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Trouble seperating drive shaft housing from bell housing

S

starsh1p

Regular Contributor
"Hi all, this one is for the p

"Hi all, this one is for the pros to see what tricks they may have up there sleeves. I am in the middle of changing the gasket between the drive shaft housing and the bell housing. Problem is I can't get them separated. Got them about half inch or so apart but no matter how hard I pull, shake or shimmy the thing I just can’t get them separated. Of course I am afraid to break anything because that's what I am best at. Any tricks of the trade to get them apart? It is a 1984 Galaxy Classic, Mercruiser 140. Probly hasn't been apart for quite some years, it's new to me so I have no idea how long it's been. Was thinking that maybe it is just a bit of corrosion in the splines and that if maybe I get it back on all the way it will clear enough that a second attempt at separating may work. Just hate to shove it back on since it was so difficult to get it apart as much as I have in the first place. Thanks in advance for any help offered. Mike"
 
"The shifter is in forward gea

"The shifter is in forward gear and if i turn the prop shaft counter clockwise it is engaged so thats all in forward, rite?"
 
"Ayuh,....

Hook the Trim ba

"Ayuh,....

Hook the Trim back up,+ use it to push the drive off...."
 
"Take a peak up into the forwa

"Take a peak up into the forward end of the drive and see if the shift shafts are uncoupled. They should be lined up straight forward to aft, and should be virtually separated if everything is lined up OK.
This is a RH drive prop unit, right?

Normally if you can get them 1/2" or so apart, they should separate pretty easily. Sounds like your input shaft may be seized in the gimbal bearing, but if that was the case, it should not have moved hardly at all.

You could try pushing it back in and out a few times to see if that will loosen it up. You may have corrosion on the forward part of the input shaft that is binding inside the gimbal inner race as you try to pull it through.

Be careful that it does not suddenly let go as you are reefing on it. You could wind up with 85 lbs of drive in your lap; or worse!!
Its wise to keep a couple of the nuts at the end of their thread until it is free, then gently slide it off.

Rod"
 
"Had thought about using the t

"Had thought about using the trim to do it but was a little concerned that I may cause myself more problems if I did, I will keep that one in mind. Rod, hmm right hand drive prop? Thats is a big, " I have no idea" since I just got the boat and just don't know. Will have a peak into the drive and see what I can see. I think you are on the rite track tho with the corrosion dealy, will try pushing back in and pulling it out again. Thanks"
 
"Ok so I decided to give it th

"Ok so I decided to give it the ole college try and no luck. I did discover that the shifter is in forward but the drive is no longer in any apparent gear, prop shaft turns both directions. Any ideas on getting the drive back into forward? Also, Rod, tried to look up into the forward end of the drive, can see nothing but the rubber bellows or did you mean from inside the boat? Remember, new to this. Thanks. Oh and probrobly worth mentioning, when I said I got it back about a half inch I didn’t mean that it came back nicely I had to really give it heck to get it to move at all, slight easy prying and lots of violent tugging and shaking to get it to move at all. I did push it back in but even that did not move easy had to use the bolts to gently drive it back in, just a flick of the wrist on each bolt a little at a time to get it to slip back in. When it started to resist about 3/16 of an inch from being in all the way I just left it there and backed off the nuts to make sure it had no unnecessary pressure on it."
 
Need to change the impeller an

Need to change the impeller and water pump on this drive so would it be any help to me with getting it back in forward gear to remove the lower half now?
 
"mike;
RH drive just mans tha

"mike;
RH drive just mans that the prop turn CW from behind in forward. If that is what you see, it is a RH drive, and putting it in forward is where you want to be.

If the drive is now in neutral, or at least not engaged, that means that the lower shift shaft has likely disengaged from the upper, which is fine.

I think your input shaft is sticking in the gimbal, and it may take some serious effort to get it out.
YOu could try 4 wooden wedges driven gently between the drive and the bellhousing. Do this so as to keep the separation more of less even as you go. It should come with some convincing.
You may wind up pulling the gimbal bearing out with the shaft. This is OK, as is likely needs changing anyway.

You need to read up in SM6, which covers the Alpha and earlier drives. You have an early Alpha.
You can download SM6 by going to the topic "Ayuh, the back door is once again open" about a month back or so. Courtesy Bondo.
Good luck,
Rod"
 
"Leaving the lower unit on giv

"Leaving the lower unit on gives you better leverage on the gear housing. Carefull about sticking metal prying objects in there so you do not damage the sealing surfaces. I think you may have a water intrusion into the drive below that casued the shaft to rust where it exits the gimbal bearing, as mentioned by Rod. Go back and forth with it. Be carefull if you use the trim pump. It can break things really easy.

Use a pry bars with flat surfaces, not sharp and angled. Tap with hammer gently and work it. If it does not come appart, you may need to pull the engine to get to it and tap it out with the gimbal bearing... Not fun, so give it your best shot."
 
"Thank you guys I will give it

"Thank you guys I will give it a good shot, but now do to that horrible word "work" it will have to wait untill the weekend. Will let you all know how I make out, thanx again"
 
"Success!! i finaly got the st

"Success!! i finaly got the stern drive seperated. Thank you everybody that donated thier advice. I put a little of all of it to use and came up with a solution. Thank you BT_Doctor for the wood idea, that and a little pulling pressure from a come-along and a web strap did the trick. And yes the gimbal bearing did indeed come out on the shaft as I think it was Rod said it probly would. I intend to replace whatever looks bad over the winter and then put it all back together in the spring. I will be starting a new thread concerning my trim system. thank you again everyone for the help, this is a great service you all offer to us newbs."
 
Mike;
Perserverance paid off!

Mike;
Perserverance paid off!
Congratulations; you have gone to the head of the class of "Drive Leg Removal" 101.
Hope the rest of the project proceeds more smothly.
Let us know how you make out.

Rod
 
"Thanks Rod, I have drained th

"Thanks Rod, I have drained the engine for the winter and covered it all up. I am going away for part of the winter but when I get back I plan on starting to work on the stern drive but most of the work will take place starting in the spring. Looks to be a good little ( ummmm big ) project. I will deffinately keep you all posted and may even post some before and after pics if it all turns out well. Thanks again everybody. Here's to a short winter"
 
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