This is all thats left of the hardened steel hinge pin bolt. This had to be progressively drilled out with carbide masonry bits in the drill press, and keeping it all centered was no easy task! 
This special little twelve point 5/8 x 18 bolt has to be special ordered from the local merc dealer! The shifter cable end guide was frozen in its threads too! That came out a little easier by drilling it out then cutting a few slots through it till I hit aluminum, to relieve the stress. Then I used a small chissle to remove the four sections of remaining brass threads and cleaned it all up with a 1/4" npt tap. |  |
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Take a good look at the open transom area, the gray part is bare transom wall down to the filler over the fiberglass, the exposed wood is only 3/4" deep as the transom can be split in two, and the overlap of the two peices of 3/4" ply will make a nice strong repair. Then I'll reglass the entire back engine bay to strengthen the hull to stringer to transom connection.
Well, now that the engine and outdrive are out, I started looking at the condition of the bellows and bellhousing. (shouldn'ta done that!) Oh well, the worst part was drilling out the frozen hinge bolt and the shifter cable stem with carbide tools in the drill press. I got the hinge pin, shifter shaft stem, and shifter shaft set screw out without destroying the theads! Now I just need to order new bushings, seals, shifter cable assembly, exhaust bellows, u-joint bellows, shifter bellows, water hose, and a hinge bolt...(for now)
I still need to crack open the lower unit to install the pump impeller and gasket kit, but I'll save the easy work for later. |
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