9.9 GAMEFISHER SHIFT SHAFT

EddiePetty

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Trying to help a friend out with a Sear 9.9 (Force/Chrysler) Model 225.581997 Serial OE090868.

HOW ON EARTH DO YOU DISCONNECT THE SHIFT SHAFT TO DROP THE LOWE UNIT?!?!?!?

Sorry about the cap lock.

Trying to get to the waterpump

Thanks in advance
 

MickLovin

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Hi mate, there is normally a screw you have to disconnect when the lower unit is dropped about a half inch after taking the bolts off, mine had a screw which I disconnected and the unit dropped after I pushed the screw out.
 

EddiePetty

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Awe! Therein lies the problem! With the four bolts removed, lever in reverse the lower unit will only drop 1/8" and stops..HARD! The drawings show a two-section shift shaft with a mid area screw yet I can not get the LU to drop far enough to access the screw. Any thoughts on parting the joint without damaging anything?
 

Frank Acampora

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Jan 19, 2007
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The shift cam inside the lower unit is a spring loaded stepped cam. Reverse is down and forward is up. Do not be afraid: Put the engine in forward and then pull down--the shift rod should move as you drop the lower unit. OR: Put the engine into reverse and then pull down HARD to put the lower unit in forward. This will give you enough room to reach in with a screwdriver or Allen wrench (whichever the screw is, it could be either) and release the two shift shafts.
 

EddiePetty

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The shift cam inside the lower unit is a spring loaded stepped cam. Reverse is down and forward is up. Do not be afraid: Put the engine in forward and then pull down--the shift rod should move as you drop the lower unit. OR: Put the engine into reverse and then pull down HARD to put the lower unit in forward. This will give you enough room to reach in with a screwdriver or Allen wrench (whichever the screw is, it could be either) and release the two shift shafts.
Okay, Frank. I discovered that if I inverted the engine I could just see the shift shafts hiding behind the lower swivel and rubber shock mount. I removed the swivel caps and trimmed a hair off the rubber bushing to exposed the 5/32" socket head screw connecting the shift shaft halves. I removed the screw to free the shafts. YET....I can only get the lower unit to part by 3/8" and that is using fox wedges on the fore and aft edges of the parting joint. With this much pressure applied, the engine is difficult to turn....I am thinking that the splines of the drive shaft are seized in the end of the crankshaft (the owner had previously spun the prop and some jack leg pinned the prop to the hub: the owner just busted that prop on who-knows-what). Any additional suggestions? I really don't want to bust either casing!
 

EddiePetty

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UPDATE: Continued with the fox wedges...got the gap between the units up to 5/8" now. The unit EASILY returns to fully closed and with little effort I can return to the 5/8" gap. Still afraid of damaging the aluminum castings. I can now see the water pump housing's sides. So far I haven't pull it apart! Any clues what's holding the unit together?
 

Frank Acampora

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If the drive shaft is indeed rust welded into the crankshaft, it can be a nasty job. HOWEVER The water pump impeller is the only thing that holds the drive shaft in the lower unit. If you pull really hard, the pin for the pin drive of the impeller will bend and the top seal of the water pump casing will be destroyed but you will be able to replace them and no really expensive damage will be done.

Now, you can turn the engine upside-down and dribble penetrant down the drive shaft. Grab the drive shaft with something--I have used a split collar and also used a piece of steel plate with a hole slightly larger than the drive shaft diameter so it cocks on the shaft and grabs it. Then an impact hammer will pull out the shaft--maybe
 
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EddiePetty

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Frank, as you predicted I FINALLY managed to pull the impeller pin through the impeller, pump housing and seal. The units are now apart!!!!

The driveshaft is indeed seized in the crank. The engine is currently inverted and the joint is soaking in PB Blaster. I'll fabricate some kinda puller/knocker/etc. and give the shaft a go-to.

Thanks for your assistance!
 

EddiePetty

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WELL......the saga continues! I've got this beast stripped down to the bare power head with a driveshaft sticking up in the air. The driveshaft is 100%, solid! no holds barred seized in the end of the crank. Between my shop, an auto repair facility down the road and a retired auto service guy with everything Snap-On ever sold...nothing has budged that thing. I keep reminding myself that this shaft is NLA. I have gently heated the block end of the shaft, but just gently due to the aluminum block and lower crank seal, let the heat normalize, soaked with PBBlaster and repeated several times. Seems no amount of slide hammer, pneumatic hammer or other brute force has budged this thing.......ALL OFF-the-WALL ALTERNATE SOLUTIONS ARE APPRECIATED!!! (I'm certain the splines are distorted within the crankshaft, though no evidence of the splines are visible with the shaft bottomed out in the crank.)
 

Frank Acampora

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If you have access to a big vise, clamp the drive shaft in the vise, with the block down, at a point where the marring from the vise teeth will not affect anything. Then with some aluminum cushioning placed so you don't damage the block, and a big fine adjustment tool, beat the hell out of the block until it drops off the shaft. Be careful that you don't bend the shaft..
 
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EddiePetty

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Well, Frank, we're thinking along similar lines! I annealed a band of copper and clamped around the drive gear spline, hung the power head from a chain fall, protected the block with a wood block and beat the thing with a 10# adjusting tool until a) the block turned to tooth picks and b) my arm fell off! The shaft didn't budge. I reapplied a dose of thermal persuasion and made more tooth picks. I'll try the vise method after my arm re-attaches! Thanks for sticking with me.
 

EddiePetty

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......well, I've heat 'n beat 'till I'm blue in the face! Got the pump end of the shaft clamped in a 50# vise with copper jaws, a 3/8" steel plate across the base plate of the power head and swinging away with a 10# maul. Heated the shaft several times, allowed to normalize, soaked in P B Blaster and repeated several times. NO indication of any movement. Think it's past time to throw in the towel?
 
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