Among the other things that are giving me a bit of grief is that I can't easily get this thing to shift at all. I disconnected the cable and took a close look at the shift arm. On this motor, the shift assembly has a bushing (diagram part #90A on the exhaust housing as illustrated on marineengine.com) and I can see that mine has essentially collapsed and is in pretty rough shape. Seems odd that this alone could cause the nearly impossible to shift condition. This motor has the little window on the leg from which to access the shift rod connector and on inspection, when I wiggle the shift assembly by hand, both top and bottom sections of shift connector are moving together so the connection at this point looks OK. At this point, I have not yet torn into the gear case but assuming the problem is further down the shift linkage, what might cause this kind of binding?
Also, any suggestions on how to coax the flywheel off? Seems mine is stuck pretty bad. I have been trying to pull it off with a harmonic balance puller I have since the holes line up but the smallish 1/4inch bolts that fit into the screws where the ratchet sits seem inadequate. I've ended up bending stacks of washers as I try to pull this things off and so far no success. It wouldnt surprise me if it has never been pulled off.
Thanks in advance.
Also, any suggestions on how to coax the flywheel off? Seems mine is stuck pretty bad. I have been trying to pull it off with a harmonic balance puller I have since the holes line up but the smallish 1/4inch bolts that fit into the screws where the ratchet sits seem inadequate. I've ended up bending stacks of washers as I try to pull this things off and so far no success. It wouldnt surprise me if it has never been pulled off.
Thanks in advance.