Many thanks for the video and those that contributed with your brilliant suggestions. I played this many times and read all the comments making notes to solve my exact same problem for my 2014 Mercury 6hp 4 stroke that came with my sailboat purchased last year. Here are my notes: When taking off the lower unit be careful to leave the locking clamp for the upper and lower gear shifters attached to the upper one. Just loosen it so the lower shifter can slide out. o Re-installing the lower unit was extremely difficult, I spent countless frustrating hours and could not get the driveshaft to mate with the hole. I managed to get the lower gear shifter through the clamp and the upper hole where the rubber bung is and the gear shifter should protrude through it and is visible from the outside. Bought an endoscope-inspection camera and saw what the problem was. The tip of the drive shaft was past the hole which protrudes a couple of inches down. You have to make sure the upper shifter is as far up and protruding through the rubber bung hole as possible, you can tighten the clamp and change gears to Forward to pull it up. You can use some rope to support the lower unit. Carefully lower the lower unit until you can see the shaft is just past the shoulder of that protruding driveshaft hole - the upper gear shifter may disappear under the rubber bung but shouldn’t come out of the hole underneath otherwise you’ll have to get this back in the hole again which is a bit fiddly. When you see that the tip of the drive shaft has been lowered down past the shoulder of the protruding drive shaft hole, push the lower unit back up and guide the drive shaft into the hole! Voila, sorted! Turn the prop a little in either direction and the drive shaft gear cog should fall through the mesh in the hole and lock up. That clunk sound and feeling is so satisfying! After using the endoscope it took me about 10 minutes to sort! Save myself money and the shame of taking it to a professional for a coked up DIY job. o To make sure the gears are set correctly (mine moved from the initial Reverse position when lowering the Lower Unit) the upper shifter should stick out of the rubber bung hole at the top of the leg as follows:- The engine gear selector is in Forward gear, the tip of the upper linkage will now protrude from the hole in the top of the drive shaft housing by about 28mm (1 and 1/8 inches). When it’s in Neutral the link protrudes by about 17mm and when in Reverse by about 7mm. You can turn the prop to see if its in gear or neutral and tighten/untighten the shifter linkage clamp (through the round spy hole) to adjust as above. To push down the gear shifter use a flat piece of metal (I used a paint scraper) to push down on the protruding upper shifter.
Hi David Thankyou for your post. I’ve just changed the impeller on my Yamaha 5hp 4 stroke for the first time. I too struck the same problem as yours with relocating the drive shaft when reassembling the leg. I nearly had a hysterical laugh watching the motor upside down in the end to fix the problem except that I had the same issue and spent numerous frustrating hours trying to fix mine. An overnight brain storm had me thinking that I can use my fibre optic inspection camera to help me centralise the shaft. It worked and once I knew I was in the hub; the shaft engaged while I gently push up while spinning the prop. Saved me a journey of shame taking the motor to the dealer workshop to solve a botched DIY job.
This is by far the best instructional video I’ve seen on any repairs on these small engines. Actually showing how the pin fits onto the rod and into the impeller was perfect, not seen on any of the other videos I’ve reviewed. I do think that you should have continued the good illustrations while getting the shaft back in with the engine upside down and, especially, reattaching the gear shaft bolt, which you talk about but do not demonstrate at around 24:50. To say it takes a little fiddling but you can do it loses the spirit of the rest of the video. Still, very, very helpful. Thanks
What a nightmare. I too resorted to upside down attachment, using a strong thin string dangling up and out over the open shaft.. to hold the gearshift nut in place, it was a bit out of alignment when complete, but I was able to shove the selector shaft back down after loosening the nut again (once right way up!) ..by pushing with the flat centre of a spanner on the protruding section of the sleector shaft. The selector was part of the problem, no way it would protrude through the hole if inserted "right way up", A very honest and informative video, thanks!
wouldn't it be great if those of you who commented how you figured out to complete re-mounting the lower unit actually would make and post a brief video of doing it. I've read your post but the description doesn't convey like watching how to do this apparently difficult step.
Thanks a lot again. After seeing you struggleing I will delay it an other year and do check and replace my impeller next season. 😊 it is a SUL ultra long so maybe even harder to assemble.
Re- installation of the lower unit does need to be this difficult. Get about a 18" section of 2 X 10 scrap from a construction site. Place the 2 X 10 into a strong vice mounted securely on a work bench. Mount the outboard on top of the 2 X 10. Then tilt the motor up. Now the opening for the lower unit is at a comfortable working height. Lay a small pen light in the bottom "V" of the opening. Lightly lubricate the shift rod. Now carefully and slowly slide the lower unit in until it makes contact with the shift rod. Place your right hand into the small round opening and line up shift rod. With the pen lights illumination, make sure the drive shaft gets into its lower guide hole. Remove pen light. Keep right hand index finger on shift rod linkage. Now slide in the lower unit while still keeping your index finger on the shift rod linkage. Now hopefully with a little wiggling all the connections will make up. Hope this helps.
wouldn't it be great if those of you who commented how you figured out to complete re-mounting the lower unit actually would make and post a brief video of doing it. I've read your post but the description doesn't convey like watching how to do this apparently difficult step.
