Lower unit Removal 1995 225

[Cletis]

Hello, I posted about 6 weeks ago on changing the water pump on my 225. I still can't get the lower unit down. All the bolts are removed, even the one under the zinc. After hammering and prying with screw drivers it's only come about an 1/8 of an inch. A local mechanic advised me to start a few of the bolts and run the motor. I've done this and it still will not drop down.
He said the shaft is froze in the crank or a bushing is stuck. How long can I beat on this until I destroy somthing? I hope someone has a answer. I also bought the manual, but that is useless on this project.
Thanks

[Ken]

Cletis,
I don't want to insult your intelligence, but make sure you have removed all 8 bolts holding that lower unit on.
I would try to lightly tap small wedges of wood into that 1/8 inch crack all around between the lower unit and upper casing. I would do this after running the motor with the garden hose and earmuffs to get the crank and drive shaft as hot as possible - obviously you are going to need to re-install at least four of the lower unit bolts before doing this.
As to how hard to drive the wedges of wood and how much pressure - I can't tell you - gonna' have to go by gut feel.
I asked my trusted marine mechanic about this and he said if you can't get the drive shaft to turn loose of the crank (the splines corrode), then a hole will have to be cut into the upper casing so that a blow torch can be applied to the upper part of the drive shaft to help the corrosion turn loose - if it were me, I would turn the project over to someone who has done this before.
Good luck,
Ken K

[jb123]

cletis, where are ya in the s.e. here .....

[Cletis]

Thanks for the replys. Ken I made some wedges out of alunimum that I used because the screwdrivers and chisle were damaging the housing. It did come the 1/8 of an inch after I ran it, However the alarm sounds after a few minutes. I thought once it started coming down it would get easier.
JB I'm in Stuart, just north of Palm Beach.
Thanks John

[croatankid]

i've never removed a lower unit, although i'm about to try. for your situation, i wonder if you might use a hack saw to cut the drive shaft. remove the lower unit, then connect a better handle on the shaft and snatch it down. shafts shouldn't be hard to come by since they don't fail very often.

[Hamfisted]

Once in a while you just run across those stubborn ones. Really what you're doing is about all you can do. Put wedges at four points and keep tapping it down. When you do get it apart take a stainless wire brush and clean the splines good, and of course grease 'em before your reassemble. The overheat alarm comes on because you created a gap in the water pipe and water is leaking out rather than filling the powerhead. Concentrate your wedges toward the forward end of the lower unit since that's where the driveshaft is.


Mike

[Cletis]

Got the lower unit down over the weekend. Looks loke it was sticking on the shaft right above the pump housing. It came apart a lot easier with someone reving the motor and prying. I would guess the heat and vibration.
Hope it goes back together easier, only two broken bolts to drill out.
Thanks Guys

[Ken]

Cletis,
Glad you finally got the lower unit to drop.
Can't remember who it was, but just recently had a member with a 115, I believe, that the rubber bushing that the driveshaft goes thru right above the water pump had gotten all deformed and was putting a lot of pressure on the driveshaft. His motor would hardly turn over when he tried to start it.
I believe the rubber bushing is on the models with a long drive shaft - 25 inches. My 2000 C115 with a 20 inch shaft does not have it. I believe the purpose of the bushing is to act as a dampener to any (long) drive shaft vibrations.
Whatever the purpose, you might want to install a new one - and grease the inside where it comes in contact with the drive shaft.
How are you going to deal with the broken lower unit bolts ? Drill and tap one oversize? Install heli-coils?
Let us know how you come out [img]smile.gif[/img] ,
Ken K

[Ken]

Cletis,
When you do the water pump repair, be sure and use a good quality thread sealer (I use Permatex 14A with Teflon) on the threads of the water pump bolts and lower unit bolts - this should prevent the bolts from corroding up and seizing next time [img]tongue.gif[/img] .
Also, be sure and put a water resistant grease (marine grease) on the splines of the drive shaft.
Good idea to torque all bolts per the manual also.
Let us know how you come out [img]smile.gif[/img] ,
Ken K