outdrive will not install onto bell housing.....now won't come back off......

[daydreamer1252]

Mercruiser 120 serial 6809214 can't read the numbers on the transom.....the outdrive is from a later unit serial A303794.....I have never seen the outdrive hanging on the rear of the boat it came riding in the hull...rebuilt all major and minor assemblies on the drive system....rebuilt stringers and deck....no old mounting locations for front mount so took some time to align including having to move the engine side to side as well as up and down.....alignment was a thumb and two fingers adjustment....felt good and very minor effort to move bar......installing outdrive seemed to go as I had anticipated....heavy and clumsy....got drive shaft into gimbal and got engaged with coupler (a bit of push and a counter clockwise twist of the prop and it dropped in.........was still about 1" from home and was having no success with pushing or wiggling.....thought about all of the responses here with the O-rings and the impediment to getting the install done.....got a 2x4 and an 8 pound hammer (only a 6" stroke with one hand as other was holding the 2x4)...a few taps and was in to about 1/2" and started the nuts.....started to draw it up with a 3/8ths ratchet and was making progress.....all progress stopped at about 1/4" and tried a couple more taps and no go....after contemplating a bit decided I had to take it apart and start over.....

the out drive is having none of that....all nuts off and the outdrive is not binding on the studs.....cannot get it to budge.....stuck at 3/8"....the binding is at/around level of the drive shaft...you can wiggle the drive and the studs are not bound in the drive......

In all the reading I have done here it does not appear that there any differences in outdrive drive shafts or different gimbal bearings or couplers.....any ideas as to what can be causing the binding and what may be not allowing it to come apart? Where can I apply pressure to help move this back apart so I can fix what is wrong or what I have messed up?

I assume that the outdrive had been installed with the engine and the transom assembly before as the overheat damage in the outdrive itself matched what was found in the engine and the exhaust and cables.......

thanks for all the help, advice and chiding.....

 

[daydreamer1252]

Re: outdrive will not install onto bell housing.....now won't come back off......

well I see that this has had some readers but obviously no one is as clueless as me to have ever gotten themselves into this position......it appears that the ONLY place that this "stuck" can come from is the driveshaft in the coupler......I swear it seemed to go in like I would expect...thunk and lock with the friction of the engine.....if this is the case "pulling" the engine will not get it out of the coupler......Is the driveshaft hardened or mild steel?.....wondering if anyone has cut one with a sawsall??? It looks like this may be a less expensive method than damaging the outdrive casings by prying on them.....any knowledge about that?

 

[Fishermark]

Re: outdrive will not install onto bell housing.....now won't come back off......

Try connecting the rams and put a 2x4 or 4x4 between the top of the outdrive and the housing - then raise the outdrive and let it push against the wood. If it were me, and I counldn't get it off, I wouldn't even think about sawing the driveshaft. I would pull the engine before doing that.

 

[daydreamer1252]

Re: outdrive will not install onto bell housing.....now won't come back off......

Well I have been considering it all day.....from what I can see the ONLY place that it can be stuck is at the coupler...??? Of course I have not seen many (1) of these things.....I cannot understand anywhere else that it could be bound up.....like the splines were not meshed as I thought and I have pushed the shaft into the coupler and it is jammed there.....if that be the case and I try to remove the engine it will still be stuck and the engine will not come out.....what I do know is that if anyone can find a unique way to mess something up I will be the one to do it.......

 

[flintcam]

Re: outdrive will not install onto bell housing.....now won't come back off......

I don't have the experience to be of much help but I can answer the question about using a reciprocal saw- won't work unless you have a few years and a few thousand saw blades.
Could it be that in the process of getting the drive into the coupling that your engine shifted up or down?

 

[PS94]

Re: outdrive will not install onto bell housing.....now won't come back off......

Sounds like the alignment is still out.. have you tried moving the engine on the mounts, in any direction, and try gently prying...and repeat..

 

[FishHog]

Re: outdrive will not install onto bell housing.....now won't come back off......

been there done that, but mine was definitely bad alingment issues. Not sure what your issue is, but the fact is you need to get it off to find out. A bunch of small wooden wedges (hardwood is best), and start tapping them in around the outdrive. Keep working around and increasing pressure with a tap on each as you go around. You obviously don't want to put too much pressure in one place and crack the outdrive housing, so be careful and keep working around. Worked for me, it was a last ditch effort, but it worked with no damage.

