Gimbal BearingEngine alingment help

"Hello All,
So I have bee

"Hello All,
So I have been working on the boat from hell, it seems everything I touch on this boat breaks or doesnt work, most likely due to the salt water. Anyways, I have been attempting to get my engine/gimbal bearing alingment all set so I can throw my outdrive on and get underway, but there are a few problems. First my motor mount bottom bolts are rusted to the shaft so I cant lower the engine, but can raise it by hoisting it up and placing washers on top of the bolt, but I broke down and purchased new motor mounts. Is there any technical way to rasie/lower the engine so my alignment tool will go in all the way? I get it in the splines about 1 inch then it feels like its hitting something. I must have spent a good 3 hours putting different variations of washers under the engine mounts and moving the gimbal bearing around to try and find the "sweet" spot, but not luck. ANY HELP IS APPRICATED!! Thanks Jon"

"Is this an Alpha One Gen II l

"Is this an Alpha One Gen II leg?
If so, you can't use alignment tool PN 91-57797A3 without modification, according to my Clymer manual. You can either modify it, or use tool PN 91-805475A1, which will work on Gen II, and all other drives without modification.
Rod"

"Hello Rod,
Its a Gen I l

"Hello Rod,
Its a Gen I leg. It worked on my Mercruiser R drive, I just dont know what the problem is."

It was just a thought.
I thin

It was just a thought.
I think you need to start with fresh engine mount bolts so you can adjust it easily. Is it possible that there is something inside the coupling that is stopping the tool from inserting all the way?
Rod