Lower unit troubles

Last night my father in law and I got my 1989 Force 85hp up and running, but noticed it wasn’t pumping water and quickly turned it off. We dropped the lower unit and the impeller was shredded to pieces. I don’t know if it was from us or the previous owner who did have a over heating issue the last time they were out causing the motor not to start again, hence why they sold it!!

So we cleaned all the rubber out of the ports and installed the new impeller. Now we are having trouble getting the lower unit back in. There is a short shaft coming out of the lower unit then a coupler followed by a long shaft going to the upper unit. Plus the shift link and the water port. We are having trouble getting the longer shaft to slide into the upper unit.

Any tips or tricks would be greatly appreciated!!

Pull the shift rod up or down, turning the prop shaft as you push down/up.
That puts it in gear.
Then put a pair of vice grips on the prop shaft.
Then lift the lower up into the housing.
When it gets to the top, turn the vice grips and spin the drive shaft, that aligns the splines and it should slide in.

Flash light: look up inside and make sure the rubber boot and keeper ring aren't blocking the hole.

Thank you for all your input! We got it back in and it's pumping water like it should! We ended up putting the tongue of the trailer on the ground and setting the motor up at its highest position for transporting. We put some grease on the long shaft and coupler and used a pipe to set the long shaft into position then, took the lower end with the short shaft and it went right together. It was quite the challenge and we had to walk away a few times. We are going to get it in the water hopefully Thursday or Friday!

Glad it went back together.