[samm835]

I am replacing the reverse gear in my lower unit, a guy I know said he would do the work if I took the lower unit off. I believe if I read correctly there are only four bolts to remove. Also I believe I had to put it into forward (throttle) to remove lower unit. I can't take the motor to him because it is sitting on my 24ft pontoon and he doesn't have a big enough space for it and the trailer. Is this something the average joe can do. I am fairly mechanical, but I don't want to get over my head. Also is replacing just the same but in reverse order adn should it stay in forward gear while lower unit is off? Any help would be appreciated. I think he said to change out the reverse gear he was going to charge roughly 500.00 sound ok?

[GeoRXT]

I think I have the same issue but I would need to replace the forward gear also...Hopefully someone chimes in on this...

[sschefer]

What size mariner is it? There are different procedures depending on size. The difference is in how the shift rod disconnects.

[samm835]

sorry I didn't realize I left that part off....it is a 115hp Mariner(1992). Thanks for the help.

[sschefer]

Originally Posted by samm835

sorry I didn't realize I left that part off....it is a 115hp Mariner(1992). Thanks for the help.

Thanks, on that engine the shift rod goes all the way down to the l/u and is linked with a sleeve so when you do get the lower unit free make sure you don't drop it in the lake. It may stick on the upper rod so once you have the l/u off if you don't see it sitting in front of the drive shaft look up in the housing.

To remove the l/u
first tilt the engine up fully and remove the prop.
You'll notice there are two 15mm head size nuts on each side of the lower unit. Remove all but one of these and loosen the last one up until the top of the nut is even with the top of the stud.
In the back and underneath near the zinc annode you'll find a 15mm head sized bolt. Remove this bolt and the washer under the bolt.
Once all the bolts are out the L/U probably won't just drop off. Use a rubber mallet to loosen the unit by tapping around the solid surfaces of the unit. Try not to tap on the cavitation fins since they can be broken and that would ruin you day.
Once you have the l/u dropped down on the last nut that you left on, you need to support the lower unit with your hand and then remove the last nut and slide the unit out until the drive shaft clears the housing.

There will also be either a plastic or rubber connector sleeve for the water pump tube. It might be stuck on the tube in the upper housing but in any case you need to remove it. You will get a new one with the water pump kit when the l/u is rebuilt.

When you get ready to put it back on, there will be two o-rings in the water pump kit that fit on the water pump outlet. Put them on first then put the new connector tube on. If you don't do it that way the connector tube can slip to the side and that's not gonna work.

Hope this helps.

[samm835]

sschefer, Thanks for your help.....for some reason reading your post made it seem a whole lot easier than the dang manual. I found online a rebuilt lower unit (all new gears) for $300.00. My motor is a 92 115hp (4cyl), but the lower unit is a 1991 (4cyl). Would this work on mine?

[sschefer]

I think it's the same, call crowleymarine you can get their number at the website: http://www.crowleymarine.com. At that price I would question the quality. If the seller knows the true value then there's something fishy.

[sschefer]

Oh yeah, when you get ready to put it back on, PM me and I'll come back to this post and teach you the easy way.

[GeoRXT]

Is it the same procedure for a 125hp mariner '96 sschefer ?

[sschefer]

I took a look at the parts manual for the 96 125 and it looks identical so I believe the process is the same.