Yamaha C85 bearing retainer

sixty

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Mar 22, 2004
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I have a '95 c85 outboard & need to pull the lower unit bearing retainer to fix the seals & have the shaft striaghtened. I've tried like crazy to pull it w/ heat on the housing, a big hammer & a large puller (snapped a 1/4" stud) & still cannot get it to budge. since its a saltwater only outboard I had to drill the covernut out to get it out & it was packed w/ salt. I have 2 lower units & neither will budge. anyone have any tips on doing this w/ out destroying parts?
 

rodbolt

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Re: Yamaha C85 bearing retainer

hello<br /> I use the J bolt puller arms frpm OMC. I know the fit the v4-v6. I am not sure on the inline 3 motors. but strignt chlorox bleach will help. dont breathe the fumes and dont get it on rubber parts that your not replacing and keep it out of the eyes. other than that oxy/acetyle till the housing is almost bubbling. some times you can heat and cool it several times and it will break loose.<br /> good luck and keep posting
 

sixty

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Re: Yamaha C85 bearing retainer

Rodbolt,<br />Thanks for the reply.<br /><br />couple of questions though. <br /><br />I've been using propane b/c I'm really afraid to destroy the housing using oxy-acet. when you say "almost bubbling" do you mean the paint? propane doesn't build enough heat to even burn the paint due to the heat dissapation of the aluminum I assume.<br /><br />2nd, how do you get the bleach to soak in to the outer ring w/o dipping the whole unit into bleach & for how long should it sit?<br /><br />I made my own puller w/ chain welded to hooks & a 5/8 fine thread center bolt & arms from a large 2-jaw puuller. it adds lots of pressurebut not enough so far to break the retainer free.<br /><br />I'm seriously considering taking it to the yamaha dealer to pull but they are so busy it will take days for them to get to it.<br /><br />Thanks again for your help!
 

rodbolt

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Re: Yamaha C85 bearing retainer

hello<br /> for them good saltwater motors propane aint enoug. I use oxy/acetylene. and even then sometimes it dont happen. 2 years ago I pulled the bearing carrier of a 1990 175 in two. right in the middle it finally gave way. junked the case after that. but even by making the aluminium bubble in spots thet carrier never came out. so sometimes if the dont come out every few years the salt corrosion wont ever let them.<br /> good luck and keep posting. to bleach it set it so the propshaft is up at about a 45*angle and fill the exhaust/carrier area till its full. go party and try again tomorrow :)
 

sixty

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Mar 22, 2004
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Re: Yamaha C85 bearing retainer

Well I finally broke down & brought them to the dealer since i'm afraid I'd over cook it w/ the oxy/acet. they got them out & charged me for 2 hours @ $60. They said they had to use a large snap on puller & map gas & it was still a pain.<br /><br />now i just have to wait for my new parts to come in & get one of the prop shafts straightened.<br /><br />Would it be any help to apply anti-sieze to the retainer & covernut when reassembling?<br /><br />Thanks for all your help!!
 

sixty

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Mar 22, 2004
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Re: Yamaha C85 bearing retainer

arrghh. well now that the retainers are out I have another problem :rolleyes: I cant get the prop shafts to come out. the shifter is pulled & was in nuetral when pulled but now the unit is in gear. I'm afraid to put too much pressure on the shaft (although w/o a slide hammer I cant really anyway) & break something internal. something has slipped & i cant even get the shifter back in to put it back in nuetral.<br /><br />once agoan any help is greatly apreciated :p
 

rodbolt

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Re: Yamaha C85 bearing retainer

hello<br /> when the bearing carriers came out did the reverse gear and bearing stay in the housing or did they come out in the carrier? as long as the shift shaft is out the shaft can slide out. sometimes the steel ring,oring and the reverse gear and bearing will remain in the gear case. if it did then you have to use a plate, a piece of pipe, a large washer and the prop nut and make a shaft puller. <br /> aint salt water great :) :) <br /> good luck and keep posting
 

sixty

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Mar 22, 2004
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Re: Yamaha C85 bearing retainer

rodbolt,<br /> <br />yeah the gear & bearing stayed in both of them & I can see salt aroung the edges.<br /><br />I'll get that puller going, thats a good idea none of the manuals talk about<br /><br />I'm begginning to really HATE saltwater :( <br /><br />Thanks again for all your help
 

rodbolt

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Re: Yamaha C85 bearing retainer

hello<br /> yep lots of things the manuals fail to discuss. they also failed to discuss it at the service school i went to last febuary.lucky for me I rebuild 20 or 30 cases a year and reseal twice that many. they also did not teach how to install a water pump kit either.<br /> good luck and be gentle but post back if it works :)
 

sixty

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Re: Yamaha C85 bearing retainer

Rodbolt,<br />Using a puller like you described I was able to pull the shafts. 1 was real easy the other was a bear. that is a great method<br /><br />This leads to another question(s). Since I'm an idiot & pulled the shifter shaft like the manual says I now have to remove the forward gear to be able to reinstall the shifer. Do you have any good ideas on how to pull the pinion gear & shaft w/o an SST to grip the shaft. I was thinking vice grips on the shaft but not too sure if that could screw up the shaft. <br /><br />any tips on reassembling the case when all is ready?<br /><br />I'm also planning on reusing the large o-ring on the bearing retainer b/c they look new on both legs. bad idea?<br /><br />this is all new to me but I'm enjoying getting into it & learning alot. Thanks for all your help!
 

rodbolt

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Re: Yamaha C85 bearing retainer

hello<br /> I cant think of any reason you must pull the fwd gear for reinstalling the shift shaft. use vasoline on the sliding part at the fwd end of the shift clutch rod. insert the propeller shaft then usining a light insert the shift shaft. the shift shaft is just a cam. the pin drops all the way through the shift slide and the large round part at the top fits in a machined pocket. were it mine I would buy a seal kit and replace the shift shaft seal and oring,the driveshaft seals and orings and the propshaft seals and orings. to buy that tool for the drive shaft is not that much, quite a bit of mine are made by cutting the end off a bad crank shaft and welding a socket to them. if you replace any shaft seals measure how deep the seals seat. the new seals have to sit the same depth. but in any case pressure test the units when done. <br /> good luck and keep posting.
 

sixty

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Mar 22, 2004
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Re: Yamaha C85 bearing retainer

I'm sure my ignorance is showing but when I pulled the shifter shaft the cam appears to have dropped & the shift rod dropped back against the case. I just cant see (maybe b/c I don't quite understand how the cam works) how to put the cam back in place to install the shifter rod w/ the forward gear still in the case. the design on this type of shifter seems pretty different from most yamaha lower units. you have any trick for doing this w/o removing the forward gear? (the spline nut tool is $65 so I would rather not have to remove the forward gear if its not neccesary)<br /><br />on your recomendation I ordered all the new seals from yamaha this afternoon... I should have done this from the start. <br /><br />As for measuring the depth if the seals I already pulled the seals out of one of the prop shaft bearing retainer w/ measureing the depth. I then used a dremmel to clean the seats so I probably won't be able to see the depth marks. how critical is the depth on these. I don't see why having it ride in the same place is all that critical. on vehicle applications I have moved the seal on purpose to get a better seat & it has always worked fine. once again though this is totally different application. <br /><br />The seal surfaces on one of the prop shafts is grooved about .010" will this be a problem to seal it?<br /><br />What equipment do i need to pressure test the case? what are the threads on the filler/drain?<br /><br />Thanks agian for all your help rodbolt, & sorry for the barqage of questions :)
 
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