I recently purchased a water pump rebuild kit from our hosts. After a considerable amount of effort along with probably more than my share of colorful perjoratives, I was finally able to get the base off the lower unit housing. Much to my surprise, the new base (I've tried two different part numbers now), will not seat all the way onto the lower gasket. It would appear that the old base doesnt want to fit anymore, either. I honestly did not notice if the old base was actually seated on the gasket prior to removal, but - by the appearance of the gasket - I suspect it was. I can't see anything below the base that would obstruct it. Additionally, I have done extensive visual comparisons between the old and new bases and see no visible differences (other than the color). I have tried tapping it in place using long sockets around the mounting screws and can get it within about 1/8" from the gasket, but that's as far as it wants to go. My Mercury manual talks about shims, but never shows any in the accompanying diagrams and the text part of that discussion really doesn't make good sense to me. Does anyone have a clue what might be going on here?
Wishing I was Back on the Water...Fred
Wishing I was Back on the Water...Fred