Drive Won't Release from Engine

I've been working on pulling the drive from the engine all evening. Manual says to "carefully remove drive" from the boat, but this thing is being a bear. I believe drive is Mercruiser I or R, really can't get a square answer from anyone. (Head of the drive has the loop for hoisting the drive and the ribs across the area where the vent screw is - Serial# 4448631) Anyhow, the head on the old engine still in the boat is removed and I could get back there with a flashlight and see the start of the shaft splines where they meet the coupler going in and there is some very light rust on the splines. Can that little amount of rust be causing the trouble? I used 3/4 can of WD-40 spraying on that spline and then move the shaft back into the coupler to try to work it back in there (I'm getting the drive pulled out about an inch total and thats as far as she goes). The gear is in full forward position. 6 bolts have been removed and trim cylinder rams are removed. My thought tomorrow was to point the bow downhill so gravity would get the WD-40 further back onto the spline part in the coupler. The "new" engine is ready to go, after a few small parts off the old engine when it comes out. What else could be holding the drive on? Would turning the prop counter help to get it off or is that just for getting it on? Drats....I'm at a standstill til this things comes off

Re: Drive Won't Release from Engine

Its probably stuck in the gimble bearing and trying to pull the gimble bearing out with it. They can be a PITA to get off when they do that. I would also recommend getting some PB Blaster penetrating oil and leave the WD40 on the shelf, it's not a good penetrating lubricant, it's a Water Displacement that was developed on the 40th formula , hence WD-40.

Re: Drive Won't Release from Engine

Have the PB. How do I get it anywhere near the shaft and gimble bearing?

Re: Drive Won't Release from Engine

Re: Drive Won't Release from Engine

spray the PB (Seafoam "deep creep" is better in my opinion) the other direction - towards the rear of the boat - need to use a lot again - have to fog right past the splines rearward

Re: Drive Won't Release from Engine

Re-connect the trim/tilt pistons and trim the drive all the way down.Cut a 2 x 4 to fit between the drive (probably that lift eye) and the transom mount ( the mercruiser part that is bolted to the boat's transom). Now trim it up.

DHP

Re: Drive Won't Release from Engine

I realize that normally you pull the drive and then the enigne... but in your case, you might be better off to pull the eninge and then the drive. I know those inline fours will come up and off with no problems. (My dad used to do it all the time on his Sportcraft - he would never even remove the drive when he reinstalled the engine. I'm not suggesting that! ) After the engine is removed, you will have better access to spray any oil on the bearing area.

Re: Drive Won't Release from Engine

Got the drive removed earlier this afternoon. After some light rocking and pulling at the same time, I saw fewer and fewer threads on the studs that hold the drive on, so I figured it was working and finally it did come free. Did use the PB in both directions liberally and will buy an extra can or two to help keep them in business When the drive slid out, I found some nasty rust covering the u-joints, so thinking the bellows has been leaking. Is this what to suspect? I did notice some rubbing grooves on the outside of the bellows, but couldn't see all the way around. Is it going to be really hard to change that bellows if it needs it? Looks like tight fit for a screwdriver..... If it got to the u-joints, the water that is, where else could it have leaked into? I'm going to pull the outdrive apart sometime this week. Am I looking at water possibly leaking into some gears somewhere and screwing them up? On a lighter note, the engine is pretty much reassembled, but for a few small parts and ready to undergo an insertion once I fix the trim and tilt wire falling apart problem.

I just have to add that if you're going to pull the engine from your own boat, invest in a quality chain hoist. We were using my friends wire come-a-long, rated for over the weight of the engine we pulled, and as we had moved the boat and were lowering the engine, it was like a scene out of one of those suspenseful movies. I let the engine down a notch, but instead of dropping just a notch, it dropped about a foot, so I tried another notch and it dropped about another foot. We looked at each other wondering if we were going to get the engine to the floor safely. I let it out one more notch and the engine went plummeting to the floor and caught about an inch from hitting the floor. Talk about luck. So after taking "a moment to talk about shop safety" (for you New Yankee Workshop fans), we went straight out and bought a REAL chain hoist for putting the engine back in the boat. That's the last thing you want to happen when putting the engine back into the boat. Thanks for the tips guys! I really appreciate them all.