift shaft turned all the way clockwise and prop turned all the way ccw till it stops then slide lower unit into position install front nut then line up shift shaft rod pull up rest of bolts and i should be good? should it pull up easily or should there be some resistance? also ziggy the pic you sent me in a post a few days ago showed how water should flow from foot if operating properly, the small hole on front of the foot where does this water come from ? does it flow out around the shift shaft housing i? i tryed to clean out the opening in front of shift shaft it was full of dirt or grease i thought it looked like water would go down this passage and exit the small hole .is this the case or this just an open void inthe housing ? oh by the way ziggy u r my hero lol
?

 

[ziggy]

Re: mercruiser 165 drive shaft housing installation

ok so full forward on control inside boat , then shift shaft turned all the way clockwise and prop turned all the way ccw till it stops (then put a bungee on the prop so it loads the prop ccw so it won't slip out of gear)then slide lower unit into position

the small hole on front of the foot where does this water come from ? does it flow out around the shift shaft housing ?

yes, the cavity in the lower in ft. of the shift shaft. ya just need to clean it out. i've had 2 different 1 drives. both were cram packed with sand, and other unknowns. i just used a screwdriver and a vacuum and chipped away at it and vacuumed it out till i was down to the bottom of the cavity. then just run a wire or whatever through that hole that leads to the outside of the drive. that hole that you see from the outside where the water comes out at is at the bottom of the cavity...

oh by the way ziggy u r my hero lol

thanks man, but not necessary. i've had so much help and learned so much from others here on this forum. my only goal is to return the favor and help others, if i can, as much as the people that've helped me out (and i've been helped a lot too)... i'm not a boat tech, nor a pro, i'm just addicted to boats. there's quite a few others here that are in the same boat (pun intended) i'm in too i think.... others are real marine techs giving free expert advise to us laymen. to me, they're the ones that are the heros... myself, i say thanks to all that've helped me. everyones advise here has generally been most helpful and profesional. techs or laymen....

kudos to this fourm and iboats too. keeping a civil, boating only platform is most helpfull to everyone involved.. it keeps our eye on th ball. were all brothers and sisters here, because we all are doing the same thing. boating.... that's the way i see it...