Stringer Lower Unit problem

Zamble

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Mar 22, 2010
Messages
84
Hi,

I have a '77 175HP Stringer. It developed a leak, so I bought a kit to replace all of the oil seals, etc..

I removed the 4 screws and slid the cap off of the prop shaft. Inside of the cap there are 2 oil seals and 1 small bearing. How do I remove them? We tried for a little while but we were unsuccessful. How can I remove them.

Also, we tried to remove the snap ring to remove the gears and shaft, but our snap ring plers would not work. The ring is so tight, it bent the tips on the pliers. Any suggestion on something I mightuse to okie rigs something to remove the snap ring?

Thanks.
 

Zamble

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Mar 22, 2010
Messages
84
Re: Stringer Lower Unit problem

We were talking and my father in law thinks the cap is a throw away. I don't think it is, is it?
 

Bondo

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 17, 2002
Messages
70,464
Re: Stringer Lower Unit problem

Ayuh,... Welcome Aboard, Zamble....

As yer finding out,...
OMC Stringers are a Dead/ Dying breed....
Not alota parts about, so Nothing is Disposable...

Bein' Dead horses,...
There's not alota guys who know much about 'em either....
'ell,... I only know enough about 'em, to yank 'em outa hulls, so I can drop in Mercruiser power...

Hopefully, somebody'll be along with some answers for ya,...

Good Luck...

Btw,... From a general mechanical poiint of view,...
I'd Think, the seals, 'n little bearing need to be pressed out, 'n in...
I imagine you might have to press In, on the part being retained by the Snap-ring, to relieve the pressure on the snap-ring, to remove it...

But that's all just Guessin'...
 

Zamble

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Mar 22, 2010
Messages
84
Re: Stringer Lower Unit problem

We tried using a punch to tap out the old oil seals, and in turn knocking out the bearing. But to no avail. We heated the cap up and still they would not budge. The seals are shot, but the bearing is in excellent condition and I do not want to damage it, like you said parts are too far and between and not cheap.

Thanks.
 

captk

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Apr 4, 2008
Messages
252
Re: Stringer Lower Unit problem

Is your unit an electric shift? That gearcase head is definitely not a throw away. You need to pull or press the bearing and seals out then back in.The snap ring is just large and tough get a bigger pliers, maybe tap on it lightly. and do yourself a favor and get a service manual some parts are either nla or very expensive and easily broken. Like wires on the shift coils. good luck with it. Bill
 

Zamble

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Mar 22, 2010
Messages
84
Re: Stringer Lower Unit problem

Its an electric shift. I just look up a name and were are trying to get the bearing and seals out of the bearing retainer.
 

TimeBandit

Cadet
Joined
Jan 27, 2010
Messages
22
Re: Stringer Lower Unit problem

Its an electric shift. I just look up a name and were are trying to get the bearing and seals out of the bearing retainer.

For goodness sake... Get a repair manual. Diving into an outdrive without one is just silly. I got my OMC manuel on CD Rom from ebay for under $5.00 to my door.

And there's nothing wrong with electric shift OMC's, other than parts are getting scarce. Havn't had a bit of trouble out of my 77 stringer. Other than replacing dry-rotted seals, and the electric shift wires two seasons ago.

Robert
 

Zamble

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Mar 22, 2010
Messages
84
Re: Stringer Lower Unit problem

I have a Selocs, but it is not the most descriptive. But I took it to a shop, and he said 10 minutes. 30 min later he got it done for me, and pressed the new seals and bearing in it for me.
 

cr2k

Captain
Joined
Mar 19, 2009
Messages
3,730
Re: Stringer Lower Unit problem

One of the better uses for the Selocs manual is to kneel on to keep your knees clean.

You might want to take it a repair shop (find a small one with an older mechanic who knows older OMCs).
 

zbnutcase

Commander
Joined
Sep 19, 2009
Messages
2,055
Re: Stringer Lower Unit problem

And be careful with that snap ring; its under a lot of tension, and can fly across the room with enough energy to hurt someone!
 

Zamble

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Mar 22, 2010
Messages
84
Re: Stringer Lower Unit problem

Just an update. I we got the snap ring off and what a ***** it was. And we found out our problem. It was right in front of our eyes. The verticle drive shaft was broken. It was broken off half way inside the bearing. It was completely smooth, feel stupid it was so obvious. But the biggest problem was trying to figure how to get the nut off of the shaft with no splines up top to grab. I got same of that epoxy from west marine that you knead and put on. That took a few days of trying to get it off to try the epoxy. Seeing how the shaft was ruined already we used a pipe wrench and were able to get it out.

But when we tried to get the forward coil out it got destroyed in the process. We got long bolts and used a piece of steel up top and evenly turned the bolts. Nada, so we tried it and again with heat and it came out very slowly, We figured good. Not. It was completely warped. Definately not reusable.

So, I reorderd a new coil. After I paid for that I found a complete functional lower unit on eBay, for $160.00 including shipping. Allegedly there is no water in the oil, but... Still a sweet deal though.
 
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