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Cant get lower unit off

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bbhskynyrd

Member
"I bought a used 120hp force e

"I bought a used 120hp force engine, it runs great however I took it to the shop for the yearly maintenance of new water pump and lower unit grease and the mechanic said he could not get the foot off that running it in salt water (previous owner) had corroded it shut. I was wondering if yall had any input of advice to get it off or maybe some kind of dissolvant spray to put on there...thanks"
 
"One way to loosen lower unit

"One way to loosen lower unit bolts and the housing is with a typical corrosion penetrator like "Liquid Wrench". Be patient and allow several applications to work its way in the joins thru capillary action. If you choose to, you can heat the joint or bolts (carefully) allow them to cool and the do that process several times. The expansion and contraction may help loosen the parts where corrosion now holds them together. If you accomplish getting it loose, then be smart to replace the needed parts, clean existing joints and bolt threads. Depending on how salty an environment you use the engine, service your lower unit every two years minimum or annually as recommended. The major cost of these type of repairs is not the parts but the man hours used trying to get a seized joint loose. Best of luck to you."
 
"thank you very much, just an

"thank you very much, just an update, some of the corrosion is where the gear case attaches an comes apart when the boot is taken off."
 
Is it the bolts that are not c

Is it the bolts that are not coming loose or are the bolts out and it is still stuck?? Did you remove the bolt under the trim tab? It is not unusual for the driveshaft to get stuck into the crankshaft.
 
"its runs just fine though mig

"its runs just fine though might I add, it does have about a foot shaft extension....could that be the reason maybe something extra we need to do?"
 
"If all the bolts are out and

"If all the bolts are out and the lower unit will still not come off, my advice would be to put it back together and use it until the water pump starts to fail. You stated that everything was working properly and that this is preventative maintenance you are trying to perform. The reason I suggest this is on some older motors which have been used in salt water, sometimes the driveshaft will not come out without damaging other parts. If you can get another season out of your water pump, you can try it again at the end of the season. Sometimes the vibration of running the motor might be the best way of loosening the shaft. Be sure to attempt removal as soon as the boat comes out of the water...waiting a few weeks might cause it to rust even more. If you read some of the previous posts on this problem, you can form your own opinion of what to do...Good Luck"
 
"Brandon, if you plan on keepi

"Brandon, if you plan on keeping the motor in service as long as possible you may just have to stick at trying to "worry" the lower unit off.

That could involve pushing, pulling, prying, heating and cutting.

You were fortunate to get all the bolts out, they often have to be cut off on a salt corroded motor.

If you want to save the lower you may have no other choice than a disassembly (then lot's more hard work).

Here's a pic of a lower that gave me similar issues. First off the bolts would not move, so cut off all the heads with a grinder. Then the foot wouldn't drop, so went in through the housing, removed the bearing carrier/gears and undid the nut holding the pinion. That allowed me to remove the lower with the driveshaft still stuck to the head (just pulled the driveshaft right through the water pump).

With everything else removed, a week of alternating between liquid wrench and a torch finally persuaded the drive shaft to come out without any damage.

That may be extreme, but was the easiest way to go and save all the components...

248349.jpg


Was it all worth it??? Only you can decide. The motor in the pic now powers my 14 footer - and it looks real pretty


Of course this is after lots of sanding, filling with liquid aluminum, drilling and retapping every threaded hole, replacing virtually every piece of hardware. So about 50 bucks in parts, 100 bucks in paint and decals and probably about 40 or so hours of labour.


248350.jpg
"
 
I just thought of another angl

I just thought of another angle/issue. The engine has a shaft extension on it. Is there any extra procedures that must be put into place in order to get the lower unit off?
 
"under the anode there is a bo

"under the anode there is a bolt hidden stick a socket 14mm down the top hole loosen off the anode then up the hole where the anode mounted ther is a long 12mm bolt that will get you soughted
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"Hi Guys i am a newbee here

"Hi Guys i am a newbee here
i own a mariner 60hp made in japan
i have a serial number as follows
675-30391 please advise on build daate
i all so have found that my engine was stuck in forward after doing all the correct checks i droped the lower unit and tested the gearing all goes well when i turn the gear spline forward 1/4 turn nuteral 1/4 turn reverse
after closer inspection i noticed the main drive gear shaft inside female spline had corroded out and was stripped on the inside on one side
so i am now hunting for a fix
what is your recomendations ,can i cut off this lower spline head and weld another one on or should i go to a wrecker and cross my fingers he has another one
or would i find a new one
i all so would like to find a service manual for this
once i know the year it will help i guess CLYMER will have one
also there is like a nylon plastic gear disc whith a strange tapered edge that sit over the male spline of the lower unit what is this for i cant work out what it does ?
oh i also found that the impeller was like a starfish and cracking so replaced that now i have my waterpump going again when idealing
YEAH
anyway thanks in advance you guys rock
fantastic site
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