Man, after an hour of fighting, I read this, tilted it horizontally. Used a flashlight and was able to use enough to get the drive shaft lined up and bam, it slide right in place.
Great video, helped me a lot. I fitted the the drive with the motor tilted (like attempt #1) and found a similar difficulty, but my problem was the gear rod to the tilt inhibitor wasn’t finding the hole. Once I guided it in using a small screwdriver from the outside the whole lot closed up with a satisfying “clunk”.
wouldn't it be great if those of you who commented how you figured out to complete re-mounting the lower unit actually would make and post a brief video of doing it. I've read your post but the description doesn't convey like watching how to do this apparently difficult step.
Thanks for the video but after watching it twice I was still not able to get the outboard together, even after trying your two techniques. After spending an evening unsuccessfully trying, it dawned on me that as I was pushing the lower unit into the motor, the gear shifter was being forced into forward or reverse. This realization led me to spend more time with the lower unit further out, trying to feel out how to avoid tangling the shifter linkage when I was putting it in. One attempt with this new approach and it went right in.
wouldn't it be great if those of you who commented how you figured out to complete re-mounting the lower unit actually would make and post a brief video of doing it. I've read your post but the description doesn't convey like watching how to do this apparently difficult step.
Fantastic video. Thanks for running through all the possible issues I might run into. My only suggestion would be to cut out some of the bolt removal time haha. Thank you so much!
One more thing for the long neck outboard like mine. It has an extra part between the lower unit and the rest of the motor to make it longer, obviously. Its about 6" long and if you just remove the lower unit, change the impeler and try o put it back with those extra 6" is next to impossible because the shaft guide hole is 6" inches too far. So what i did is i removed the extension, mounted it to the lower unit and than it was easy. I managed to put it all back without any problem, however, i do not remember hearing any clung sound.
What a well-done video, thank you! I recently took out my 6HP Tohatsu, and noticed a weak stream coming out. It was still cooling, but I remember it being much stronger. Can't complain really, been using it for like 200 hours + so it lasted enough.
Thanks a lot for the nice video and all good comments! I'm really really glad I took my time to see this before I start working on my old 2 stroke 4 hp. I would guess the lower part on my 2 stroke is built the same as this 4 stroke. One essential question tho: If you turn the thing up side down, isnt there a real danger that the impeller securing pin can fall out of position inside there? I know its grease there, but still..
Thank you so much for making this video and sharing your struggles. I experienced the same troubles reassembling my 6hp. After cursing at it and trying unsuccessfully for an hour I said to myself "I'll bet someone smarter than me has figured out the trick to aligning the drive shaft.". Sure enough, after turning the motor upside down I got it on the second try. One additional trick that helped was to put a wire tie on the upper shift linkage to prevent the clamp from sliding down whole the motor was upside down. Thank you again! Best regards from Key West, Charles P.S. ...and may the designer(s) of this motor have to spend eternity in the afterlife replacing impellers one after another!
My what fun! Problem is lining up vertically, using head torch used a square to sight the bottom of the receiving tube. Marked on the bottom of the casing to give me the right angle of approach, slid in first time (after doing above, the hour prior was painful)
wouldn't it be great if those of you who commented how you figured out to complete re-mounting the lower unit actually would make and post a brief video of doing it. I've read your post but the description doesn't convey like watching how to do this apparently difficult step.
useful video to see how it all goes thanks , better to put in reverse straight away, i left the gromet in and the clamp in , hold the clamp as it threads in and mine went straight back together half hour job no drama!
when you insert the shaft, move it slowly back and forth, this will tell you where you are going off track. Then once you walk it in the right spline hole, you can feel it.
Gently clean the upwater pipe a few inches. You want a good seal to keep water pressure steady/solid. TINY bit of grease will help it slide. Vasoline is ok. Won't dissolve the rubber.
Also inspect and replace the rubber shaft and water up pipe rubber boot as well. Tight seals are necessary and cheap. Spinning shaft inside the rubber boot will cause wear of the boot collar. Salt is the enemy.
Thanks for the kind comments Richard. We've passed those onto David and we're sure he'll appreciate the feedback for what we agree is a really well produced video.
