Removing sheared off upper driveshaft peice

"have an 1988 four winns 26

"have an 1988 four winns 260 alpha 1 gen 1 that the drveshaft is sheared,,,is it possible to get the splined section out of the upper without tearing down the upper unit???removed upper cover and checked for broken gears.teeth and all that looked good...also can the seal in the upper where the driveshaft goes in, can that seal be installed also without tearing down the upper....thanks in sdvance, mark"

I recently changed my impeller

I recently changed my impeller and water pump housing and the centre section of the seal had torn loose. Wasn`t hard to remove the old seal by punching it with an awl and then pulling it out with a couple of hooked picks. Trick is finding a seal installer with a long enough handle to install the new one but I managed.

"This does bring up another qu

"This does bring up another question though. Looking in the Selco manual, it shows an o-ring on the drive shaft just below the splines and there is a groove that looks like it is the place for one. Problem is, there was no oring on the shaft when I removed it and this o-ring does not show up in the parts catalogue. Does it require one and if so, how would you get it to go through the seal as the seal rides below the groove that that o-ring would fit in?"

"This should be a double seal.

"This should be a double seal. Either there are two seals installed back to back or one seal that is a double seal.

It is best to have the upper unit taken apart to remove and install these seals.

The O-ring on the shaft is needed to keep water from getting to the splines and helps hold the grease on the splines and must be installed.
They no longer have this groove because it was a weak point that would break very easy as you have found out.

Unless you drill a hole into the broken piece left in the gear and use a puller the chance of removing it are slim. Since the shaft is stainless steel the use of a magnet is out as a way to pull it.

Sometimes a guy can get lucky and the piece comes out very easy but if it has not been serviced and there is no grease on it or it twisted at all the fight is on and even if it does come out you still need to replace the seals.
So you may as well just take the upper apart and get it over with.

You stated you checked the upper gears. Well unless you have taken the unit apart you can't tell the real condition of the gear set or the bearings.
There can be hair line cracks in the gears that can not be seen. The gears should be check by a machine shop for any cracks.
Other than needing the tool for removing the nut on the input shaft, taking the upper apart is very easy and you really should do this.

There is a place that will check over the drive and real seal it for $200.00 if no hard parts are needed.(gears,bearings,etc)
This in my opinion is well worth the money if you do not have the equipment for doing this yourself. This way you know the drive is correct.

This same place will repair the lower for the same $200.00 plus the cost of the drive shaft. I think the shaft is about $300.00 but I'm not sure of that price. Again I feel this is well worth the money because you can not just throw a new shaft in. Special tools are needed for this repair. The preload and back lash are very important if the drive is going to last.
Unless you have a crap pile of shim's around you may never get it right.
The torque on the pinion nut is not easy to get without the proper tools.

Plus since the shaft has broken the prop must have hit something at some point so there is a good chance the prop shaft is bent as well. Even a small bend in the prop shaft will cause problems.

It is worth the time to check out amarket.com before you do much more. These are honest people which is hard to find these days and have all the parts you need if you do want to do the repairs yourself and they will help walk you through the rebuild at no charge. Of course this is if you buy at least some of the parts from them.
I know this sounds like a lot of money but if you do not get the drive correct it will cost a whole lot more if it blows up and takes out the case.

Good luck with the repair."