Hello- I took my lower unit apart to replace some seals, and I found that the cage around the mainshaft bearing was eaten up. Surprisingly, I had no issues regarding how it performs on my last trip of last season...so I think I got lucky. I am not to the step of removing the inner race from the housing ( any tips on this? I am also looking for advice on installing the main bearing. Do I install the bearing into the housing first, or do I install it on the shaft first and then drive the shaft in? Do I need any special tools? I have looked for videos and I cannot find videos on this specific operation. The bearing was very tight, and i was able to use a 3 arm puller to remove it from the shaft, so I'm thinking it will not be easy to re-install.
All pinion gears look to be excellent condition, and I'm not sure how, as I have been finding pieces of the soft metal caging in my lower unit oil for the past few years. It looks like that metal was so soft that the gears just chewed it up and it then dropped to the bottom of the housing and stuck to the magnetic drain plug.
All pinion gears look to be excellent condition, and I'm not sure how, as I have been finding pieces of the soft metal caging in my lower unit oil for the past few years. It looks like that metal was so soft that the gears just chewed it up and it then dropped to the bottom of the housing and stuck to the magnetic drain plug.