lower unit wont come off

[sully73]

i just bought alittle bayliner capri with a force 50 on it, boat and motor are 85s i believe. put the muffs on and fired the engine up, but not telltale water . so i pulled the thermo to see if that may be stuck and there was none. so i figured id pull the gearbox and replace the impeller then put in the thermo and maybe be done with it. i pulled the four bolts, disconnected the shift linkage, but the gear box will only come down about a half inch then stops. it almost acts like there is a c clip on the shaft of something. anything im doing wrong or what to try? the boook says the darn thing should praticaly fall off at that point. any help would be great guys. wifes already mad cuz i bougth another fixer upper.

 

[maxum247]

Re: lower unit wont come off

I'm not familiar with the 50's but are you sure there's not a fifth bolt under the trim tab above the propeller?

 

[sully73]

Re: lower unit wont come off

if there is i got really lucky and loosened the four and missed the one that was nearly falling out lol. nope, just four like the book says, i saw another post that said maybe the shaft is stuck up top or siezed. shining a light in there and it looks like the shaft is moving up and down with the unit. but it always goes back to the same spot and sticks. ill look it over really well again tomm but it seems to be sliding up and down atleast a half inch or so. just enuff to get the linkage pin out then thats it. good news is the motor runs great. about 30 hours on a rebuild, but that doesnt do mcu good without being able to cool it guess. i thought maybe there was a c clip but i dont believe so. pull the powerhead and see if i can pop it free that way? hate to do that but im at a loss here.

 

[maxum247]

Re: lower unit wont come off

This may not be good advice, like I say I'm not familiar with that engine, but the only other thing I can think of is to put a peice of wood on either side of the gap in the lower unit and leg so you are prying evenly and try to gently pry the lower unit off, if your sure everything is disconnected, put something under the lower unit to catch it so it doesn't crash to the ground if or when it comes loose.
I had one hang up like that years ago on an engine but it was the shift rod that was binding and had a little bend in it where someone had worked on it before.

 

[sully73]

Re: lower unit wont come off

im pretty sure everything is disconnected, i can turn the gear box all the way around if i want. i did find alittle piece of rubber that looks to be the the boot for the coupling where the shaft connects to power head. im thinking its siezed up alittle.the gearbox comes down far enough that i can see the only thing holding it is the shaft, so i think that has to be it. i unhooked the linkage at the gearbox split, so that shouldnt be a problem at all. maybe have to take the motor off and turn it upside down to get some penetrating oil on it to loosen maybe.

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: lower unit wont come off

A lot of times someone will hit something in the water and only the top1 -1 1/2in of the drive shaft will twist instead of breaking.Try to remove it.It will drop down and stop.Then the fun begins.Try to build up around the lower 1x4in pieces of wood and somehow use a sledge hammer on wood.Try to drive it down.Jerry

 

[sully73]

Re: lower unit wont come off

well heres the latest, i could get the gearbox down far enuff to get to the waterpump bolts. i took those four out and the gearbox slid off the shaft. i have the gearbox and the pump off of the shaft, but it still wont come down. itll slid up and down about an inch and a half, but sont drop. it just seems like its catching on something up in there and not coming the rest of the way. grrrrr. back at it i guess, maybe i can see up in there far enuff to get a look now with the gearbox off. did i mention it runs great lol.


k pdate, i got the shaft out, it was hanging up on the retainer ring for the upper coupler boot, had to ask god and hit it just right to come down. now i gotta find parts lol. the water pump impeller actually doesnt look too bad, i wonder if maybe i just wasnt getting enuff water flow to it. gheeesh.