I've found a way to fairly easily get the leg back on and shaft in the right place after also spending hours trying. I have a cheap usb camera/endoscope/borescope (whatever they call it) that cost about a tenner on ebay, the thin type on a cable. I stuck it through the hole for gear link and up the leg. I could then see what I was doing. Where the shaft is getting stuck, is exactly as described, its missing the spline socket. Using the camera you can see what you are doing and its easy to get the shaft in.
wouldn't it be great if those of you who commented how you figured out to complete re-mounting the lower unit actually would make and post a brief video of doing it. I've read your post but the description doesn't convey like watching how to do this apparently difficult step.
wouldn't it be great if those of you who commented how you figured out to complete re-mounting the lower unit actually would make and post a brief video of doing it. I've read your post but the description doesn't convey like watching how to do this apparently difficult step.
Just put it in forward gear. Than you can rotate the prop so it wil pop's in place. That easy! And yes the gear linkage block must be removed so you can guide the gear linkage rod. A thin rubber tube trough the hole of the gear linkage and than on the gear rod wil help to pull the rod trough the hole. That's how i have done it. Its easier than it may be look.
wouldn't it be great if those of you who commented how you figured out to complete re-mounting the lower unit actually would make and post a brief video of doing it. I've read your post but the description doesn't convey like watching how to do this apparently difficult step.
You shouldnt have put so much grease inside the impeller. The whole point of the impeller is a tight seating on the shaft. A very thin coat of oil on the gasket would have been better than grease. Also, theres no way the shaft and water tube wont align if the shifter is in neutral. Ive dane an 8 hp Nissan 2 stroke with engine mounted on the back rail above motor well on my MacGregor 26S sailboat a couple times. No problem. Same basic system. Otherwise, great video. Thanks for sharing. Cheers, Mate, from Key West Florida in the great USA. 🇺🇸💪😁
Will any problems accours if, when removing the shaft the clamp bolt which holds the gear rod was not fully loose and it pulled into reverse gear instead of staying in neutral. I reasembled it and the gears were out, R was N N was F etc, now I'm at your can't get it to go back in stage and it's pushing itself into gear with the clamp fully loose
Hi, I just bought Hangkai 2 stroke 6HP outboard, the look of lower part are similar with what you have on your video.. my question is, after I first use in the lake, i found some leaks out with green stuff ( grease + water ), the joint from the upper & lower part, the section leaks out is on your video unscrew and joint area ( not the lower gearbox area ) .. is that normal?? and inside will get wet everytime when I use the outboard motor ??
This answered a few questions I had that I couldn't find an answer to on a new to me Tohatsu 5 HP (2009 model) MFS5BS just in the first few minutes. The model looks identical to mine. Do you have any videos that reference setting this linkage correctly? I got this unit home and Im seeing impeller bits in the flush water. I didnt get a water test before I brought it home... someone else looked at it for me in a different city and delivered it to me. It also appears stuck in gear - I put in neutral (unlocks the pull cord), pull the cord and the engine seems to run away a bit and the propeller is turning - shifting with the lever makes no difference. I can turn the propeller in either direction and it turns the motor over. I am guessing the linkage behind the rubber/plastic cover may provide some insight there. Do you have any videos that reference setting this linkage correctly? I am hoping that is what is wrong with shift issue. Also need to purge impeller bits from the raw water system. I think Dangar Marine has a video on this.
How can I tell the year and model of my Tohatsu outboard? It has a large 6 on the back. I can find a 25-6 and 27.1 kg. Everything else is in Japanese. Thanks
We've checked with David who produced the video but, unfortunately, we don't know the answer. You could try contacting Tohatsu or perhaps a well-established Tohatsu service agent with any details you have including serial number if that is still legible and/or a photo of the Japanese characters.
Our CZcams channel isn't intended to be the place for advice beyond the videos we publish (joining the CA www.theca.org.uk/ gives you access to a range of benefits including member only forums with over 6,300 members worldwide contributing), however David Fickling, who produced the Tohatsu outboard videos, provided the following (assuming you mean the plastic plug that covers the access hole for the gear change linkage): Warming the rubber/plastic plug gently with a hairdryer will make it more pliable, and then smearing a little Vaseline or grease round the flange will help everything to slip into place. Engage the flange on one side first and then work your way around bit by bit to get it all into place without damaging it.
