Must I pull power head for exhaust cover removal?

[tomconnolly]

So I have water in cylinder number 6 the bottom cylinder in my Mercury 115 l6 Tower of Power. Water is also dripping out of the gasket joint at the bottom of the exhaust cover. So I want to pull the exhaust cover and replace all the gaskets between that and the head. My question is this: can I do all this work without having to pull the power head? Will I be able to work around the cowling, or does the cowling come off easily? I have a decent amount of tools and some good mechanical knowledge, but I don't have a lift. And I'm not sure I really want to get into pulling off the lower unit separating the power head at this point. Thanks in advance

 

[racerone]

Removing powerhead is a headache saver.

 

[Chris1956]

Water in the bottom cylinder is often the failure of crankshaft seals. You have to pull the powerhead to replace those.

The lower cowling does not come off until the powerhead is removed.

 

[Sea Rider]

Once the powerhead is removed from pan replace both upper and lower crankshaft's oil seals, take advantage to replace all motor's gaskets, surely all are hardened, dried and if with time perform a complete desalt and decarbon process on the entire powerhead. It's time demanding but way to go, motor will run much cleaner and cool as when out of the box.

Happy Boating​