water in lwr. unit

[skipper]

I have a 86 Yamaha 40hp ELJ. The only work I have ever had to do on the lwr. unit is replace an impeller. This year while replacing oil I noticed water in it. I took off the prop and removed the fishing line I found there. (That had happened before and fixed the problem) Ran the boat on the lake and was great for 40 mins. then heard a gargling sound. Checked lwr. unit and found alot of water in it. Also, when I spin the prop by hand there is a clicking sound that I don't remember being there. By reading previous posts I think I should replace the oil seals (93332-000V4-00) and maybe the bearings too?
Is this a very hard job? Do I have to pull the lwr. unit off first? (Like I did when I replaced the impeller) Any advice I could get before I do this would be greatly appreciated.

[boats.net]

If it was making a noise you may gear and bearing damage. Need to remove bearing carrier to see if any damage. You will nrrd special tool to remove and to retorque nut that holds carrier in,