 

[daydreamer1252]

Re: outdrive will not install onto bell housing.....now won't come back off......

Thanks flintcam, PS94 and FishHog

I would not be confused if I hadn't spent considerable time getting the alignment what I believed to be right...and yes before I can move forward I have to move back and get the outdrive off the bell housing.....I have removed all tension off of the rear (aft) mounting bolts they turn free without a wrench.....this made no difference....have not tried to loosen/remove the front mount as yet....I have about 3/8" to 1/2" between the bell housing and the outdrive....the wooden wedges are an idea I hadn't had....will try to find some.....hardwood is not so easy to find around here...I had a thought that since I am able to "wiggle" the outdrive that I may be able to use washers with a section cut out making them "shims" and filling the gap on the middle stud and then standing on the end of the outdrive and seeing if that is enough to cause movement....the Hydraulics are not hooked up yet....may just get them working and use the shims on the upper bolt and try that method about 1/8" or so at a time....fishermark suggested wedging a 2x4 in and using the hydraulics bu for the life of me I cannot see where to wedge anything the size of a 2x4 in there I guess I must be understanding what he is meaning....it is certainly a clumsy position to be in....been spending way too much thought on the issue and not much new in the way of original ideas....

Thanks again....

 

[Fishermark]

Re: outdrive will not install onto bell housing.....now won't come back off......

fishermark suggested wedging a 2x4 in and using the hydraulics bu for the life of me I cannot see where to wedge anything the size of a 2x4 in there I guess I must be understanding what he is meaning....

Here's what I mean:

 

[svxtech]

Re: outdrive will not install onto bell housing.....now won't come back off......

also try, with the trim piston rod removed pull the outdrive up manually, replace the rod in just the outdrive and drop it on the pistons easy way to pop a stuck drive. check that the shift foot in the lower is aligning correctly with the linkage on the transom side.

 

[daydreamer1252]

Re: outdrive will not install onto bell housing.....now won't come back off......

Fishermark thanks for the clarification.....I was looking at the rounded top of the bell housing and scratching my head....not seeing the whole picture clearly at 105 degrees...too old to work in the hot sun anymore, no shade out here on the prairie.....portable shade gets blown to the ground with in hours of erecting it....so I work in the hot sun.....


svxtech....thanks for that idea....and yes the shift shafts are perfectly aligned the only right looking part of the entire operation so far....one of these ideas will have to work as flintcam told me my thought of the recip saw was not so good...


Thanks
.....

 

[paultjohnson]

Re: outdrive will not install onto bell housing.....now won't come back off......

Have you tried turning the engine a little by putting a breaker bar and socket on the crank shaft pulley. If the drive is some how bound up on the coupler, perhaps turning the engine over a 1/4 turn or so may free it.... Shooting from the hip here, just an idea...

As far as prying it off, I have used as small bottle jack between the transom assembly and the top square cover of the drive...DONT OVER DO IT, USUALLY JUST THE SLIGHTEST BIT OF PRESSURE HAS FREED MINE..

 

[daydreamer1252]

Re: outdrive will not install onto bell housing.....now won't come back off......

paultjohnson....
yes I have tried about a 1/4 turn with a prybar on the pulley actually on the W/P pulley (can't seem to get anything in the crank pulley that will stay put, clearance issues) and belt tension was enough to turn the crank right along with it....unfortunately it made no difference...thought about hooking up the battery and cranking the motor over but didn't want to maybe make a bad situation worse....Thanks for the hip shoot....

I have a small bottle jack and thought about it but had never used one lying on it's side....now I know that they work that way I have another option...yes on the overdo it....I have been probably more timid so far than necessary but would rather have the outdrive live to see another day than to be my latest boat anchor....looks much better on the stern than on a rope....


Thanks.....

 

[NHGuy]

Re: outdrive will not install onto bell housing.....now won't come back off......

If you have a drive with the square "loop" opening in the top you might be able to put a come-along on there, put the drive nuts back as loose as you dare and give the drive a rearward pull. If the drive slides back against the nuts it may then be loose enough to come free.
If you have no kind of come-along maybe you could attach the drive to a tree or something else solid and then pull the boat.

