Help!! Putting lower unit back together 50hp force

I'm replacing the seals on my lower unit. I put the lower unit back together...put shift yoke into the linkage, propeller shaft in place, replace bearing cage and bolt the upper gearcase to the lower. Everything seems fine, except when i put the prop back on I tried to rotate the prop and it seems to be VERY difficult to rotate. Is this normal?

I found that in neutral, i can rotate the prop with 2 hands but there is a decent amount of resistance. When I shift it into gear i can turn it, but can hear gears clashing a bit. This is just rotating it by hand with no lube in the lower unit.

With the drive shaft in place, the drive shaft will rotate when i turn the prop, but I can't get the driveshaft to turn by turning it manually.

Re: Help!! Putting lower unit back together 50hp force

I am a newb as well, but I just got done rebuilding my lower as well on my 55, so here goes...

I am assuming that you have only bolted the gearcase to the LU... and not to the motor leg yet?

Did you replace the prop shaft and drive shaft seals? make sure these were seated properly and are not askew in as that could "bind" shaft and keep from turning properly.

BTW, are the gears, bearing, shift yoke, shift cam, ..., totally free of any lube (you cleaned all the parts and they are squeaky clean and lube-free)? If so, that might be a reason. There should be some sort of lube on these so that you are not ruining them by turning them dry.

You could have a tough time turning the driveshaft w/ your hand as you might not be able to get enough of a hold onto it to turn it. Make sure that the pinion gear is seated properly in the top of the gearcase so that it meshes properly w/ the forward/reverse gears and that the driveshaft is seated into the pinion gear fully.

Hope this helps!

Re: Help!! Putting lower unit back together 50hp force

Thanks, I guess i'm trying to get an impression on how easily the prop should be able to rotate once everything is back together? I'll put some lube in there and see how it is, but hate to waste lube if the install is incorrect. I replace the seals and the all seated nicely, so I don't think that is an issue.

Re: Help!! Putting lower unit back together 50hp force

To test, I didn't fill the gearcase w/ the lube... I just made sure all the components in the gearcase were coated w/ lube... again this was just for the purpose of making sure everything was working properly - prop turned by hand, NOT motor! As far as how easily prop will turn, for sure it should not spin "freely" on it's own, yet, you should NOT feel it binding on anything and causing you to use both hands to turn it - should be able to turn w/ index finger.

Re: Help!! Putting lower unit back together 50hp force

can u turn it with an index finger, in neutral, or in gear? This is with leg removed from the motor. And do you mean with or without the drive shaft in place.

Re: Help!! Putting lower unit back together 50hp force

kenny26 said:

can u turn it with an index finger, in neutral, or in gear? This is with leg removed from the motor. And do you mean with or without the drive shaft in place.

Click to expand...

should be able to turn w/ index whether in gear or not... with and without the drive shaft in place. If it is binding, something is not assembled properly. Make sure you have your manual handy and go through the gear assembly again to make sure all the components (washers, bearings, gears, shift yoke, shift cam) are in the right place AND orientation.

Re: Help!! Putting lower unit back together 50hp force

Solved!!! I had the thrust washer in the wrong place and it was binding when i'd replace the bearing cage. Thanks for your help.

Re: Help!! Putting lower unit back together 50hp force

Woohoo! Awesome! Now get motoring!