115 johnson HELP, powerhead stuck!

[kewlbreezeboater40119]

help!,this unit is a 1978 115 johnson sea horse,#115etl78c, I have taken every bolt and nut off, used prybars trying to take the engine off(yes i've took the shift linkage off). the engine just wont come off, and the lower unit wont drop off either. A blown piston is the reason for the disassembly or rather lack of!. please help before i get out the sledgehammer!thanks

[rodbolt]

hello the lower wont come off? blown piston? maybe this is caused by the drive shaft splines are stuck in the crank socket. this condition is always caused by excessive maint and way to much dollar a tube grease. if the shaft is stuck it is possible to cut it with a torch at the crank end. but for a 1978 that has that much neglect it wont be worth it. sell it for scrap and go find a less abused engine. good luck and I hate to be the bearer of bad news on new years day but if all the bolts are out of the lower and it wont drop the only thing left is the splines are stuck in the crank.

[walleyehed]

As for the lower unit...Do you have the trim tab removed, and the bolt from under there removed???? There are 2 bolts at the rear, underneath the cav plate and one is under trim tab...As for the power head, there are 3 nuts on studs at the very rear of the block at bottom, and 2 bolts at the front corners that are sometimes missed. All 5 should be 1/2" wrench size.

[kewlbreezeboater40119]

thanks for the reply's.yes the bolts are all out, the verdict ive decided on is that the splines are stuck in the crank. i just bought this 2 weeks ago :o power trim and tilt works great though, and lower unit is good(if i can ever get it off! any solutions for getting the splines unstuck other that the dreaded torch?thanks again, mikeby the way, i gave $75.00 for it, i guess the trim and spare parts are worth that!

[bonitoman]

Pick up some oak wedges. Start to bang them in where the lower unit connects to the midsection. Let it sit for and hour and then remove them. Tighten the four bolts on the lower and one under the trim tab. Then remove the bolts and put the wedges back in or new wedges if they were destroyed the first time. I did this last summer on a 78 115 that the guy wanted a new water pump. It took me 3 or 4 tries. Good Luck Plan on spending two hours -3 hours doing this.

[kewlbreezeboater40119]

thanks for the help guys, I got it out. I took a 5' long prybar and wedges and it came out finally! the splines were rusted badly. took the pistons out, 1 cyl. wall scared a little, i honed 3 thou. out and its smooth as a babys butt!1 piston, set of rings, gaskets and im running!thanks again for the help.

[LubeDude]

Wow, what a deal!! Those are great engines, the 115s are the best engines on that block, good torqe and top end!Happy boating