Reattaching lower 9.9 lower unit

[Valley Boater]

This is my first attempt to reattach the lower unit assembly to the motor ('79 short shaft 9.9 Evinrude). All is going well until I try to slide the lower unit up the final few inches. I have the lower rod pulled up as far as it will go (reverse?) and the shifter in forward to expose as much rod as possible. I have the upper coupling mounting bolt removed and the copper water pipe is aligning well with the water pump gasket. The problem is I can't seem to get the upper shift rod to seat properly into the coupler.

What is the proper location for the shaft groove on the upper shifter rod in relationship to the clamp? I've tried several different ways of trying to get the shifter into the clamp but I only have the tip of the rod into the clamp. The groove is just outside the top of the clamp.

Should the groove go all the way into the clamp? If so I may have to remove the lower rod and do some bending as they don't seem to be joining on the same angle. It looks like the lower rod may be 15 degrees offset.

So close to getting the water pump replacment completed but still so far...

Any advise is greatly appreciated.

Don

 

[ezeke]

Re: Reattaching lower 9.9 lower unit

When the shift rod is properly aligned, the screw will be in the groove.

Use the shift lever to apply downward pressure on the coupler. You may need to gently spread the wings of the coupler with a screwdriver.