1977 evinrude 175 hp v6 lower unit

I took the lower unit off of m

I took the lower unit off of my 1977 175 evinrude V-6 and to rebuild it. After I got it apart I have had trouble locating the gears. The only ones me or my mechanic found were straigt from Johnson and they cost around $1200. Is there anyone who knows where I can find gears cheaper? Also we were considering just buying a whole different unit to put on it. Is there any other year that would bolt up and match? I think that would save me a lot of time if I just bought a used unit instead of rying to find all of the parts to rebuild the old one. Also is there anything that I can buy that would make a different year match? If you can't tell I am obviously a beginner and any and all help would be appreciated.

"Hey John...Any V-^ lower unit

"Hey John...Any V-^ lower unit from 1974 up to about 1989 will work...Might have to exchange the shift rod from your unit, but, that about all you will need to do....Would re-seal it and replace the water pump while you have the unit off..There are lots of marine parts dealers that carry the gears you need,and will be much cheaper then OMC...NAPA carrys them Look at the ads on this board...good place to start..."

You can typically pick up a co

You can typically pick up a complete used lower on Ebay for less than $200. I have had good luck there.