Removal of gearbox on 1991 2.3hp Evinrude

[Monte NZ]

Could someone please tell me how to remove the above gearbox from the trunk of the above motor.
The Model Number is HE2REIC Serial No.H 09251167 OMC Hong Kong
I have removed the 2 bolts that I thought held the gearbox to the trunk, but after removing them ,found that the gearbox would only drop down about an eighth of an inch and no further.

Interesting to note that when I remove the 2 similar bolts on my 1973 2hp Evinrude, the gearbox drops down complete with drive shaft……..no problem!

I can only think that there is something else that has to be let go to remove the gearbox on this particular model,but I am darned if I can see what it is!……….I don’t want to get rough with it and do any damage,so any help would be much appreciated!

Thanks
MonteNZ

[fleetwin]

Hmmmm. I never had much experience with these things “back in the day”, but here is a parts diagram:
http://www.marineengine.com/parts/johnson-evinrude-parts.php?year=1991&hp=3.3&model=HE3REIC&manufacturer=Evinrude&section=Gearcase
It sure seems like the gearcase should come down after removing those two screws. I’m guessing the various driveshaft pieces are rusted together a bit. I would try a little gentle downward pressure with a blunt pry bar…Don’t force it because I’m not completely sure about disassembly techniques…..
It is interesting to not that the water pump is in the prop shaft bushing/seal housing, not need to remove the gearcase…
Perhaps someone has a service manual for one of these things…

[Monte NZ]

Hello Fleetwin
Thanks for your very prompt reply.
Thanks too for the website……. that parts list is certainly a big help!
I think you could be right about the drive shaft sections being rusted together.

It would be great if someone can come up with the details from a manual of how to remove the gearbox, but in the meantime I will try being “gentle” with a couple of pry bars and see what happens……….but it’s strange that it comes down that eighth of an inch without much trouble.

Thanks again
MonteNZ

[billw]

Do we mean a 3.3 hp? At least that is what Marine Engine is calling it, for a 1991.

It looks to be very Tohatsu-like. Very similar in construction the common Mercury 2.2 through 3.3, and Nissans, that are Tohatsu-based. Not badly designed motors but the metals were horrible. I am thinking, like Don, that your drive shaft is probably stuck. If like the Mercs, it is a drive tube with square ends. It mates to a square output on the bottom of the crank shaft and to a square input on the top of the gear case. While these are made of ferrous, plain steel alloy, they don’t have the corrosion grip potential of a splined shaft. You also have the possibility of it coming free at two ends, instead of just the top. My guess as to that 1/8″ that you easily feel is end play of the drive shaft in the lower unit. Note that the gear is fastened to the shaft. Within REASON, I would think some wedging might free up one of those square/square joints. But kind of like what Don is eluding to, WHY are your trying to pull it down? The impeller is on the prop shaft. If you are unsuccessful in pulling it all the way off but do manage to move one of those square connections a little…..then just try to reattach it, NOW you might be in real trouble, because you may have closed up the gear tooth clearance in the lower unit and risk it’s destruction.

Long live American manufacturing!

• This reply was modified 3 years, 10 months ago by billw.

[Monte NZ]

Hello Fleetwin and biilw
Thanks very much billw for your reply. All very interesting……..a lot of which I didn’t know!
Today I had another look at it and decided to remove the power head and see what I would uncover there.
GOOD NEWS! I’m pleased to report that the power head came off easily and straight away revealed the problem, that being the cooling pipe, in that it was stuck in the grommet in the top of the gearbox and wouldn’t pull out.
Thank goodness that I hadn’t tried to continue prizing the gearbox off, as it would have wrecked the cooling pipe!

All I had to do was to gently lift the curved top end of the cooling pipe with its square grommet and let the gearbox slide down. However it stopped about half way down
I then looked down the trunk again and could see that the cooling pipe by chance had wedged it’s self between the drive shaft tube and the trunk.
A gentle prod with a long screw driver got the pipe out of the way and the gearbox slid out nicely.

Interesting to note that the square drive shaft inside the drive shaft tube was in mint condition.
That tube idea seems pretty good to me, as it certainly keeps the drive train free of corrosion.

Thanks very much once again for your help and I hope this might be useful to someone else in the future.

MonteNZ

[billw]

That’s good! Since the water tube is curved at the top, I would have thought that you’d have felt a “springyness” when the lower unit initially came down that first 1/8″. I just had a Mercury of similar design apart. I, like you, seemingly had no reason to take it off; but for my effort I found that my water tube grommet was totally missing! Needless to say, mine was not stuck! Good thing I decided to drop it, because if I hadn’t, I would have been chasing a weird cooling problem, later on!

Long live American manufacturing!

[Monte NZ]

Thanks for mentioning the “springyness” billw.
I forgot to mention that I had noticed that, but hadn’t realised that it was the cooling pipe until I took the power head off..
Interesting to note that I had quite a job pulling and twisting it out of the grommet and fortunately the grommet is still OK.
I have just spent the evening cleaning all the scale of the cooling pipe and brass driveshaft tube.and in the water channels in the top of the trunk, so it’s looking good and hopefully have all back together and running in the next few days

Yes, you would be glad you found that your grommet was missing. As you mentioned, you could have been chasing a weird cooling problem at a later date.

Best wishes and thanks again.
MonteNZ

[fleetwin]

Glad you got it figure out! Good lesson for us all…I probably would have continued prying and wrecked the water tube!

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