As Frank noted, heating the case and then knocking it on your workbench will often cause the race to just fall out. On my RD-18, I heated the area around the race then knocked the race out from the top side using a long piece of 3/16″ steel rod as a punch – popped it out with 2 easy taps. Don’t know if your RD-17 is exactly the same but in this picture you can see a slot at the front and back of the case that allows access to the top of the race to knock it out.
Bob
1937 Champion D2C Deluxe Lite Twin
1954 Johnson CD-11
1955 Johnson QD-16
1957 Evinrude Fastwin 18
1957 Evinrude 3022
1958 Johnson QD-19
1958 Johnson FD-12
1959 Johnson QD-20
1982 Evinrude 25hp
“Every 20 minute job is only a broken bolt away from a 3-day project.”
"Every time you remove a broken or seized bolt an angel gets his wings."
