The last 3/4 inch

[johnnynegaunee]

I have an R drive '72 3.0L Merc Starcraft. I am replacing the engine with one from a donor boat '74 that hit a rock (engine with low hrs.). The front plywood that the front motor mount rested against was rotten so I replaced it with oak. I realigned the the motor and now that I am trying to remount the outdrive I find that the last 3/4 inch is very sticky and I will need to take a wood block and modest persuasion from a hammer to it to get it all the way on. Is this normal? There are 2 rubber O rings on the shaft about where it wants to stick. Is this the cause?

When I removed the outdrive it was sticking for this same distance, but I thought this was from the sag in the rotten plywood affecting the alignment.

Thanks for any tips or info. you can give me.

 

[BAYLINER185]

Re: The last 3/4 inch

Did you use an alignment tool to re align the motor?

You should not need to hit the drive with a hammer and a block of wood to puch it back on. Yes the last 3/4 can be tough but it shouldnt need more then a good push to get it on.

It may be that you dont have the shift / throttle handle in Forward gear and that preventing you from getting the drive back on right.