Can't get my lower unit reattached

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taylorjm
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Re: Can't get my lower unit reattached

#16 Post by taylorjm » Sat Apr 01, 2017 3:48 pm

According to the manual, you shift it into forward before you remove the lower unit. Now that you already have it out, I'm not sure what you need to do to get it reassembled.

albow
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Re: Can't get my lower unit reattached

#17 Post by albow » Sat Apr 01, 2017 4:03 pm

[quote="jrolin1"][quote="albow"][quote="jrolin1"]I pull my mercury lower every year for the last ten years. Not hard for me as long as I put it in forward. That way I can rotate the prop a little to get it aligned and started. I always put grease on the splines of both the shaft and gear teeth. One year I neglected to put it in forward and could not get it on for anything. I wound up putting it in gear on the boat and gently with a cloth and pliers turning the gear shift teeth to put it in forward. That worked fine after oh about a dozen attempts. I would put it on and then check if it was in neutral when I shifted the controls. If you do that be very careful and don't crank it if it is not in neutral by spinning the prop before trying to crank the engine. It may be cranking in gear! Very dangerous. I was amazed by how little the gear shift teeth needed to move to be in gear or neutral.[/quote]
Thanks. Sounding like that's the way to go. Do you normally put it in gear before removing the lower unit or just when you are reattaching it?[/quote]


Before removing it. The one year I did not was a royal pain.[/quote]

That's NOT the answer I wanted to hear!
Tahoe 24 Fish n Fun
115 4 stroke Mercury
2003 Ram 3500
Harpersville, AL

albow
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Re: Can't get my lower unit reattached

#18 Post by albow » Sat Apr 01, 2017 4:04 pm

[quote="taylorjm"]According to the manual, you shift it into forward before you remove the lower unit. Now that you already have it out, I'm not sure what you need to do to get it reassembled.[/quote]

Thanks. I guess we will fiddle with it tomorrow and see what happens.
Tahoe 24 Fish n Fun
115 4 stroke Mercury
2003 Ram 3500
Harpersville, AL

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mpilot
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Re: Can't get my lower unit reattached

#19 Post by mpilot » Sat Apr 01, 2017 9:57 pm

You should be able to fiddle with the lower unit and get it into forward while out of the engine, then put the shifter in the boat in forward, then reinstall them. I think you grease the shift shaft too which should help. You can turn the prop a little while you lift into place to get it to go into the right position. Before tightening it all the way up, put the shifter in all three positions to make sure it's shifting properly.

albow
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Re: Can't get my lower unit reattached

#20 Post by albow » Mon Apr 03, 2017 8:34 am

[quote="mpilot"]You should be able to fiddle with the lower unit and get it into forward while out of the engine, then put the shifter in the boat in forward, then reinstall them. I think you grease the shift shaft too which should help. You can turn the prop a little while you lift into place to get it to go into the right position. Before tightening it all the way up, put the shifter in all three positions to make sure it's shifting properly.[/quote]Haven't gotten to work on it yet. So, you're saying to turn the gearshift on the lower unit into forward (god knows which direction I will need to turn it), then do the same for the throttle?
Tahoe 24 Fish n Fun
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2003 Ram 3500
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albow
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Re: Can't get my lower unit reattached

#21 Post by albow » Mon Apr 03, 2017 8:38 am

After re-reading Jrolin's post post, mpilot, , that sounds like what he said, just in the opposite order, which I can't imagine would matter.
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lakerunner
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Re: Can't get my lower unit reattached

#22 Post by lakerunner » Mon Apr 03, 2017 10:23 am

But it does. Wrap a shop rag around the shift shaft, use s vice grip and while turning the shaft hold the prop. making very small moves on shift shaft turn prop slowly. When it clicks into forward you won't be able to turn prop forward. In neutral the prop free wheels and in reverse you can't move it backwards
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albow
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Re: Can't get my lower unit reattached

#23 Post by albow » Mon Apr 03, 2017 10:16 pm

Thanks lakerunner.
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Re: Can't get my lower unit reattached

#24 Post by albow » Wed Apr 05, 2017 1:50 am

No luck. Let's see if I can remember to explain it right. Couldn't get it to line up after putting in forward until I pushed the throttle essentially wide open into forward. I don't know why that would make a difference, but it did.At that point it went in, but the prop wouldn't turn the right way as I apparently turned the selector on the lower unit the wrong way. We took it loose, I moved it and something still wasn't right (can't recall). Tried putting it in reverse and going to the position on the lower unit where I first turned it wrong but the shifter throttle at the helm is putting up far too much resistance to sliding back into neutral. We are afraid to push harder than we have, but have used the gear disengage where you can have it in neutral and still give it gas and it moved freely. We ran out of daylight at that point (another 10 minute job turned into over an hour for me as usual) and all I know to do now is Take it loose again, move the shifter on the lower unit again and play a few more times. At least it's not been hard getting my fresh gasket that I made off each time but now that it's actually snugged up, I'll have to check and see if any of it is on the motor side to scrape off. IF I can't get it this go round, I'll just have to carry it to the dealer and probably pay $100 for 10 minutes of their labor and knowledge. Aside from this, the motor has just become second priority as I found a leak around each of the vent/skylights in my 5th wheel trailer today. Any further suggestions anyone?
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jrolin1
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Re: Can't get my lower unit reattached

#25 Post by jrolin1 » Wed Apr 05, 2017 3:40 am

Nope. Sounds like what I went through. The gear shift shaft does not need to move much at all. Just keep the throttle control on Fwd. Gently turn the gear shift shaft until it is in fwd. I wound up trying multiple time to get it correct. To test it I wound up adjusting the gear shift shaft in the different settings (fwd, neutral, reverse) manually with the lower off to see how much it needed to be turned to be in gear. Once I had that down I put it in fwd on the lower and reattached. The good news is that you will always remember to put it in fwd before dropping the lower now. :biggrin2

albow
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Re: Can't get my lower unit reattached

#26 Post by albow » Thu Apr 06, 2017 6:04 am

You got that right!
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2003 Ram 3500
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kenbob62
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Re: Can't get my lower unit reattached

#27 Post by kenbob62 » Thu Apr 06, 2017 1:37 pm

when I did mine I put a ratchet strap holding the lower unit up to motor with a little pressure on strap so when it does line up it will bump in
kenny...2005 32 ft party cruiser ,2005 silverado 6.0 4x4 what a long strange trip its been

albow
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Re: Can't get my lower unit reattached

#28 Post by albow » Thu Apr 06, 2017 3:01 pm

Thanks.
Tahoe 24 Fish n Fun
115 4 stroke Mercury
2003 Ram 3500
Harpersville, AL

taylorjm
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Re: Can't get my lower unit reattached

#29 Post by taylorjm » Thu Apr 13, 2017 5:33 pm

So did you ever get it back together?

albow
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Re: Can't get my lower unit reattached

#30 Post by albow » Fri Apr 14, 2017 6:55 am

Unfortunately no. I haven't had a chance yet due to a leaky camper and broken drainage pipe on it as well, which has taken precedence. I do hope to be able to line up help tomorrow with the motor. I'll try to remember to post when I finally get it done or if it doesn't work and I've got to call in a pro.
Tahoe 24 Fish n Fun
115 4 stroke Mercury
2003 Ram 3500
Harpersville, AL

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