Logo
FULL SITE MENU

Honda BF8A shift rod removal

M

mills

Contributing Member
I have a Honda BF8A motor (1997 BACU) and want to remove the long shift rod ([FONT=&quot]24311-881-D70 )
from the lower unit and change it to a short shaft lower unit. Have the lower unit off and removed the water pump casing. Tried to pull out the long shift rod but it does not want to come out. Lower unit works fine, not froze up or rusted, etc. Is there a trick to pulling this out or do I just need more brute strength? Hate to bring out the hammer :( Thanks .....................[/FONT]
 
I'm not clear on what you are trying to do.

Are you saying that you have the gearcase removed and that you want to take the shift rod out of the gearcase assembly? Does your gearcase look like the one in the link below?

https://www.boats.net/catalog/honda...n-bacl-1200001-to-bacl-1299999/gear-case-assy

To get that shift rod out I believe that you will need to remove the propshaft to gain accees to the pin that holds the shift "shoe" to the lower shift rod and drive it out. I don't think that shoe will pass through the hole that the rod goes through.

You could remove the seal and have a look but you will destroy the seal getting it out and they don't list a replacement available. So measure it carefully first so that you can source one through a bearing shop.

I urge you to not force anything on one of these outboards because it just won't work out in your favor.

Also, I don't think that you need to remove the shift rod to swap a long shaft gearcase to a short shaft outboard. But, then, I may not be understanding what you are wanting to do.

I'll keep trying if you want to explain further.

Good luck
 
Thanks for your reply. Yes, that is my gearcase and it is removed. As you said, I believe I have to remove the pin (part [FONT=open sans, sans-serif]94305-25122) in order to remove the shift shaft from the lower unit. Pulled the driveshaft out and removed the seal. Now I believe I need to remove the driveshaft bearing in order to be able to get to the pin and pull it out. When I pull up on the shift rod you can hear it click and stop. I believe this is the pin hitting the casing. Having a hard time removing the bearing. Need a special puller. Going to an Auto parts store to get a pilot bearing puller. This may work. Any other suggestions appreciated. [/FONT]
 
Well, I have done a couple of shift shaft removals but not on a gearcase exactly like yours.

The ones I did were on units built after 2005. On those, i was able to remove the transmission and could maneuver the shift rod enough to be able to get at the "roller" pin that holds the "shoe" in place and then at the upper pin. I didn't even need to remove the mainshaft. Awkward but in a good vise it was do-able.

Again, yours is a bit different and may need more things moved out of the way.

But the reason I'm telling you the story is to get to this part:

When I tried to drive the pin from the rod it wouldn't budge. I broke the ends off of several pin punches trying to get it to move even a little. No luck.

On yours, the upper positiining pin is a spring pin and should come out easily. But the pin holding the shoe is pretty much the same, solid "roller" pin I was dealing with. Items 33 and 34:

https://www.boats.net/catalog/honda...n-bacu-1000001-to-bacu-1099999/extension-case

I ended up having to fabricate a tool to push that pin out of one side of the shoe. Once the pin was pushed in just a little I could easily drive it out with a punch. That first one was a real PAIN IN THE BoO-HaH-LaH!

Maybe your "shoe" will pass up through the rod hole after you remove the upper pin but I don't think it will.

Question: is the shift rod that much different that you couldn't just swap the gearcases? Just curious.

Good luck.
 
The shift rod of the short shaft is about 8 inches shorter than the UL shift rod. Must be replaced. After I take the bearing out I should be able to get at the pin and remove it. Not sure why they even have it since the upper movement of the shift rod is limited by the upper shift linkage? Bearing is stuck pretty good - salt water motor. Looking for a better bearing puller. I could cut it out but that puts metal pieces in the gearcase with possibly bad results.
 
Ok, makes sense with the xxxl case. Never worked on one of those.

That upper pin is to prevent the rod from rotating I believe. There was a little slot it sat in iirc.

Yeah, I wouldn't want your job messing with that bearing. If you have a high watt heat gun you might want to warm up the housing a bit to see if you can loosen it's grip. Or' there's always momma's good old oven! But be careful.

Good luck.
 
Thanks for your comments. Found a slide hammer pilot bearing puller from an Auto parts store to rent that fits well. Tried it with no results. Soaked the bearing in diesel, put copious amounts of WD40 on it, heated the outside with a torch, used HCL to try to dissolve all the corrosion holding the bearing in.....then used the slide hammer puller to no avail.
^%$#@)*^)&$%^&. I was thinking about hitting the bearing with a welder to get it HOT. I have done this before and the instant heat seems to break the corrosion. Buttt......................not sure. Comments and advice will be appreciated.
 
Oh man! Yeah, like I said before, I wouldn't want that job!
Those gearcases are pretty danged delicate and using too much heat could ruin your year.

I would try using Aero Kroil or PB Blaster and let it soak a while before attacking it with a welder. Those are two of the best rust busters I know of. WD-40 is good for some things...like cleaning your tool box...but it's next to useless as a penetrant oil.

