Hi,

I have removed the lower unit on my 115 Ficht, in order to change the Water Pump impeller. This effort was considerably more than on my previous engines (mercruiser Alpha1 outdrive, 86 Yammie 200). The reason being, was that I wasn't sure how to disconnect the upper shift linkage. My crappy Seloc manual was very weak in this area, and suggested I remove the entire lower cowling (which I did). Once I got it apart, I see how easy the linkage comes apart, and next time will be much quicker.

Question: While the Lower Unit was on my bench, I spun the shift shaft several times trying to engage neutral and reverse. Boy was I surprised when I found out the mechanism uses an UP/DOWN movement. My last motors rotated the shift shaft. Now, my crappy Seloc manual says I will need to 'precisely measure' the length of the rod to +/- .1 inch to be in spec.

Someone must have a simple method to do this.

The crappy Seloc manual did give me one helpful hint for re-installing drive which i have never thought of: Use oversized ( inch or so longer) bolts to engage the Lower unit and allow gradual guidance while reinstalling lower unit. This will prevent having to hold it up, align, and get hardware started. Good Tip, lousy book.