That little double tap that John does, after each intro (00:40 and 3:23 in this video) makes me smile for some reason. Makes me feel like these projects are very achievable, even before I begin mine. 🙂
Thanks John. Excellent technical explanation and demonstration. Followed your lead and the seals are replaced on my 2002 Bigfoot 50hp Mercury. My dad (an 89 year old retired mechanic gave you a big thumbs up also. Take care. Mike and Jim , Canada.
On my Mercury Force 40 from 1996, I couldn't get out the oil seals like this. They were a nightmare and I ultimately was able to finally get them out with a 14 piece / 2lb slide hammer kit from Harbor Freight - but only after heating up the housing a good bit with a blow torch. Massive thanks for this post, it was incredibly helpful and hopefully what I've shared here helps someone else whose prop seals are really stuck :)
Good luck doing this again in the future with that red Loctite. I would hate to have to put a torch to those aluminum parts just to disassemble. This is why they make blue, and purple for extra small stuff.
My name is Todd Reali and had a ? About my 40hp mercury 4 stroke . What allows your prop shaft to move in and outward with prop on or off ? And should the prop shaft move in and out at all? Thank you for time and input its really helped me with my motor maintenance. Sincerely, Todd Reali
Loctite 271 is supposed to be heated to 250 degrees to remove bolts. I never tried it so I don’t know. How do you get them out if you have to replace the seals in the future?
Is it normal to pull out the prop shaft easily? I was able to pull out bearing carrier without any issues but i can’t seem to pull out the prop shaft. Is there trick to pulling it out?
Will it hurt anything on the power head if I remove the lower unit and it is a few months before I get it reinstalled. I came out this morning and noticed that the carrier unit had cracked around the bolts. There was some water in the lower unit when I pulled the drain plug. I drained the gear case and flushed it with some seafoam deep creep before refilling with gear oil. I can't do the repair right now, but thought I could remove the lower unit and store it in doors to keep it from the cold. The motor would remain outside on the boat for the winter.
i cant believe this man put red loctite on the seals and bolts... feel awful for the poor fella that has to work on this LU next. SMH!! red requires heat, blue is removable.