The motor slipped into forward gear,how do I get the linkage to work.I can’t get it lined up .when I think I have it I can’t move the sift lever forward the pin hits the motor 6 hours so far ,help help help
Hello William. We've checked with David, who produced that and the other outboard servicing videos, and he has kindly provided the following detailed reply (a big thank you to David!): Hi William. I’m assuming you’re working on a similar engine to that shown in the video, i.e. a Tohatsu/Mariner/Mercury 4/5/6 hp four stroke. In which case, if the upper part of the gear change linkage is protruding through the hole in the top of the drive shaft housing, as shown in my video at around the 26 minute mark, then you have the linkage mounted in the right configuration but it’s just that the position of the upper rod and connecting clamp needs to be adjusted, because it’s been assembled with the gearbox and lower section of the gear linkage in a drive position but with the upper part of the linkage probably in the neutral position. It’s always best to try and keep both gearbox and gear change in neutral when reassembling, but none of us are perfect mechanics and sometimes things can get out of line. Slacken off the clamp that connects the upper to lower gear linkage and you should then be able to move the gear lever into the correct, forward gear position, without actually changing the position of the gear in the gearbox. Then retighten the clamp. If your engine is similar to mine, AND the engine is in forward gear, the tip of the upper linkage will now protrude from the hole in the top of the drive shaft housing by about 28mm (1 and 1/8 inches). When it’s in neutral the link protrudes by about 17mm and when in reverse by about 7mm. If you’re not certain which gear has actually been accidentally engaged, forward or reverse, if the gear change lever and upper mechanism really is in neutral then pulling on the starter cord should be possible and it will turn the propellor clockwise if in forward, anti-clockwise if in reverse. Remove the spark plug first so there’s no chance the engine can start and injure you and to make it easier to turn the motor. If it’s not possible to turn the motor like this then that’s because the safety lock, which is designed to prevent the motor being started when in gear, is preventing the recoil starter from turning - overriding that is not recommended. As an alternative it is sometimes possible to move the gear change lower linkage by gripping the lower link rod, through the access hole, with a pair of long nosed pliers, but you need a strong grip and good pliers to do it. Slacken off the linkage connector clamp so that upper and lower sections are no longer connected, grip the lower linkage with the pliers through the access hole and try to push down just one click, which, IF you were in forward gear, should now put the motor into neutral - test by trying to turn the prop by hand and it should be free. You can then place the gear lever back into the neutral position and reconnect the linkage clamp. The gear change can be very stiff so this method doesn’t always work, but if you’re not able to push down at all, maybe you’re actually in reverse and to get neutral then you need to pull up one click. Hope this helps. David Fickling
@@CruisingAssociation thank you for your time,I am going to give this a try.I loved your video up until you were connecting the rods.I could not see what you were doing at the very end,lol I have a 6 hp 2008 tohatsu that I am trying to put back together so I can do some fall fishing here in Connecticut. Thank you again.👍
Little editors note, IF you ended up taking it to a mechanic to get it fixed, might want to mention that part right up front. Now I am about as novice as you can get and I have an engine in two pieces no chance of ever getting them back together without a cost, probably more than if I had just tried to find a place.
@@ybet1000 I in fact did. I have done similar work before. There was only a need to catch the nuanced difference on this particular unit. Or what I thought would be nuanced differences. I am not certain why you would call that BS? I don't understand your ignorance. He most definitely made a video insinuating he was going to do something, but by the 3/4 point through the video, after many hours of trying, he failed and had to "take it to a professional". That is the facts cockwobble
@@dwightlowman961 He showed you exactly how to do it.. and highlighted the pain and suffering if you don't "get lucky" putting it back together... he did it,.,.. I dont know why you are so "upset" with him . for showing you the real job... he could have edited it with a "see back together.. no issues..." .. instead.. he showed ... 2 hours.. then another hour.. then help from a friend... I dont see why your upset with him?.. he video is exactly what you are going to experience.. and tells you exactly how to do it..
@@dwightlowman961 Again .. so you watched the video .. saw how difficult to put it back together was.... then .. pulled yours apart and how are blaming him... cause .. you watched the whole video before pulling it apart.. you don;t make sense
NOOO!!!! you done all the service good exept that puting back gair... you need to put to REVERSE gair and that part goes easy ! next time dont do thease tricks with cargo belts :DD
Great video - Question can't you get someone to turn the motor head itself to align the shaft from the top as you are pushing it from below instead of turing the prop?
Thank you for your positive comment Rob, which we've passed onto David Fickling along with your question. He says "Yes, having someone else rotate the motor from the top instead of turning the prop would work, but would be probably not so easy to control - I suggest removing the spark plug to make the engine easier to turn if you use that method. My problem though was that the splined end of the shaft was sliding past amd missing its socket completely, so rotating motor or prop made no difference."
@@CruisingAssociation Thanks very much for replying for clartifying that. It will help when I do one I am going to have to replace the impeller on. I might turn it upside down but will take the precaution of draining the oils first to avoid spillage and contamination of oil into the head if there is any seeping past the piston rings.
@@CruisingAssociation Ah!! . i had a little light bulb moment !! - having preciously taken the motor power head unit off to do other work by removing the nine bolts that connect the power head to the leg ( a very eary and five to ten minute job to remove it and about same to replace it ) I had to re align the spline to replace the power head. - It was relatively easy task since the power head is easily moved around to fit it back on. That may be the best option instead of the inverted option because it is a one person job .
@@MrAgreetham Only These - czcams.com/video/rcEaaEmImpA/video.html and this :- czcams.com/video/oCWbU-kS5IE/video.html and this Dangar Marine guy :- czcams.com/video/srGVSl4_n8Q/video.html You can also take off the motor power unit by undoing the 9 bolts holding it on (from underneath the power head) and re installng the power head after bolting on the lower unit containing the impeller.
