1971 mercury lower unit shift rod

[al santiago]

removed shift rod from shift cam to replace oil seal
shift cam moved now can't get it alinged
any posible way to aling with out tearing the lower end apart

 

[65fabuglas]

Re: 1971 mercury lower unit shift rod

I'm kind of new to this forum, but you probably want to give a bit more info, i.e. model#, #hp, serial# etc. these guys on here are awesome!

My 0.02

I have a 1965 merc 350 and I believe I recently did the job you describe, from what I read at the time, if you would have pulled that shift spline out on mine you would have been SCREWED (i.e. tear propshaft assembly appart) I think it messes up the clocking with the shift cam or there might be a spring loaded whatchamajigger in there or something...my buddy has a 1975 50 hp merc that looked the same, althought we didn't do his shift shaft seal at the time, but the rest of the waterpump parts , etc, were identical

Good luck, hope yours is different.

 

[al santiago]

Re: 1971 mercury lower unit shift rod

1971 mercury 1150
cam shift type 1mechanism ( lower end)
its stuck in foward gear i can see a little of the shift cam but seems to be stuck
i tried shaking the unit & taping the side with rubber malet still would not move
anything else i can try would be very helpful

thanks in advance

 

[al santiago]

Re: 1971 mercury lower unit shift rod

need help with this lower unit
1971 mercury 1150
cam shift type 1
cant get shift cam alinged in housing do i need to tear apart to fix or is there another way
any ideas are really apreciated

thanks AL

 

[Texasmark]

Re: 1971 mercury lower unit shift rod

The shifting mechanism is spring loaded with a spring buried in the prop shaft. There is constant spring pressure on that cam so you probably won't be able to line it up without removing the prop shaft.

On that engine removing the propshaft is somewhat complicated in that the bearing carrier is held in place with a spanner nut that threads into the inside of the lower unit housing. Age and corrosion make it most difficult to unscrew. Use your imagination.

Once you get the nut off, grasp the bearing carrier....next thing down the line, and pull it out...need to drain LU first. Once bearing carrier is removed, prop shaft will come out. This removes the pressure on the shift cam and you ought to be able to fiddle with the cam and get it aligned. Installation is the reverse and ensure that before you marry back up to the midsection, the cam and the shift linkage are set for the same gear. Don't forget your new LU oil and gaskets on your vent/drain screws.

Mark

 

[al santiago]

Re: 1971 mercury lower unit shift rod

thanks Mark
ill give it a try were can i get the tool to remove the spanner nut?

 

[Texasmark]

Re: 1971 mercury lower unit shift rod

thanks Mark
ill give it a try were can i get the tool to remove the spanner nut?

I made one out of a sheet of steel. I put ears on the steel outboard of the necessary diameter to fit in the nut and bent the ears over. Cut it out with a handle as part of the sheet and cut a large hole in the center to get over the prop shaft. It's been a long time since I did it. Key on the fingers you bend over is to ensure a good mate to the tangs on the nut and have a square edge where you are applying pressure from the wrench to the nut.

Pre loosening with a good penetrating oil like P-B Blaster (auto parts store, ww) a few days beforehand will surely help. I didn't have to nor wanted to use heat as there is the prop seal and the bearing carrier oring that I didn't want to burn up.....course putting new seals in while that is out would be a stellar idea if you had them.

Other option would be to go to a dealer, leave a deposit, and borrow one.

Mark