25 hp mariner 1984 ish. impeller change how do i get to the shift shaft bolt or clip

drewonline

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Jun 2, 2012
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have removed the 4 bolts and found that my shift shaft also needs to be disconnected. It looks really tight in there under the carb (sort of) is there something that needs to be removed to make access? I have tried putting it in f/r and it still looks really hard to get at.

changing the impeller in this for the 1st time. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 

minuteman62-64

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Re: 25 hp mariner 1984 ish. impeller change how do i get to the shift shaft bolt or

I've got an '82 30 HP Mariner, which I assume (of course you know what happens when you assume :) ) is built the same. On mine, the shift shaft separates at about the mid-point. You don't have to go up into the power head area. There's a little access port just below the bottom swivel bracket that contains the shift shaft, a coupling nut and a lock nut. Loosen the lock nut and undo the coupling nut and you are on your way.

If the coupling nut is frozen, see my post on my adventures in freeing it.
 

drewonline

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Jun 2, 2012
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Re: 25 hp mariner 1984 ish. impeller change how do i get to the shift shaft bolt or

Found that on this motor the clip that needs to be removed is up under the carb. To access the starter must be removed (2 bolts ) then just move to the side with wires still attached. It is still tight but doable. I often wish I had smaller hands when working on motors. A pair of needle nose pliers helps to put it back on. can be removed with small flat screwdriver.
 

minuteman62-64

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Re: 25 hp mariner 1984 ish. impeller change how do i get to the shift shaft bolt or

Just curious - where did you find that info? My reason for asking: I had a mechanic bring my motor back to life after a 20 year sleep. As part of the job he replaced the impeller. A month or so later (with only about 4 hours on the motor) I had the need to drop the lower unit and had a devil of a time undoing the coupling nut I refered to above. Which begged the question: How in the heck did the mechanic drop the LU to change the impeller, since that coupling nut obviously hadn't been undone for a long, long time.

So, now I'm thinking maybe my mechanic used your method of removing the starter for access to the upper end of the shift shaft. I'd like to know if that's an option for my motor in the event of a future issue with the mid-shaft coupling nut. The parts diagram in my factory manual is not clear in this regard.
 
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