Re: Help needed, pulling and re-installing ’67 100 hp lower unit

[Don]

Paul
Be very careful, you don’t want to break the shift leads/harness. You will find the electric shift harness/cable coming out of the inner exhaust housing in the lower motor pan. This harness/cable must be disconnected before removing the gearcase. You will see the two black rubber tubes covering the knife connections on the shift harness/cable. Grab each rubber tube with needle nose to stretch it slightly so you can spray WD40 in under the tubes, then gently slide the tubes up toward the motor harness so the knife connections can be disconnected. Please be very careful, don’t cut/break those leads! Once the shift leads are disconnected, tie some twine/string onto the gearcase end of the shift cable which will act as a snake when reinstalling the gearcase. Spray some WD40 onto the ribbed portion of the leads sticking out of the exhaust housing which will help lube the ribs allowing them to be pulled down out of the exhaust housing. Once the gearcase is down, you will need to cut the twine/string leaving it in the exhaust housing to be used as a snake during reinstallation.
Again, please be very careful, you are in big trouble if you break that shift cable harness! It is best to have an assistant help remove/reinstall the gearcase.
The crankshaft/driveshaft splines are probably not lined up now, keeping you from reinstalling the gearcase. Have an assistant rock the flywheel back and forth (key off, battery disconnected), the gearcase will pop up into places once the splines line up.