[maverickhpx]

I've got the four side bolts off and the on at the rear of the lower unit, can't seem to break the seal to drop lower unit, any ideas on how to do this without causing damage? also are there any major problems to watch for with this procedure, this is my first time. Pete

[bobby541]

There is another bolt under the trim tab. This will allow the lower unit to drop only about 3/4" as you still have to loosen the connecting nut to the shift rod which is located along the leading edge of the lower unit. This connecting nut holds the upper shift rod and the lower shift rod which are threaded. There is a lock nut on the top of the connecting nut. I would leave one of the four bolts you recently took out slightly threaded in so the whole lower unit just doesn't drop when you loosen the connecting nut.
The lock nut on top takes a 10mm wrench (I used the thinnest wrench in my tool box) and the connecting nut takes a 12mm wrench. You'll have to put both on at the same time to get the lock nut loosened. Make sure the outboard is in neutral as you'll want both the lower unit and the shifter in neutral when you assemble them back together.
once the lock nut is loosened (about 4-5 turns) loosened the connecting nut up until it separates from the threaded lower shift rod. I keep track of how many turns and try to turn the same when re-connecting the connector nut back on.