Omc cobra and engine stuck

"removed rams, and mounting nu

"removed rams, and mounting nuts, cant pull sterndrive off but about 1/2 inch before it snaps back, also engine is stuck on something... what am I missing ????"

"I assume you have the drive a

"I assume you have the drive all the way down, sometimes the u-joints can get caught in the bellows, or the o rings are sticking for some reason, sounds like it's not frozen on there or else you wouldn't even move it a 1/2 inch. Worst case would be the engine drive alignment so far out the shaft is binding in the coupler.

What do you mean the engine is stuck on something, are you trying to pull the engine out?"

"yes.... everything is off, an

"yes.... everything is off, and cant get either to
come off.."

"I think that what has happene

"I think that what has happened is You have pulled the gimbal bearing partly out of its seat, it is stuck to the shaft and getting caught in the joint bellow.
Try to put it in gear (press down the shift rod),turn the prop at the same time You pull off the drive."

"When is the last time the dri

"When is the last time the drive waas off? Sounds like the shaft may be seized in the coupler. This could get ugly. The rubber hub in the coupler will flex 1/2" or more with enough force.

If you are sure all of the mounting hardware is removed, find and area where you can pry the drive back without damaging anything. Patience and persistance may keep you from damaging anything.

Worse case senario is that you have to cut the shaft off to remove the drive, then install a new shaft and remove the motor and install a new coupler."

"Just bought the boat, so I ha

"Just bought the boat, so I have no idea about last time it was removed... the drive looks fairly new, but engine is locked up....I dont know much about all this yet, but it feels like the coupler pulling it back on..cant even see the shaft yet, only part of what looks like a carrier...."

"If you have enough room try t

"If you have enough room try to remove the bell housing enough to get at the nuts holding the coupler on the crank.

If you can get these off it will at least get it so you can pull the engine. Then you can deal with the problem of the drive.

Since you have just bought this boat if you do not know what happend that the engine is locked,you may find that the drive is locked and not the engine unless there is a rod hanging out or other tell tale sign the engine is shot.

If the drive is locked it could have twisted in the coupler when it locked up and this is why it will not come off."

"You won't be able to get

"You won't be able to get to the coupler bolts. You have to cut the shaft from inside. I use a torch, but you may be more compfortable with a sawzall. This is not for the faint at heart, please be carefull.

Keep in mind, this is the last resort method. Try all other suggestions prior to breaking out the hot wrench."

"Are you sure that the engine

"Are you sure that the engine is locked up? A bad drive can be seized which can make the engine appear to be locked. You won't know until you can get that drive off....I know I know, see your first post about pulling the drive off. This may not help you but I have seen some guys manually pick up the drive (no rams attached) and let it slam down to break it free."

"I have tried the old raise an

"I have tried the old raise and drop... didnt work either. The bell housing looks to be a one
piece assembly, not sure if unbolting it would
give access to coupler... short of using a tree
and come-a-long... not sure what else to try"

"If you are sure that all is l

"If you are sure that all is loose on the drive,you can use a porta-power for pushing the drive off if you have a 1/2" clearance between the drive and housing.
You need a porta-power that has the jaws. Pull the drive as much as you can then place the jaws between the drive and housing.
Work the drive off very easy going from side to side with the jaws and a pry bar.

MAKE SURE NOTHING IS HOLDING THE DRIVE THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN REMOVED FIRST.

Watch that you do not damage the sealing surface of the housing or drive. Apply a small amount of pressure then try to work the drive off with the pry bar on the other side from the jaws. Then move the jaws to another position.

This is not the best way of removing the drive and if you are not careful you can do a lot of damage. But if you have no other choice it sure beats taking a blow torch to the inside of the boat.

The trick is to go slow and easy and make sure the drive is down.

Depending on room, you may have a better chance of pushing the drive off from the inside of the boat. If you can get a ram between the drive and engine or other place to push off of it would be easier on the drive and housing.

There are a lot of ways to get the drive off short of cutting anything if you just put a little thought into it."

"Charlie,

How are you going

"Charlie,

How are you going to push the drive off from the inside of the boat?

There are not a lot of ways to get a drive off short of cutting it, no matter how much thought you put into it. I've been making a living doing this for 30 years and I've already put a lot of thought into it and if I didn't know, without a doubt, that this may be the only answer, I would not have suggested it. Been there, done that.

The shaft and coupler are much less expensive to replace than the upper housing and gimble assembly, and since they are already junk, what is the problem.

If you can explain to me how to push the drive off from the inside the boat I'll reconsider my position.

Rick"