Oh dear. If the rubber stopper is in the actual motor then you’ll have to strip it. If it’s just in the leg then maybe it won’t cause any harm, but still, I would want it out of there and you’ll need to remove the gearbox unit to do that.
I was just trying to re install the lower unit on my Tohatsu 6. It WOULD NOT GO. I remembered why I had that nice bore scope in the bottom drawer and got it out. Even seeing where I was going it STILL was troublesome getting in the right spot. However it worked. What a design! I will load a pic if I can figure out how. drive.google.com/file/d/1vntcTcwZEBjxp0CmbzP0rq_0FWZeaYtu/view?usp=sharing
Many thanks for the video and those that contributed with your brilliant suggestions. I played this many times and read all the comments making notes to solve my exact same problem for my 2014 Mercury 6hp 4 stroke that came with my sailboat purchased last year. Here are my notes: When taking off the lower unit be careful to leave the locking clamp for the upper and lower gear shifters attached to the upper one. Just loosen it so the lower shifter can slide out.
o Re-installing the lower unit was extremely difficult, I spent countless frustrating hours and could not get the driveshaft to mate with the hole. I managed to get the lower gear shifter through the clamp and the upper hole where the rubber bung is and the gear shifter should protrude through it and is visible from the outside. Bought an endoscope-inspection camera and saw what the problem was. The tip of the drive shaft was past the hole which protrudes a couple of inches down. You have to make sure the upper shifter is as far up and protruding through the rubber bung hole as possible, you can tighten the clamp and change gears to Forward to pull it up. You can use some rope to support the lower unit. Carefully lower the lower unit until you can see the shaft is just past the shoulder of that protruding driveshaft hole - the upper gear shifter may disappear under the rubber bung but shouldn’t come out of the hole underneath otherwise you’ll have to get this back in the hole again which is a bit fiddly. When you see that the tip of the drive shaft has been lowered down past the shoulder of the protruding drive shaft hole, push the lower unit back up and guide the drive shaft into the hole! Voila, sorted! Turn the prop a little in either direction and the drive shaft gear cog should fall through the mesh in the hole and lock up. That clunk sound and feeling is so satisfying! After using the endoscope it took me about 10 minutes to sort! Save myself money and the shame of taking it to a professional for a coked up DIY job.
o To make sure the gears are set correctly (mine moved from the initial Reverse position when lowering the Lower Unit) the upper shifter should stick out of the rubber bung hole at the top of the leg as follows:-
The engine gear selector is in Forward gear, the tip of the upper linkage will now protrude from the hole in the top of the drive shaft housing by about 28mm (1 and 1/8 inches).
When it’s in Neutral the link protrudes by about 17mm and
when in Reverse by about 7mm.
You can turn the prop to see if its in gear or neutral and tighten/untighten the shifter linkage clamp (through the round spy hole) to adjust as above. To push down the gear shifter use a flat piece of metal (I used a paint scraper) to push down on the protruding upper shifter.
Hi David
Thankyou for your post. I’ve just changed the impeller on my Yamaha 5hp 4 stroke for the first time. I too struck the same problem as yours with relocating the drive shaft when reassembling the leg.
I nearly had a hysterical laugh watching the motor upside down in the end to fix the problem except that I had the same issue and spent numerous frustrating hours trying to fix mine.
An overnight brain storm had me thinking that I can use my fibre optic inspection camera to help me centralise the shaft.
It worked and once I knew I was in the hub; the shaft engaged while I gently push up while spinning the prop.
Saved me a journey of shame taking the motor to the dealer workshop to solve a botched DIY job.
This is by far the best instructional video I’ve seen on any repairs on these small engines. Actually showing how the pin fits onto the rod and into the impeller was perfect, not seen on any of the other videos I’ve reviewed. I do think that you should have continued the good illustrations while getting the shaft back in with the engine upside down and, especially, reattaching the gear shaft bolt, which you talk about but do not demonstrate at around 24:50. To say it takes a little fiddling but you can do it loses the spirit of the rest of the video. Still, very, very helpful. Thanks
Thank you for your positive feedback.
L
What a nightmare. I too resorted to upside down attachment, using a strong thin string dangling up and out over the open shaft.. to hold the gearshift nut in place, it was a bit out of alignment when complete, but I was able to shove the selector shaft back down after loosening the nut again (once right way up!) ..by pushing with the flat centre of a spanner on the protruding section of the sleector shaft. The selector was part of the problem, no way it would protrude through the hole if inserted "right way up", A very honest and informative video, thanks!
Thank you for sharing your feedback.
wouldn't it be great if those of you who commented how you figured out to complete re-mounting the lower unit actually would make and post a brief video of doing it. I've read your post but the description doesn't convey like watching how to do this apparently difficult step.
