Alpha 1 Gen 1 impeller question

"I dropped the lower gearcase

"I dropped the lower gearcase on my '88 Alpha One to replace the impeller, as my shop that performed the annual service told me it wasn't picking up water.

Sure enough, the fins on the old one were bent to hell and one was missing a corner.

My question is simple...I used vaseline to stick both gaskets to the new metal plate inside the pump beneath the new impeller and want to know if that might cause any issues?"

"Nope,.... You'll be Fine

"Nope,.... You'll be Fine with that..."

"Thanks, Bondo.

One more qu

"Thanks, Bondo.

One more question:
There were several items in the impeller kit that I didn't use, I assume because I didn't lift the lower pump base...just pulled the upper housing and impeller. Do most people do the same, or should I have removed the pump base as well?

I really didn't want to futz around too much with a 20 year-old plastic unit, and didn't see any need. I replaced the impeller, shaft key, water tube, slinger, shaft o-ring, plate/gaskets, and gearcase oil seal.

Also, all the studs (pump and gearcase) were covered in a white powder after I got it all apart. I wiped them down and applied a thin coat of anti-seize to the threads. Surely this wouldn't cause any issues?

Sorry for all the newbie questions, but this is the first time I've opened the outdrive and I'm a bit nervous about things that could go wrong."

"It never hurts to change ever

"It never hurts to change everything but you should be alright. The white powder that you cleaned off was carosion and the anti-seize isn't going to cause an issue. Just make sure when putting the two halfs back together, your shift shaft is turned all the way clockwise and the upper shaft is pointing straight ahead, that's forward gear. Good luck."

"Yeah, I had a bear of a time

"Yeah, I had a bear of a time getting the damn thing re-mated to the upper gearcase. I got the lower unit in Forward easily, and I know the upper was in F as well (still on the boat with the remote in F).

The problem was the upper shift tube (not sure that's what it's called...it's the tube that engages the splined shift shaft on the lower unit) kept dropping down out of its guide/bracket about half an inch. I'd get the tube to engage the shift splines, but when I lifted up it would hit the side of the bracket instead of slotting into it properly.

I had no idea what a bear it was to do this by myself. Trying to hold the gearcase while lining up the studs, water tube, shift tube, and maintain CCW pressure on the prop shaft all while lifting up. Holy crap.

I finally thought to put my floor jack under the case after lining up the studs. After that, it was easy to lift it carefully while checking all the alignments and keeping the gearcase in Forward."

"Ayuh,....

I wrap a Bungee

"Ayuh,....

I wrap a Bungee strap around the propshaft,+ hook it to the cav-plate to hold tension against forward gear.....
It makes the job Much Easier...."

"Hi guys. I have the MR model

"Hi guys. I have the MR model on an 888 outdrive. I'm having similar difficulty, basically understanding how to get both upper and lower housings in the same gear. This may sound extremely simple, but I just want to make sure once and for all that I'm doing this right.

To get the upper housing in forward gear, I just have to put the throttle lever all the way forward, which will align the guide bracket for the shift shaft forward. On the lower housing, i need to turn the splined shaft all the way clockwise to put the lower unit in forward gear. While installing the two together I keep pressure on the prop clockwise. Is that it?

The wording in the manuals and from explanations gets me tricked a little. Thank you!"

"NO

Counterclockwise is wha

"NO

Counterclockwise is what keeps forward gear engaged. As you slide the lower into the upper you must stick your hand inside to align the copper tube and the upper plastic piece, That is if the copper tube came out when you pulled the lower. Once you have this aligned you gentley push the lower up into the upper while keeping slight pressure on the prop with a c'clockwise force. As you are doing this and the two halfs get close together and you are sure forward grear is lock in place you should be able to align the bronze shift leg with the splines whle making sure the bronze leg is pointing straight forward.
You will not normally get the two halfs together all the way without spinnig the prop counterclockwise to spin the drive shaft so it iwll align with the upper gear case. Also you have a spring loaded pin on the top of the shaft so the two halfs will NOT completely mate up. You will have to used the two side nuts to tighten it all the way."

"I have an 888 lower unit also

"I have an 888 lower unit also and i thought it was counterclockwise, but didn't want to say because i didn't want to give bad advice."

"ok, keep pressure CCW on the

"ok, keep pressure CCW on the prop, got it. the copper tube is still in the upper housing. should the plastic tube fit snugly over the copper tube? mine is relatively loose. the plastic tube that i removed was melted and warped on the top end."

The plastic tube is only a gui

The plastic tube is only a guide for the copper tube. When the two halfs are snug together the rubber on each end of the copper tube will compress and seal both ends of the copper tube so only water flows thru it.
The reason the plastic melted is because the water pump is in the exhaust flow that comes from the engine and goes out thru the proppeller.
If there is no water in the exhaust then only the heat and some or no water will flow and melt all the plastic components in its path.