The next time you have a six horse powerhead off, take a moment and study the exhaust housing casting or shine a flash light up it to see that there’s a slot cast in it to allow the pin to pass thru. The driveshaft has to be clocked with the pin facing sideways to clear the casting. Forcing the gearcase off or on is not the way to do it as it will slide right in when the pin is properly aligned.
I hope you are using the proper stainless OMC/BRP 303261 pin to and not a roll pin from the hardware store as the cheap pin will rot out shortly causing the lower crank seal to fail. With no lower seal, these motors tend to let water enter the lower cylinder and we all know what happens next. 😥
