Help aligning Gear Housing to Drive Shaft

[careybirdwell]

I have a 99 Mercury 200 EFI (Motor # 0G897614). Today I decided to try to replace my impeller. I watched many videos & read the manual many times. I'm pretty mechanically inclined so I thought I would give it a go. Everything came off really easy and changing the impeller was easy, but I'm having a very tuff time aligning the drive shaft. Here is was I did

1. I pulled kill switch so unit wouldn't start
2. I left engine is neutral.
3. I removed prop
4. I drained gear lube
5. Dropped lower unit and replace impeller.
6. Got everything ready to go back on.

This is where I'm having trouble, per the manual

7. I shift gear housing to forward
8 Position gear housing so that the driveshaft is protruding into driveshaft housing.
9. Move gear housing up toward driveshaft housing, while aligning shift shaft splines and water tube with water tube guide (inwater pump cover).
NOTE: If, while performing Step 8, the driveshaft splines will not align with crankshaft splines, place a propeller onto propeller shaft and turn it counterclockwise as the gear housing is being pushed toward driveshaft housing.

I can get it up almost to where shift shaft connects but when I turn the prop counterclockwise, the drive shaft does NOT move and I can't align the driveshaft splines. If I'm thinking about this right, the lower unit should be in neutral and that is why the driveshaft is not spinning.

Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a Million

[rgsauger]

Put your shifter in forward and also your gear housing in forward. Then twist the prop counter cw and the driveshaft will turn and should slide up. Search for one of my posts on here about a waterpump. I spell it out in detail. Good luck. Your close!

[luvdmymerc]

I don't understand step 7. If the shifter was in neutral and your lower unit was in neutral, why did they want you shift the lower unit into "forward"? I always leave everything in neutral. After aligning everything it should have slipped right back like it was. Some times if it doesn't just slip right back in, you can hold it up together and just put a slight amount of pressure on it and then take a big wide blade screw driver and turn the flywheel ever so slightly in the clockwise direction until the splines on the drive shaft line up with the channels on the end of the crank. Don't turn it counterclockwise or you can damage the new impeller you just put on. If you leave everything in neutral and move the flywheel instead of he prop shaft then you don't have to worry about part of if being in neutral and part of it being in forward. Also, make sure you didn't leave any grease on top of the drive shaft as this will keep in from bottoming out correctly.

[careybirdwell]

I don't understand step 7. If the shifter was in neutral and your lower unit was in neutral, why did they want you shift the lower unit into "forward"? I always leave everything in neutral. After aligning everything it should have slipped right back like it was. Some times if it doesn't just slip right back in, you can hold it up together and just put a slight amount of pressure on it and then take a big wide blade screw driver and turn the flywheel ever so slightly in the clockwise direction until the splines on the drive shaft line up with the channels on the end of the crank. Don't turn it counterclockwise or you can damage the new impeller you just put on. If you leave everything in neutral and move the flywheel instead of he prop shaft then you don't have to worry about part of if being in neutral and part of it being in forward. Also, make sure you didn't leave any grease on top of the drive shaft as this will keep in from bottoming out correctly.

This is what I have been thinking about doing since I left it on the bench. After doing some research though, I'm hoping it is not my O-ring carrier that is blocking my alignment.

[JOE54]

take a bright flashlight and look into mid youll know real quick if its carrier, a lot of times you can see a worn ring on d/s below splines if its out also , do not force gearcase into it if you bend carrier powerhead gotta come off

[careybirdwell]

Thanks for the help, I manage to get it. I looked up in the housing and saw the spine alignment. Aligned the driveshaft. I got it up in there and turned the flywheel just a bit and in went in. I did have a tough time aligning the shift shaft. I got it where it just had a little pressure on the shift shaft and bump my shifter and it popped in. I checked everything with flywheel. In forward prop turns clockwise when turning flywheel, in reverse, in turns counterclockwise when turning flywheel, and in neutral prop turns freely. Thanks again for any & all help

[luvdmymerc]

Awesome Carey.... glad you got it buddy. Those kinds of things can be real frustrating sometimes....

[JOE54]