Well I screwed up. Yanked out my pivot pin. Now what?

[Gas Giant]

Yup, I screwed up. Despite knowing I should have been on the lookout for it, when I changed my lower unit oil, I took out the pivot pin instead of the drain plug.

The even better part is that I didn't even realize I had done it until right now. And I ran the engine today for about 3-4 minutes in a tub of water.

So...

1) Did I destroy my lower unit?

2) If I didn't, what do I need to do to get it corrected?

Man, I swear, I CANNOT win when it comes to boats. Perhaps I should stick to hot rods.

 

[Gas Giant]

Re: Well I screwed up. Yanked out my pivot pin. Now what?

For reference, the engine still goes into reverse, but not forward.

EDIT: I think I am just going to swap in my spare lower unit. Read over the procedure a few times in the manual, and it seems like something I can handle.

 

[GoldLS1]

Re: Well I screwed up. Yanked out my pivot pin. Now what?

Yup, I screwed up. Despite knowing I should have been on the lookout for it, when I changed my lower unit oil, I took out the pivot pin instead of the drain plug.

The even better part is that I didn't even realize I had done it until right now. And I ran the engine today for about 3-4 minutes in a tub of water.

So...

1) Did I destroy my lower unit?

2) If I didn't, what do I need to do to get it corrected?

Man, I swear, I CANNOT win when it comes to boats. Perhaps I should stick to hot rods.

While I can't help you at all with your issue... Your last statement fits me to a Tee. Boats are the devil!! Vehicles I can handle!

Hopefully someone that likes these floaty things can chime in!! Maybe we should have bought a jet boat w/ a V-8 instead!?!?!

 

[Gas Giant]

Re: Well I screwed up. Yanked out my pivot pin. Now what?

Gold LS1, probably!

If anyone else out there reads this, my manual doesn't say anything about using any silicone sealer when reinstalling the lower unit - do I need to apply any sealant anywhere when I reinstall the replacement lower unit? Seems odd not to, but the manual says nothing about it.

 

[roverfj1200]

Re: Well I screwed up. Yanked out my pivot pin. Now what?

No need to seal the lower unit to the mid section at all.

May I ask what type of lower uint it is as the two piece unit is not to bad when trying to insert the screw

 

[Gas Giant]

Re: Well I screwed up. Yanked out my pivot pin. Now what?

Rover - not sure - I'm new to this. I'll check tonight after work to see if its a 2 piece lower. Where would the two pieces separate if it is a 2 piece?

 

[Gas Giant]

Re: Well I screwed up. Yanked out my pivot pin. Now what?

For anyone who is interested, I just went ahead and swapped the lower unit. It really wasn't that difficult with a helper and a Clymer's manual.