Re: Yamaha 1996 50HP 4 Stroke Lower Unit Installation
I had this exact problem the other day and thanks to the support of this forum managed to figure it out.<br /><br />There are two ways to take off the lower unit, the right way and the wrong way. The right way is to disconnect the shifter rod at the top and drop the lower unit out with the shifter rod still installed in the lower unit. The wrong way is to not disconnect it at the top, but to wiggle it so as to give yourself enough clearance to remove the water pump with the lower unit still mounted to the gearcase, at which point the shifter rod will slide out of the gearcase and remain with the top of the motor while the lower unit, lube and all, falls off onto the ground.<br /><br />If you did it the wrong way, there is no way to get the shifter back into place in the lower unit because there is a spring-loaded rod attached to the drive shaft that springs into the back of the gearcase and won't let the shifter rod back into its original position. As a result, the engine will be stuck in reverse, and no amount of shifting by you or anybody will help you. <br /><br />To fix it, you have to first unhook the shifter rod from the motor by loosening the small bolt on the right hand side of the motor. Use a wheel puller to disassemble the gear case (or hire a hillbilly at a machine shop to do it), extract the propeller shaft and gears, mount the shifter rod in the lower unit where it belongs with the extra room you now have, replace whatever seals and o-rings you goofed up in the process, and put the gears back in there. You can then remount the new water pump onto the top of the gearcase, and reinstall the lower unit. Straighten out the shifter rod, which is bent, before installing and the whole thing will install easier. Do not forget to reconnect the rod by tightening the nut at the top.<br /><br />Mine is running fine. Had to buy the owner's manual to figure all of this out, though. Good luck.
