1989 mercury 8 hp water pump replacement

[felderlostnspace]

i have removed the 3 bolts to drop the lower unit,but the unit will only drop about an inc.shaft seems to be held in place up in the engine.is there a clip,key,pin,etc that i am over looking?any help would be great.thanks in advance,Bill

[Laddies]

There the shift rod under the carb

[felderlostnspace]

i'll look under the carb after church in the am.i looked there but did not see anything but not quite sure what i am looking for.thanks for the response.i'll let you know how it turns out,thanks, Bill

[felderlostnspace]

Laddies,thanks for the help.it was under the carb as you said.i had taken that linkage part way off 2 days ago and put it back together because i did not know what i was doing.i removed the linkage and the lower unit slipped right off.thanks again for the help.Bill