If you plan on replacing that bearing (I would) you might look at the
possibility of using a Dremel tool to cut it. That would be slow going but
If you damage that case by getting in a hurry then your plan of using it will be shot for sure.

Good luck
 
I have a can of PB blaster that I will put to use. However normally it is not rust that is seizing the bearing. It is what I will refer to as oxidation between the 2 dissimilar metals: Steel and Aluminum. Same thing that seizes up the SS bolts into the Aluminum parts. Will proceed with caution.
 
Yes, you make a good point about the dissimilar metals and oxidation but another term for rust is...oxidation. And I don't know of any product that is better than either of those for "dissolving" oxidation. If I were to run across one I would buy it! That is... if I could still afford it! :>)

Good luck with your project. I hope you get it accomplished and report back here about your success.
 
Well, finally got the bearing out. Used a pilot bearing puller from Autozone and modified it slightly so that the small puller arms could not push back together as I applied pressure. Put a bolt between the two arms. The surfaces looked very clean which surprised me. Thought they would be all corroded?? Butttt did not see any type of pin to release the shift rod. I think the spring pin in the diagram refers to is holding the rod onto the gearshift cam which is at the bottom of the shift rod??? With all the other small outboards I work on the shift rod and shift cam just pulls right out??
 
Well, I'm not sure but it is shown in the parts diagram. The thing I don't like about spring pins is that they shear easily. That's why I think Honda started using solid pins in that application in later models.

Are you positive that you didn't snap that pin off when you were first trying to remove the rod?

I have only needed to remove shift rods from two Honda outboards that were both mid 2000 models. So I don't know how that differs from other models or manufacturers

As an aside, you use the term "cam" (which I consider a good description and may start using) to describe the stepped wedge pinned to the end of the shift rod. I use the term "shoe" to describe the same part. Know what Honda calls that? ....ROD!
I never understood that but I might start calling it a cam like you because that's what it really is.
 
jgmo said:
Well, I have done a couple of shift shaft removals but not on a gearcase exactly like yours.

The ones I did were on units built after 2005. On those, i was able to remove the transmission and could maneuver the shift rod enough to be able to get at the "roller" pin that holds the "shoe" in place and then at the upper pin. I didn't even need to remove the mainshaft. Awkward but in a good vise it was do-able.

Again, yours is a bit different and may need more things moved out of the way.

But the reason I'm telling you the story is to get to this part:

When I tried to drive the pin from the rod it wouldn't budge. I broke the ends off of several pin punches trying to get it to move even a little. No luck.

On yours, the upper positiining pin is a spring pin and should come out easily. But the pin holding the shoe is pretty much the same, solid "roller" pin I was dealing with. Items 33 and 34:

https://www.boats.net/catalog/honda...n-bacu-1000001-to-bacu-1099999/extension-case

I ended up having to fabricate a tool to push that pin out of one side of the shoe. Once the pin was pushed in just a little I could easily drive it out with a punch. That first one was a real PAIN IN THE BoO-HaH-LaH!

Maybe your "shoe" will pass up through the rod hole after you remove the upper pin but I don't think it will.

Question: is the shift rod that much different that you couldn't just swap the gearcases? Just curious.

Good luck.
Click to expand...
Hi, can you snap a picture of the tool you made? I'm trying with a vice and it's not budging at all.
 
Well...I too first tried using a vice. Way too awkward and clumsy to get a "set up".

I just finished looking for that homemade tool and can't find it.

That's what happens when you let your kids have the keys to the shop....stuff scattered everywhere.

I made it out of what I was told was an industrial scaffolding assembly clamp.
Think, small, beefy three inch "C" clamp. But a larger C clamp would work.

You need a hole in the center of the "anvil" or fixed portion of the clamp to act as a receiver for the pin as it exits the shift rod. It's hard to drill a hole in that straight but it doesn't need to be accurate. Just deep enough. I started with a cobalt drill bit but finished off using a carbide Dremel bit to hog out the material.
You could just use a little socket or piece of pipe too but it's one more thing to juggle and might even bend/damage the shift shift rod. So, I opted for the hole.

I used the scaffolding clamp because it was really, really stout and didn't have the wobble plate that a normal "C" clamp has.

You may actually need to remove the wobbly to make the tool since, even if you could accurately weld or braze the tip of a pin punch to it, I highly doubt that you could keep it centered while tightening the clamp. Just my opinion though.

I carefully did some good ol' boy machining to the tip of the bolt with my trusty Dremel tool using a cut-off wheel and grinding stone to get the tip for pushing that I needed. With no wobbly head, you can untreated the bolt, cut off the ball end and even use a small lathe ( if you have one) to fashion the push tip.

Not all C clamps are created equal so you need to make sure the one you use has a threaded bolt that is long enough to effectively push after you've shortened it.

I don't know where to get the type of clamp I used...
somebody gave me a couple years ago or I would have destroyed and used a C clamp instead just as I have described.

Or....you could take it to a machinist and bet him a bottle of Jack he can't get it out.

Good luck.
 
Above says "you can untreated the bolt" but should read "You can un-thread the bolt"

Spell check attack.

Gotta love it!
 
Back
Top