replacing stern seal

My first sterndrive, need to replace the stern seal, not sure on what steps to follow. help! 1979 4 cylinder.

My first sterndrive,

Click to expand...

Ayuh,...... Welcome Aboard,...... You bought a money pit, that most parts can't be bought for,......

Sell it, 'n if you want a sterndrive, buy yerself a Mercruiser, or Volvo,.....

That drive went outa production shortly after it was new, 'n OMC went belly up, back in the early '90s,.....

Agreed in that parts n service for Stringer drives which is what you have, are hard to come by, however, you can change that seal, as long as you can find the right one, there was more than one style of them if I remember correctly...
I've been doing the OMC game for a long time and I keep a certain # of spares around that I have picked up on ebay, or other sources, but if you can sell it, and get a boat you can get parts for and one that mechanics will work on, you'd be better off...
Since I have a Cobra, it can be relatively easily converted to a Volvo SX which is what I'd consider, if I run into drive problems in the future, as it is the OMC Cobra for me has held up great, very few repairs needed to the drive itself, and none at all in the last 14 or so years...