Tohatsu M30A3 driveshaft removal Help!

[seadonkey]

all 3 bevel gears in my lower unit are worn to the point of failure. so in lieu of a rebuild i bought a complete lower unit off of ebay. unfortunatley it was from a longshaft motor. So i am in the process of swapping my old, shorter driveshaft and shift rod onto the new, used unit. the problem is that i cannot free the driveshaft from either unit. i have removed the pinion gear nut and gear from the end of each drive shaft. And removed the water pump (upper and lower housing) exposing the drive shaft roller bearing on each unit. Now, according to the service manual i am to "lift out the driveshaft and set it aside" well, no such luck! there is a small lip over the roller bearing that appears to be part of the main housing of the lower unit and not part of the bearing that is in the way. Any advise would be appreciated. Thanks, Dustin

 

[pvanv]

Re: Tohatsu M30A3 driveshaft removal Help!

You are probably seeing a shim (used to set gear lash). It takes a good tug to get the drive shaft out.

 

[seadonkey]

Re: Tohatsu M30A3 driveshaft removal Help!

Thanks Paul, Ill try to give it a more forcefull pull. However, I will say that i gave it a pretty good tug with another guy holidng it down and it did not budge. is that shim tapped in with a hammer?

 

[seadonkey]

Re: Tohatsu M30A3 driveshaft removal Help!

Ok, heres a pic of the little lip that is in the way, there are some markings stamped into it, is this a shim?, there a re some markings stamped into it " japan"," HI-CA","YD", and the number 32004J.

 

[pvanv]

Re: Tohatsu M30A3 driveshaft removal Help!

That's not a lip; It's the outer race of the bearing. More force will be needed to pop it out of the LU.

 

[seadonkey]

Re: Tohatsu M30A3 driveshaft removal Help!

Ok, sat down in a chair, held it down with my feet, gave it everything i had and Viola! the driveshaft is free at last! Thanks a ton for the advise Paul. now on to the next headache. the shift rod will not come out and again according to the manual it supposed to come right out. it has only the normal amount of play needed to shift gears. i pulled the stopper away from the housing, yank upward and it stops hard in its tracks like the shift cam is ramming into a solid ceiling on the way up! Any input is greatly appreciated and again, thanks for the help

 

[pvanv]

Re: Tohatsu M30A3 driveshaft removal Help!

You may have to wiggle it to clear the casting. Aside from that, as long as the bushing is out, it should come out OK. Be sure to install new inner and outer o-rings on the bushing. The inner one will probably require use of a blunted-end ss dental pick.

 

[seadonkey]

Re: Tohatsu M30A3 driveshaft removal Help!

There is no bushing that i can see it is a simple plastic stopper with no o-rings of any sort, the tohatsu manual is for the 25,30,40hp and the image shown is unlike my lower unit it clearly shows a metal stopper with a visible o-ring. it must be a 40 hp.

 

[pvanv]

Re: Tohatsu M30A3 driveshaft removal Help!

That plastic stopper is the bushing. There is an o-ring to seal it to the case, and another small one to seal the cam rod.

 

[seadonkey]

Re: Tohatsu M30A3 driveshaft removal Help!

If you take a close look (you may have to enlarge) at the two images from my last post you will see the black and white image from my manual, "Tohatsu", not clymer or other aftermarket manual. this image shows a bushing like you have described, with a visible outer o-ring, which seats into a closed cylindrical opening there by sealing the bushing to the unit. in the other image you'll see my plastic bushing which is one solid piece and clearly (mind you i am looking at two identical units) has no rubber o-ring either around its outside or sealing it to the rod itself. infact the bushing would not seal the unit, as the opening into which it is seated is not a closed cylinder. there is a gap on the drive shaft side of the cam rod (visible in the picture) that would still be open with or without an o-ring. Reguardless, the bushing comes out but that cam rod isnt going anywhere. is there any other way that you can think of that it might be fixed to the LU? Thanks again, Dustin

 

[pvanv]

Re: Tohatsu M30A3 driveshaft removal Help!

You are just looking at the "stopper". The cam rod bushing on an A3 is below that. See the attached diagrams from the Tohatsu parts catalog.

 

[seadonkey]

Re: Tohatsu M30A3 driveshaft removal Help!

Thats strange. how far into the housing is that bushing seated? after i pull out the stopper it looks like nothing but an empty shaft measuring 6 3/4" deep. if the bushing is seated that deep how do you put it back. Also, that sucker does not budge. I feel like Ill break the cam off the rod if i pull any harder. In this pic you can see into the cam rod shaft and barely make out the where the camrod enters the bushing. Thanks, Dustin

 

[pvanv]

Re: Tohatsu M30A3 driveshaft removal Help!

Dustin,

You need to remove the retainer bolt. #8 in the diagram.

 

[seadonkey]

Re: Tohatsu M30A3 driveshaft removal Help!

how is the retainer bolt accessed, is it the bolt on the starboard side of the LU about 3" forward of the water intake vent? if so it looks like im stuck. thanks, dustin

 

[pvanv]

Re: Tohatsu M30A3 driveshaft removal Help!

The bolt goes straight down (vertically) and is slightly forward of, (and immediately next to), the bushing. I have never worked on a 30A3, as most have long since worn out; we just don't have that many 25-year-old outboards in service, so I don't have personal experience with your setup... but I am confident that it is very similar to the more modern Tohatsu LU shifters. Suffice to say that you will need to study the parts diagram, and know that the bushing must be in there, or the LU would have been flooding with water. I may have an ancient service manual for that model in the office; I'll check tomorrow.

 

[seadonkey]

Re: Tohatsu M30A3 driveshaft removal Help!

Well, thanks for all your help Paul, but it looks like i am stuck. i cannot find a retainer bolt anywhere on the thing and im at my wits end. just gonna have to bite the bullet and shell out some $$$ for a pro to do the work. so i can get her back in the water. Thanks again, all the best.

Dustin
Frustrated Boater
Wilmington, N.C.

 

[pvanv]

Re: Tohatsu M30A3 driveshaft removal Help!

Dustin,

Remember that you must have that bushing in there, or the LU would fill with water. It's in there. Looking at my ancient M30A3 service manual, the retainer bolt goes in through the starboard side. If you are still stuck, drop by a dealer, and see if they can help you out.

 

[seadonkey]

Re: Tohatsu M30A3 driveshaft removal Help!

YEEEEHAAAA!!!! the seadonkey rides again!! I took both gearcases to a local tohatsu dealer. He clamped the cam-rod in a vise, heated the area of the caseing near where the bushing is seated with a torch, pounded the hell out of the top of the caseing with a rubber mallet and out came the bushing.he had to do the same trick with both units. I was back on the water he next day, and so far so good. Thanks again Paul for all the advise.
DustinView attachment 154689