Upper and lower unit pulled without being shifted into drive first. What damage cout

[rhillman75]

Well let's just call this as it is... My neighbor decided to "help" me out with removing my outdrive while I was at work. My boat is still under shrink wrap in which I was planning to to de-winterize this weekend when I went to pull the drive. I know for a FACT that you are suppose to have the drive shifted into forward gear before removing the upper and lower. He did not do that due to the shrink wrap being in tact :facepalm: So now my questions is... on top of the yoke seal that I need to have replaced, what else should I look for. I replaced the shift cable last year, so is it "toast" now? What else should I look for? I know he was trying to help, but damn, why don't neighbors start by mowing the yard or sweeping the sidewalk! :faint2:

 

[ktbarrentine]

Re: Upper and lower unit pulled without being shifted into drive first. What damage

You say he pulled the "upper and lower".... Did he remove the lower first, then the upper, or the entire outdrive as an assembled unit?
Why do you need to replace the yoke seal? Did it fail a pressure test? Got photos of what the results look like from the drive removal? Alot will stem on how it was removed.
Interesting neighbor.... me? I'd call the cops!

 

[rhillman75]

Re: Upper and lower unit pulled without being shifted into drive first. What damage

He removed the upper and lower as one unit. The yoke seal was being replaced due to oil in the drive bellows. Didn't take any photos yet. I am beyong words with this. He has been a good neighbor over the years and he has built many top fuel engines and transmissions for the NHRA before retiring. I guess he was bored and knew my schedule was hectic. I guess he felt like he needed to be helpful after I helped him drop several enignes and transmissions in over the last couple of years. He said he no issues with paiyng for any damage and felt quite bad. I guess at this point, rather than sending it to the marina and having them "tell me" what was needed, I would ask what what to look for.

 

[tazrig]

Re: Upper and lower unit pulled without being shifted into drive first. What damage

deleted. see following post.

 

[tazrig]

Re: Upper and lower unit pulled without being shifted into drive first. What damage

I'm not sure how he managed to get the drive off without shifting into forward but the good news is probably didn't do any damage. Shifting into forward simply lines up the following pieces in a straight line so it is easier to pull the drive off. You should be fine. Can't speak to what other damage he may have done though.

In the below pics shift shaft, lower #32 fits into a slot at the bottom of shift drive #23. When you shift into forward they line up in a straight line and just slide straight out. By not putting the drive into forward before removing it you just stretch the cable a little. As soon as the drive pops off the upper shift shaft the cable should go right back to where it was. You should be fine in that area. It's not enough of a stretch to do any permanent damage. You might need to re-adjust the cable if it slipped slightly during the man handling but I think you should be fine. Just make sure you put the shift into forward before you re-attach the drive and make sure that the lower shift shaft is facing straight forward before you re-attach the drive so both will just slide straight into each other. Also, seriously, what was you neighbor thinking?

shift shaft lower #32:

https://webapps.brunswick.com/liter...3f1f1578f7d04df4a0e831279.e38KchyKbh4Qbi0Rci0

Shift shaft upper #23:

https://webapps.brunswick.com/liter...3f1f1578f7d04df4a0e831279.e38KchyKbh4Qbi0Rci0

 

[stonyloam]

Re: Upper and lower unit pulled without being shifted into drive first. What damage

First off, if the boat was covered you only can assume that it was not in forward. What you need to do now is check. Take a look at the bottom of the upper shift shaft that sticks out from the bottom of the bellhousing. If the "C" channel coupler on the bottom is facing straight ahead it is in forward and you should be OK. If it is turned at an angle the shift was probably in neutral, or maybe (but probably not) in reverse. The possible damage would be that the bottom coupling of the upper shift shaft may have been bent. If the outdrive came off relatively easily there may not have been any damage.

 

[Don S]

Re: Upper and lower unit pulled without being shifted into drive first. What damage

Either the shift shaft in the bellhousing is bent, or the one in the lower is bent. Or if you were lucky and the stars lined up right and the drive was dropped and pulled off crooked, nothing was bent. (that doesn't happen often, but I have seen it)

 

[MarkSee]

Re: Upper and lower unit pulled without being shifted into drive first. What damage

While visiting a local Merc. dealer a guy came in describing the same situation where the drive was pulled off in neutral and how to know if it would be ok or not.

Dealer said to:
-put the shifter in full forward then eyeball or put a couple straight edges on the shift shoe and see if it looks tweaked of fairly straight
-put the drive in forward and check the shift shaft in the same way
-if both those seem ok, put the drive back on the boat and as it's being moved forward slowly, pay close attention to how the shift shaft is engaging in the shift shoe
-if it makes it all the way in, test normal operation of fwd, neu, rev with the shifter and movement/locking of the prop.

Mark

 

[tazrig]

Re: Upper and lower unit pulled without being shifted into drive first. What damage

Hope the OP posts back with the results of damage or not. I guess it will depend on if the shift was left in forward before covering (no problem) or how gentle the neighbor was with his removal of the drive. I've seen them taken off where the drive gears were fused or completely shredded and they had to be taken off without being lined up because the lower shift shaft was frozen in position. It took a while and a lot of wiggling but they were able to get it off without bending the upper or lower shift shaft. The upper shift shaft just twisted and snapped back into place after it broke free from the drive. My prior post was based on the assumption that anyone with that kind of mechanical ability wouldn't just rip the drive off. If thats what happened then he probably did bend one of them. Hope not though! Or if one had to get damaged it was the upper one.

 

[PS94]

Re: Upper and lower unit pulled without being shifted into drive first. What damage

First time I ever pulled my drive, (no manual or help) I didn't know about leaving it in forward...it was a pain to get off, and back on, but nothing got bent, (I'm not a hammer or rammy mechanic) and all worked well for 3 more years, and several more proper removal and installs...

 

[natemoore]

Re: Upper and lower unit pulled without being shifted into drive first. What damage

The kind of neighbor I have is one who waits for me to buy the expensive special tool, then asks to borrow it. :grumpy: