questions after tune-up on 68 18hp

[longshot1154]

Greetings all,
I have a 1968 18hp Evinrude, 18802M. I have just finished changing out the points, coils and condensers, rebuilt the carb, and replaced the impeller, first time for me ever trying to work on an outboard, and I did purchase a repair manual before attempting this and lurked on this site for about a month. The flywheel has been torqued to 45 ft/lbs, and seems to move freely. While replacing the impeller, the drive shaft came out of the gearcase. I placed the driveshaft back into the gearcase and it seems to be lined up and when I turned the driveshaft by hand, the propeller turned. After putting the lower unit back on, I can turn the flywheel and the propeller turns. I seems to pull harder than I remember from last year, but I might have just gotten weak over the long winter! I'm just wondering if after I pulled the driveshaft out of the gearcase, if it was okay for me to just slide it back into place, or if now I need to open up the gearcase and line anything up? Don't want to ruin anything after doing all this work, and hesitant to fire it up without asking first. The propeller moves less than a quarter turn in either direction before engaging when it is in gear. Am I all set to bring her to life, or do I need to do anything with the gearcase?

Thanks,
Keith

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: questions after tune-up on 68 18hp

As long as it shifts correctly you are good to go. Sometimes you get lucky when the driveshaft comes out of the gear case and it slips right back into the pinion gear...count your blessings, it's a real PITA when it doesn't go back in nicely cause the pinion gear moves off center. Make sure you have the flywheel torqued correctly...if it pulls through smoothly with the plugs removed (no binding) your pulling arm probably just got a little lazy over the winter.