Thanks a lot again. After seeing you struggleing I will delay it an other year and do check and replace my impeller next season. 😊 it is a SUL ultra long so maybe even harder to assemble.
Re- installation of the lower unit does need to be this difficult. Get about a 18" section of 2 X 10 scrap from a construction site. Place the 2 X 10 into a strong vice mounted securely on a work bench. Mount the outboard on top of the 2 X 10. Then tilt the motor up. Now the opening for the lower unit is at a comfortable working height. Lay a small pen light in the bottom "V" of the opening. Lightly lubricate the shift rod. Now carefully and slowly slide the lower unit in until it makes contact with the shift rod. Place your right hand into the small round opening and line up shift rod. With the pen lights illumination, make sure the drive shaft gets into its lower guide hole. Remove pen light. Keep right hand index finger on shift rod linkage. Now slide in the lower unit while still keeping your index finger on the shift rod linkage. Now hopefully with a little wiggling all the connections will make up. Hope this helps.
wouldn't it be great if those of you who commented how you figured out to complete re-mounting the lower unit actually would make and post a brief video of doing it. I've read your post but the description doesn't convey like watching how to do this apparently difficult step.
Man, after an hour of fighting, I read this, tilted it horizontally. Used a flashlight and was able to use enough to get the drive shaft lined up and bam, it slide right in place.
Great job with this video. Now I won’t feel like an idiot if it takes a long time.
Great video, helped me a lot. I fitted the the drive with the motor tilted (like attempt #1) and found a similar difficulty, but my problem was the gear rod to the tilt inhibitor wasn’t finding the hole. Once I guided it in using a small screwdriver from the outside the whole lot closed up with a satisfying “clunk”.
wouldn't it be great if those of you who commented how you figured out to complete re-mounting the lower unit actually would make and post a brief video of doing it. I've read your post but the description doesn't convey like watching how to do this apparently difficult step.
Thanks for the video. Just finished mine. I did not have to turn it upside down, but removing the shifter connection did the trick. Thanks!
Thank you - please to hear your change of impeller went well.
Thanks for the video but after watching it twice I was still not able to get the outboard together, even after trying your two techniques.
After spending an evening unsuccessfully trying, it dawned on me that as I was pushing the lower unit into the motor, the gear shifter was being forced into forward or reverse. This realization led me to spend more time with the lower unit further out, trying to feel out how to avoid tangling the shifter linkage when I was putting it in. One attempt with this new approach and it went right in.
Thank you for sharing your feedback.
wouldn't it be great if those of you who commented how you figured out to complete re-mounting the lower unit actually would make and post a brief video of doing it. I've read your post but the description doesn't convey like watching how to do this apparently difficult step.
Thanks so much for posting the video.
Thank you for your feedback.
Pull the starter cord very slowly and this helped me move the shaft into place no problem.
Fantastic video. Thanks for running through all the possible issues I might run into. My only suggestion would be to cut out some of the bolt removal time haha. Thank you so much!
One more thing for the long neck outboard like mine. It has an extra part between the lower unit and the rest of the motor to make it longer, obviously. Its about 6" long and if you just remove the lower unit, change the impeler and try o put it back with those extra 6" is next to impossible because the shaft guide hole is 6" inches too far. So what i did is i removed the extension, mounted it to the lower unit and than it was easy.
I managed to put it all back without any problem, however, i do not remember hearing any clung sound.
Thank you for sharing the info.
What a well-done video, thank you! I recently took out my 6HP Tohatsu, and noticed a weak stream coming out. It was still cooling, but I remember it being much stronger. Can't complain really, been using it for like 200 hours + so it lasted enough.
Glad you enjoyed the video Erick!
@@CruisingAssociation Godspeed in your continued success on CZcams.
Thanks a lot for the nice video and all good comments! I'm really really glad I took my time to see this before I start working on my old 2 stroke 4 hp.
I would guess the lower part on my 2 stroke is built the same as this 4 stroke.
One essential question tho:
If you turn the thing up side down, isnt there a real danger that the impeller securing pin can fall out of position inside there? I know its grease there, but still..
Thank you so much for making this video and sharing your struggles. I experienced the same troubles reassembling my 6hp. After cursing at it and trying unsuccessfully for an hour I said to myself "I'll bet someone smarter than me has figured out the trick to aligning the drive shaft.". Sure enough, after turning the motor upside down I got it on the second try.
One additional trick that helped was to put a wire tie on the upper shift linkage to prevent the clamp from sliding down whole the motor was upside down.
Thank you again!
Best regards from Key West,
Charles
P.S. ...and may the designer(s) of this motor have to spend eternity in the afterlife replacing impellers one after another!
Just adding to the list of appreciation for this video. Well done.
My what fun!
Problem is lining up vertically, using head torch used a square to sight the bottom of the receiving tube.
