O ring installation shift rod 79 115hp

[Sherman]

After a couple of hours trying to install the o ring into the shift rod housing I decided I must be doing something wrong. The only instruction in the factory service manual is a picture with the o ring squeezed together and being stuffed into the hole for the shift rod from the underside of the housing. I can not get it to go into the grove. Any help would be great.
Sherm

 

[flabum]

Re: O ring installation shift rod 79 115hp

LOL!

Now you know our pain!

Grease it, use a small phillips head screwdriver to get it into the groove inside. ( I take it you got the old one out?)

 

[Sherman]

Re: O ring installation shift rod 79 115hp

Ya I got the old one out in one piece. I used oil to try to get the new one in but no go so far.
Sherm

 

[kennyk]

Re: O ring installation shift rod 79 115hp

I had similar difficulties with mine the other day although it was on a '84 50hp. The new one that came in the factory geargase seal kit was noticably larger than the original. I got it in there once but it was distorted and the rod didn't slide smoothly. I went to the dealer hoping that the seal(o-ring) he had was the smaller like the one I initially removed but no such luck. He checked the numbers of the housing and said the number hadn't changed over the years. He said it's possible they just changed the design and started using the larger one. I had the choice of buying a new housing for $45 or so or modifing the larger o-ring. I was handy with a lathe and bucket of dry ice and reduced the od of the larger ring to meet the original specs. It worked. I guess what I'm saying is if the two are different you may wind up buying a new housing. If they are the same size then a little patience will get you there. Once you doouble and poke the ring in from the top and it just passes the groove in the housing you take a blunt rod from the bottom and start the o ring in the groove while pushing the rest in from the top. Good luck. Ken

 

[Sherman]

Re: O ring installation shift rod 79 115hp

OK that did it thanks the grease plus the blunt rod from the other side did the job. Mine was also a very large cross section o ring and I figured it was never going into place. The grove is sized to only work with one crossection. My shift rod had to be actually threaded through the o ring
but once over the threaded section it operates smoothly. I tried just pushing it through but could not get it go without tearing up the o ring.

Thanks for the help
Sherm