"Ron-
I am having the exact s
"Ron-
I am having the exact same problem... been working on it now for over 2 months and have had several of my friends help me look at it to figure out how to get the lower unit back on. Very Very frustrating to say the least. If I spin the unit sideways, leaving the shifter rod outside I can get the shaft into the drive gear. However, when I align the whole lower end, the shift rod prevents me from getting it all the way back in. I've tried spinning the prop, forward, neutral, reverse, sideways, upside down and nothing seems to allow the shif rod to enter into the housing. One thing that is odd is that the prop clicks when i turn it now. Is that normal? Also the little pin at the bottom of the lower unit where the shift rod sits seems to be further forward than normal and I cant get it back enough to get the rod in.
SO.... where do I turn next? Did you ever get yours in? Is there a trick to this? I realize now that I shouldn't have taken the lower unit all the way off but I was having a hard time getting the impeller out w/ the unit attached. PLEASE, I could use a little advise here.
many, many thanks in advance- my kids will love you for it!"