Marked on the bottom of the casing to give me the right angle of approach, slid in first time (after doing above, the hour prior was
painful)
wouldn't it be great if those of you who commented how you figured out to complete re-mounting the lower unit actually would make and post a brief video of doing it. I've read your post but the description doesn't convey like watching how to do this apparently difficult step.
My clamp fell off.What a nightmare. But the splines lined up very easily. I squirted oil up the leg on to the spline, which seems to have helped.
Единственное отличное видео. Спасибо. Thanks ✌️😁✌️
Good video and lessons learned. Happy motoring. Thanks!
useful video to see how it all goes thanks , better to put in reverse straight away, i left the gromet in and the clamp in , hold the clamp as it threads in and mine went straight back together half hour job no drama!
Thank you for your feedback and delighted to hear your engine is fixed.
Super Video!
when you insert the shaft, move it slowly back and forth, this will tell you where you are going off track. Then once you walk it in the right spline hole, you can feel it.
Thank you for sharing.
Great video!!
Very glad you enjoyed the video Ian and thank you for the positive feedback which we've passed onto David.
Gently clean the upwater pipe a few inches. You want a good seal to keep water pressure steady/solid. TINY bit of grease will help it slide. Vasoline is ok. Won't dissolve the rubber.
Also inspect and replace the rubber shaft and water up pipe rubber boot as well. Tight seals are necessary and cheap. Spinning shaft inside the rubber boot will cause wear of the boot collar. Salt is the enemy.
You are awesome thank you!
Thanks for the kind comments Richard. We've passed those onto David and we're sure he'll appreciate the feedback for what we agree is a really well produced video.
I've found a way to fairly easily get the leg back on and shaft in the right place after also spending hours trying. I have a cheap usb camera/endoscope/borescope (whatever they call it) that cost about a tenner on ebay, the thin type on a cable. I stuck it through the hole for gear link and up the leg. I could then see what I was doing. Where the shaft is getting stuck, is exactly as described, its missing the spline socket. Using the camera you can see what you are doing and its easy to get the shaft in.
That's a good idea and the camera is a handy thing to have anyway, so thanks for the tip!
wouldn't it be great if those of you who commented how you figured out to complete re-mounting the lower unit actually would make and post a brief video of doing it. I've read your post but the description doesn't convey like watching how to do this apparently difficult step.
wouldn't it be great if those of you who commented how you figured out to complete re-mounting the lower unit actually would make and post a brief video of doing it. I've read your post but the description doesn't convey like watching how to do this apparently difficult step.
If used in salt water, good idea to clean the drive shaft and apply light coat of marine grease to help avoid corrosion. That's all.
Just put it in forward gear. Than you can rotate the prop so it wil pop's in place. That easy! And yes the gear linkage block must be removed so you can guide the gear linkage rod. A thin rubber tube trough the hole of the gear linkage and than on the gear rod wil help to pull the rod trough the hole.
That's how i have done it.
Its easier than it may be look.
wouldn't it be great if those of you who commented how you figured out to complete re-mounting the lower unit actually would make and post a brief video of doing it. I've read your post but the description doesn't convey like watching how to do this apparently difficult step.
Extraordinariio video... felicitaciones...
Gracias, me alegro de que hayas disfrutado del video! Thank you, glad you enjoyed the video!
You shouldnt have put so much grease inside the impeller. The whole point of the impeller is a tight seating on the shaft. A very thin coat of oil on the gasket would have been better than grease. Also, theres no way the shaft and water tube wont align if the shifter is in neutral. Ive dane an 8 hp Nissan 2 stroke with engine mounted on the back rail above motor well on my MacGregor 26S sailboat a couple times. No problem. Same basic system. Otherwise, great video. Thanks for sharing. Cheers, Mate, from Key West Florida in the great USA. 🇺🇸💪😁
The best.. cause it's all honest.. doing it myself atm.. and getting the shaft back in is "troublesome" at best
Will any problems accours if, when removing the shaft the clamp bolt which holds the gear rod was not fully loose and it pulled into reverse gear instead of staying in neutral. I reasembled it and the gears were out, R was N N was F etc, now I'm at your can't get it to go back in stage and it's pushing itself into gear with the clamp fully loose
Hi, I just bought Hangkai 2 stroke 6HP outboard, the look of lower part are similar with what you have on your video.. my question is, after I first use in the lake, i found some leaks out with green stuff ( grease + water ), the joint from the upper & lower part, the section leaks out is on your video unscrew and joint area ( not the lower gearbox area ) .. is that normal?? and inside will get wet everytime when I use the outboard motor ??
Turn the propeller slightly each try until the male spline matches the female gear.
Is it normal for a small amount of water to come out of the plug where u connect the shifting rod together
This answered a few questions I had that I couldn't find an answer to on a new to me Tohatsu 5 HP (2009 model) MFS5BS just in the first few minutes. The model looks identical to mine. Do you have any videos that reference setting this linkage correctly?
