outdrive stuck

[boatruptcy]

pulled my outdrive on a bravo one, replaced all bellows, shift cable and trim senders and now i cant get it to go back in, i have the engine aligment tool, the motor is aligned no problem, the alignment tool slides right in, the grease marks are all as close to perfect as i can get them. the outdrive goes all the way up to a half inch and wont go any further, i spent three hours screwing with the blaming thing and cant get it to seat. i cant figure it out, anybody have any ideas???????? thanks in advance

 

[PitchFork]

Re: outdrive stuck

I am not sure about bravos but I had the same problem the first time I pulled my Alpha 1 Gen 1 off. The lower unit came out of forward. The shoe on the drive was cocked to one side and the drive would not go in all the way. Try spinning the prop. It should spin in one direction but not another if it is in forward.

 

[boatruptcy]

Re: outdrive stuck

the prop spins, but is in reverse, it wont go into neutral until it is fully seated against the bell housing. the shaft has already gone into the splines, it just wont go all the way, i tried spinning the prop but to no avail, i can get my hand down behind the drive between the engine coupler and i have pulled the drive five times and can see where it goes in the coupler, but it wont go all the way. i dont know, im about to take it to the dealer.

 

[achris]

Re: outdrive stuck

Do you have the service manual?

If not, for 1988 - 1998 download it HERE and look at page 2A-28.

If it's 2001 and later, download HERE and look at page 2A-22.

Chris........

 

[backyard mechanic]

Re: outdrive stuck

I just did a gen II out drive that presented me with the same hassle. All lined up and all in place but it still wouldn't "complete the journey" until I put my shoulder to it and rammed her home.

I think my problem was the out drive was on a slight "tilt" and I was hitting the shift slide just enough not to line up with the cam. Make sure the shift cam is lined up straight and the slide is not hitting a pocket of grease or something else. Turning that cam just enough to be off a smidge will give you a fit. You're there don't give up yet!

 

[achris]

Re: outdrive stuck

I... All lined up and all in place but it still wouldn't "complete the journey" until I put my shoulder to it and rammed her home. ...

[size=+3]DO NOT[/size] do this on a Bravo... You WILL damage something!

 

[boatruptcy]

Re: outdrive stuck

i followed the manual exactly on everything i did, it of course says nothing of this problem.

 

[achris]

Re: outdrive stuck

If you put new 'O' rings on the yoke, it may need a GENTLE push to get the 'O' rings into the gimbal bearing. Just make absolutely sure that you have the shift cable set up right. If you haven't, the shift cable will be damaged. Also a bit of grease on the 'O' rings helps plenty.

Chris......

 

[boatruptcy]

Re: outdrive stuck

shift cable is right, it is going into the jaws perfectly, it is set correctly with the merc tool, greased the shaft, splines and o rings, like i said i followed the manual exactly, it is a half inch out from seating i gave her a little push and a wiggle and a few choice words, its just not going, there has to be something else going on, surely someone has run into this before?!!

 

[Lou C]

Re: outdrive stuck

You sure there isn't a wad of dried up grease the splines of the coupler...might be worth shinin' a flashlight in there to take a look...too much grease in the spline area can cause a sort of hydrolock that will keep it from going in all the way...my Cobra will go right on as long as I get the gimble bearing in the right position with the tool and then keep the dang ujoints staight...that's were the stand I built comes in real handy....

 

[boatruptcy]

Re: outdrive stuck

yeah i called the dealer today where i bought my parts and he thinks its hydrolocked because i greased the end of the spline as well as the sides, that makes sense, so im going to pull it and wipe off grease from end and try it again, it goes in great so i know my alingment is perfect, it has to be that, thanks for your response.

 

[boatruptcy]

Re: outdrive stuck

update: drive is on, the problem i had was the splines had dried grease and unless you scraped with a gasket remover, you would never see it. hope this helps anybody else with same problem. oh yeah, you have to call that dam thing every name in the book to help coax it in as well.

 

[Lou C]

Re: outdrive stuck

glad it was something simple...I usually clean off the driveshaft with a little carb cleaner and clean out the splines and then give it a good coat of OMC/Bombardier triple guard grease...I put some engine oil on the O rings and it slides right on....
With all the posts about difficulty with getting OD's on or off...it kinda proves that...it's a good idea to take it off each season that way you keep up on the maintenance and catch problems before they get too big...
I have often seen on Outboard forums that when it comes time to pull the lower unit off to replace the impeller...the driveshaft can get stuck in the flywheel splines (rusted in) like what can happen to an OD if you never take it off...and since OBs have no ujoints or gimble bearings...I bet they get left on for years before the impeller wears and then there's a problem getting it off (specially in salt water!)