1994 E25EERR Evinrude driveshaft alignment

[edoubleu]

Hi,
I just replaced the water pump and some of the seals (the ones I could safely remove). I say that because the engine has quite a bit of corrosion externally (probably from salt water) and I'm afraid of removing some things with fear of breaking them. Either way, I've got the new pump installed and the drive shaft is installed but will not engage the prop shaft at all. I've turned them both trying to get the splines to match but with no luck. The shaft feels like its bottomed out inside the housing but does not engage.
Any tips or suggestions on how I can get this together correctly?

Thank you

 

[Cofe]

Re: 1994 E25EERR Evinrude driveshaft alignment

The water pump impeller has a key that fits in the drive shaft. That is what centralizes the water pump... Then if the water pump is put together correctly, the drive shaft will engage the prop shaft. You may have to put the gearbox in gear and turn the prop by hand, and it should slide in.

 

[boobie]

Re: 1994 E25EERR Evinrude driveshaft alignment

Have you got the water tube lined up properly??

 

[edoubleu]

Re: 1994 E25EERR Evinrude driveshaft alignment

I was very careful in that the key was installed correctly. How would I get the gearbox in gear with the lower unit off? I have turned the prop shaft but still doesn't seem to work.

thanks

 

[edoubleu]

Re: 1994 E25EERR Evinrude driveshaft alignment

boobie: I do have the water tube connected properly. Maybe I'm missing something, but how would that affect the drive shaft from connecting to prop?

 

[boobie]

Re: 1994 E25EERR Evinrude driveshaft alignment

If the water tube wasn't in correctly it could be causing the lower unit not to go up all the way. Just a thought.

 

[Cofe]

Re: 1994 E25EERR Evinrude driveshaft alignment

I am uncertain of what task you are trying to do. Are you trying to put the drive shaft into the gearbox? Or are you trying to put the assembled lower unit with water pump and drive shaft into the power head?

 

[edoubleu]

Re: 1994 E25EERR Evinrude driveshaft alignment

Cofe: I'm trying to get the driveshaft into the gearbox. Sorry if I wasn't clear.
At this point, I have the new water pump assembled per instructions. With driveshaft locked in place with the plastic key. I lowered that assembly onto the gearcase and bolted the water pump down. This is my first time working on this motor, so I'm not exactly sure what's happening inside the gearcase, other than looking at parts diagram exploded views. But it seems to me that if the driveshaft is locked in place to water pump and water pump is bolted to gearcase, something is missing between end of driveshaft and prop shaft. Is it possible that the pinion gear has moved and the driveshaft isn't connecting to it?

 

[AlTn]

Re: 1994 E25EERR Evinrude driveshaft alignment

did the d/s splines have any signs of being less than perfectly straight?...1 or 2 with a slight curve or wave?...sometimes when the prop hits an object it can result is the d/s getting "distored" and once removed from the pinion gear it's difficult to realign it. I'd suggest taking the w/p back off and just work with the d/s first to try realigning it.

 

[edoubleu]

Re: 1994 E25EERR Evinrude driveshaft alignment

thanks, I'll try it again. The d/s splines looked good. I spent some time cleaning them and making sure the d/s was free of any build up oils and dirt. I will check again though, to make sure. I also tried working the d/s like you suggest, before I attached the w/p.
Is there any chance that the pinion gear could move from the prop shaft or that pretty well locked in place?


I noticed a few posts with similar issues but different motors. A few suggestions in lining the pinion gear to d/s is to flip LU upside down to get pinion gear to 'fall' down (to the top of LU) and try sliding d/s into it that way. Would this make sense to try?

Thanks

 

[AlTn]

Re: 1994 E25EERR Evinrude driveshaft alignment

rereading your original post..is it possible that the d/s is inserted into the pinion gear and you are just spinning the gearbox in neutral? I haven't fooled with a lower unit like yours, but if you unscrewed the lower shift rod while separating the l/u from the exhaust housing then you've got the fnr shift movement out of adjustment.

 

[jasper60103]

Re: 1994 E25EERR Evinrude driveshaft alignment

I assume this is a "new to you" motor.
No offense, but did it work correctly before you changed the water pump?

 

[edoubleu]

Re: 1994 E25EERR Evinrude driveshaft alignment

AlTn: That's a good point! I'm thinking back to when I took the L/U off, (it's been a while). I'm pretty sure it would have been in neutral when I took it off. Because I probably would not have left it in gear the last time I turned engine off and started taking L/U off. Is there any way to check that BEFORE I reassemble it?
I can reattach the L/U pretty easily and then put it in gear and see if the prop engages. I just don't want to damage anything cause I won't have any lube in there yet.
Thanks

 

[edoubleu]

Re: 1994 E25EERR Evinrude driveshaft alignment

jasper60103: No offense at all. Yes, this is a new-to-me boat and motor. I ran the boat and motor 1.5 yrs ago with no problem. Late last summer I tried getting it running again but there wasn't any water running through engine and was overheating. That's when I decided to replace the water pump.

 

[AlTn]

Re: 1994 E25EERR Evinrude driveshaft alignment

you should be able to find fnr by pulling up and pushing down on the lower shift rod with some pliers while turning the d/s..it may not be possible to do so w/o refilling the gearcase first just depends on how tight all the sliding surfaces are in the gearcase...if looks like any adjustment to the shift rod is done after getting it bolted back up...there may be no adjustment necessary as long as the lower rod is screwed in tight

 

[edoubleu]

Re: 1994 E25EERR Evinrude driveshaft alignment

AlTn: I'll give that a try tonight, thanks for the suggestion. I hope it's as simple as it being in neutral.

 

[edoubleu]

Re: 1994 E25EERR Evinrude driveshaft alignment

Well, I finally had a chance to work on this again. The prop not engaging was as simple as you suggested. It was in neutral. L/U went back on with not too much trouble. The engine started fine, but I was still not getting water to flow through system! Took L/U back off to try and find problem. I put a compressor to the water tell tale to see if something was jammed in the water tube, but all was clear. Took the water pump back off and noticed one of the impeller blades were twisted and jammed up. Fortunately I only ran the motor for a minute or two and there wasn't any damage to it. I reset everything again, assembled it and ran motor. I was getting water coming of tell tale within 30 seconds...finally! There was water coming out of a few other small holes in L/U and some spraying out of the exhaust port on back of engine. I think when I was trying to align D/S the first time, I might have turned it the wrong direction and spun the impeller the wrong way.
Thanks for the help with this, couldn't have done it without the help of this forum.

Now I've got figure out why it's not running very smooth.