Merc 15hp outboard - bearing carrier stuck - lower unit won't drop
I recently bought a new to me dinghy and a low hour 2005 Merc 15hp 2 stroke outdrive. It also appears the previous owner did little to no maintenance. I discovered the prop shaft seals were leaking so I'm trying to replace them and running into challenges. I'm trying to remove the bearing carrier with the appropriate merc tool (reverse threaded) and that darn thing won't budge. I have it soaking in PB Blaster now and may have to try heat. Any recommendations on removal?
Right now I left the lower unit attached but my manual shows removing it. I think it only shows removing it because it is showing how to do a complete tear down of the lower unit. So my question is there any reason to remove the lower unit to simply replace the prop shaft seals? Before I really apply the elbow grease I want to make sure I'm not going to break something internal because I should have removed the whole lower unit.
Comments
Well I got the drive to drop after getting some wedges between the upper and lower. There was a little corrosion on part of the drive shaft which was creating the issue. The previous owner definitely did not ever change the impeller. I replaced it and all seals. I'm hoping this was the source of the water intrusion into the gearcase. The oil seals on the lower half of the water pump were pretty buggered up.
I'm going to test and if it was than i'll leave the prop shaft seals alone. Which would be ideal because I still cannot get that bearing carrier out...
Hopefully my frustrations and problem solving helps someone else.
Moral of the story, dinghy motors need love to. Drop the drive once a season and grease things up.