Mercury 110 9.8 HP With a stuck lower unit

[teamlang]

Hello everyone, I am new here and new to boating, but a decent mechanic (and a fair/poor tig welder). I am trying to remove the lower unit on a Merc 110 9.8 HP and it is stuck! The back will come down a bit but the front does not budge. I have tapped and hammered with a rubber mallet and wooden block. I also wedged a piece of metal on top of the front nut and tried to back the nut up use that that as leverage and I cannot even get a tiny bit of movement. I have used a couple days worth of WD40 on the nut, but I have a haunting suspicion that it is the shift spline, since that is the forward most thing in there and it will wedge down up into the very front. I read somewhere to cut a hole in the side and cut the shaft... but that seems really excessive.
I know its a common motor (or was) and I am hoping someone out there has the trick to get this thing off! Thank you.

 

[Scott Danforth]

You have both fasteners off? Ths shifter shaft is just splines

 

[teamlang]

Correct the bottom nut was removed and the front was backed off as far as it would go.

 

[tacx]

WELL, Did you get it off?

 

[teamlang]

So after days of penetrating oil, heating it up with a torch and trying every trick there is online, I finally fell back on what always works... My Sawzall... I Cut right at the seam, which dropped the lower unit, and then drilled out the stud from the motor. I am picking up a used lower unit from my local Marine wrecking year for 75.00. That steel bolt became part of the aluminum body, it wasn't coming out...

 

[tacx]

I assume you are talking about the front bolt?

 

[teamlang]

Yes the front one.

 

[Scott Danforth]

sawzall was a little drastic