1982 40 hp Mercury 2 stroke. I just replaced the impeller and CANNOT get the thing on

Steelworks

Recruit
Joined
Aug 26, 2012
Messages
1
Hey Everyone, For the last three hours I have been trying to get the lower unit back onto my engine. i KNOW that I removed the lower unit with the engine in forward gear. I replaced the impeller and got everything back together perfectly. I greased the top of the drive shaft and the top of the shift shaft as well. I am aware that there are several things that have to line up for this to go back on.

1. The water copper tube has to go onto the impeller housing cone as the unit moves inward.
2. The drive shaft has to go into the engine.
3. The shifter and splines have to go together.
4. The exhaust baffle has to slide in. It kinda bangs around until it is seated.
5. Finally all of the bolts (and there are 4 including the steering adjustable fin in the cavitation plate) have to go through as well.

What in the heck am I missing? lol...It feels like a solid stopping of the unit as I slide it upward as though two very
heavy sturdy pieces are colliding and stopping it so I do not want to beat it into place and hurt something. I also tried
hitting the starter for a 1/2 secong to just barely move the splines in the engine to see if that was it and that did not help either. I am sure that this one is SUPER simple but I am tired and would enjoy someone else just giving me the secret lol....Thanks for your replies !
 
M

Maxz695

Guest
Re: 1982 40 hp Mercury 2 stroke. I just replaced the impeller and CANNOT get the thin

Make sure the unit is i the same gear as the shifter (Reverse is probably the best as the because the prop locs in both directions you can turn the engine so that the driveshaft spines lin up with the crankshaft grooves. You could try turning the flywheel just a bit to get the line up. It won,t go until these are inline
 

Chris1956

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Mar 25, 2004
Messages
27,030
Re: 1982 40 hp Mercury 2 stroke. I just replaced the impeller and CANNOT get the thin

Steel, Having the motor in forward is a bad idea, as the shift shaft has a lot of freedom to turn. Turn the lower shift shaft CCW until it clicks into neutral. Now set control to neutral. Stick the drive shaft into the midsection, and align the water tune with the pump body. When driveshaft hits crankshaft, turn flywheel a bit with your hand until splines mate. Now you should be within a 1/2 - 3/4" of mating. use a pair of needle nose pliers or a screwdriver to mate shift shaft splines. You may need to rock shifter to align them. Now install a couple of mounting nuts or bolts and using finger pressure to tighten them, wiggle the gearcase all the way into position.
 
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