 

[paultjohnson]

Re: outdrive will not install onto bell housing.....now won't come back off......

paultjohnson....
yes I have tried about a 1/4 turn with a prybar on the pulley actually on the W/P pulley (can't seem to get anything in the crank pulley that will stay put, clearance issues) and belt tension was enough to turn the crank right along with it....unfortunately it made no difference...thought about hooking up the battery and cranking the motor over but didn't want to maybe make a bad situation worse....Thanks for the hip shoot....



I have a small bottle jack and thought about it but had never used one lying on it's side....now I know that they work that way I have another option...yes on the overdo it....I have been probably more timid so far than necessary but would rather have the outdrive live to see another day than to be my latest boat anchor....looks much better on the stern than on a rope....


Thanks.....

Hmmmmm.... sumbch..... Um maybe turn the crank another 1/4 turn. So its a 180 deg from where u started. [ BTW another hip shot, wearing a blindfold, with a 20 knot crosswind] Could you tell if it was turning the drive,if its in FWD like it should be, if the shaft is somewhat into the coupler, it should turn all the way down to the prop. How sure are you that you had the shift fork on the end of the lower shift cable lined up properly with the shift lever before you put it back together? Have ya got down and looked where the shift shafts connect on the lower front of the drive to see if there is an obvious missalingment/ mucked up situation/
Yeah the bottle jack i used has instructions for using it on its side, I forgot exactly which side was supposed to be up. I put the bottom of the jack against the two upper pivot bolts on the horsecollar and the shaft against the square cover. You do have the shifter all the way forward, correct?.
Im not gonna be the one to tell ya too a little bit more force, dont blame ya for not wantn' an $$$ anchor..

 

[daydreamer1252]

Re: outdrive will not install onto bell housing.....now won't come back off......

paultjohnson....yes the drive shaft is in the coupler....have a visual on that....and yes turning the crank turns the prop and turning the prop turns the crank (though that is somewhat harder to do).....the shift shaft in the bell housing and the shift shaft in the drive (upper and lower are I think the correct terms) are in perfect mesh and both facing fore and aft.....visually from outside this should be together and be performing as expected....but obviously inside something is mucked up badly.....I don't remember instructions for horizontal use on my jack but it only has 4 sides so it should not be too bad trial and error.....

NHGuy...thought about that too...would even buy a come-a-long for the purpose but am not yet comfortable about yanking on the drive using a vehicle as the power source....Thanks for the input....

I will win just don't know how many innings it will take......

 

[paultjohnson]

Re: outdrive will not install onto bell housing.....now won't come back off......

My last GUESS, and thats all it is, is that you got the big rubber o-ring, gasket between the upper unit and bellhousing, wedged in there.. Its hard to say as far as how hard you have pushed-pulled to get it off. But I got mine in there cockeyed and it got pretty snug.. Mangled it good . I have used a little piece of wire to feel that its in place before I snugged the drive down. Anybody ??

 

[daydreamer1252]

Re: outdrive will not install onto bell housing.....now won't come back off......

paultjohnson.....


I certainly hope it is as simple as your episode.....I will happily replace a rubber ring....I really thought I had put it in correctly never gave a thought to one folding over or gettting caught in between....I wonder if the housing (outdrive) is tapered and if the gasket was not in fully if it could have cocked sideways enough to have gotten caught.....hopefully something as simple as that.......that would certainly lessen the potential for further damage.....


Thanks

 

[paultjohnson]

Re: outdrive will not install onto bell housing.....now won't come back off......

paultjohnson.....


I certainly hope it is as simple as your episode.....I will happily replace a rubber ring....I really thought I had put it in correctly never gave a thought to one folding over or gettting caught in between....I wonder if the housing (outdrive) is tapered and if the gasket was not in fully if it could have cocked sideways enough to have gotten caught.....hopefully something as simple as that.......that would certainly lessen the potential for further damage.....


Thanks

I will keep my fingers crossed for you... good luck...

 

[MCL]

Re: outdrive will not install onto bell housing.....now won't come back off......

Might sound dumb,but have you put the drive and lever in forward,and actually checking both are in forward gear.All the symptoms sounds like thats the issue.Had the same issue putting the drive on a week ago,even by visually looking both drive and gear lever seemed set but they did not,first couldnt get it on and then could not get it off.

Other than that either the studs are bent or the splines on some end are damaged,and you got it stuck by forcing it on.