I got this unit home and Im seeing impeller bits in the flush water. I didnt get a water test before I brought it home... someone else looked at it for me in a different city and delivered it to me. It also appears stuck in gear - I put in neutral (unlocks the pull cord), pull the cord and the engine seems to run away a bit and the propeller is turning - shifting with the lever makes no difference. I can turn the propeller in either direction and it turns the motor over.
I am guessing the linkage behind the rubber/plastic cover may provide some insight there.
Do you have any videos that reference setting this linkage correctly? I am hoping that is what is wrong with shift issue.
Also need to purge impeller bits from the raw water system. I think Dangar Marine has a video on this.
Sorry, I don't have a video on this.
How can I tell the year and model of my Tohatsu outboard? It has a large 6 on the back. I can find a 25-6 and 27.1 kg. Everything else is in Japanese. Thanks
We've checked with David who produced the video but, unfortunately, we don't know the answer. You could try contacting Tohatsu or perhaps a well-established Tohatsu service agent with any details you have including serial number if that is still legible and/or a photo of the Japanese characters.
I've got one of these, how do you replace that cup in the housing without damaging the plastic?
Our CZcams channel isn't intended to be the place for advice beyond the videos we publish (joining the CA www.theca.org.uk/ gives you access to a range of benefits including member only forums with over 6,300 members worldwide contributing), however David Fickling, who produced the Tohatsu outboard videos, provided the following (assuming you mean the plastic plug that covers the access hole for the gear change linkage):
Warming the rubber/plastic plug gently with a hairdryer will make it more pliable, and then smearing a little Vaseline or grease round the flange will help everything to slip into place. Engage the flange on one side first and then work your way around bit by bit to get it all into place without damaging it.
@@CruisingAssociation thanks for the reply, I was replacing the cup in the impeller housing I eventually got it swapped out.
The motor slipped into forward gear,how do I get the linkage to work.I can’t get it lined up .when I think I have it I can’t move the sift lever forward the pin hits the motor 6 hours so far ,help help help
Hello William. We've checked with David, who produced that and the other outboard servicing videos, and he has kindly provided the following detailed reply (a big thank you to David!):
Hi William. I’m assuming you’re working on a similar engine to that shown in the video, i.e. a Tohatsu/Mariner/Mercury 4/5/6 hp four stroke. In which case, if the upper part of the gear change linkage is protruding through the hole in the top of the drive shaft housing, as shown in my video at around the 26 minute mark, then you have the linkage mounted in the right configuration but it’s just that the position of the upper rod and connecting clamp needs to be adjusted, because it’s been assembled with the gearbox and lower section of the gear linkage in a drive position but with the upper part of the linkage probably in the neutral position. It’s always best to try and keep both gearbox and gear change in neutral when reassembling, but none of us are perfect mechanics and sometimes things can get out of line.
Slacken off the clamp that connects the upper to lower gear linkage and you should then be able to move the gear lever into the correct, forward gear position, without actually changing the position of the gear in the gearbox. Then retighten the clamp. If your engine is similar to mine, AND the engine is in forward gear, the tip of the upper linkage will now protrude from the hole in the top of the drive shaft housing by about 28mm (1 and 1/8 inches). When it’s in neutral the link protrudes by about 17mm and when in reverse by about 7mm. If you’re not certain which gear has actually been accidentally engaged, forward or reverse, if the gear change lever and upper mechanism really is in neutral then pulling on the starter cord should be possible and it will turn the propellor clockwise if in forward, anti-clockwise if in reverse. Remove the spark plug first so there’s no chance the engine can start and injure you and to make it easier to turn the motor. If it’s not possible to turn the motor like this then that’s because the safety lock, which is designed to prevent the motor being started when in gear, is preventing the recoil starter from turning - overriding that is not recommended.
As an alternative it is sometimes possible to move the gear change lower linkage by gripping the lower link rod, through the access hole, with a pair of long nosed pliers, but you need a strong grip and good pliers to do it. Slacken off the linkage connector clamp so that upper and lower sections are no longer connected, grip the lower linkage with the pliers through the access hole and try to push down just one click, which, IF you were in forward gear, should now put the motor into neutral - test by trying to turn the prop by hand and it should be free. You can then place the gear lever back into the neutral position and reconnect the linkage clamp. The gear change can be very stiff so this method doesn’t always work, but if you’re not able to push down at all, maybe you’re actually in reverse and to get neutral then you need to pull up one click.
Hope this helps.
David Fickling
@@CruisingAssociation thank you for your time,I am going to give this a try.I loved your video up until you were connecting the rods.I could not see what you were doing at the very end,lol
I have a 6 hp 2008 tohatsu that I am trying to put back together so I can do some fall fishing here in Connecticut.
Thank you again.👍
Hello, looking for the same servicing on a 2022 MFS 115A , Thanks
Thank you for your query. The CA only has the outboard maintenance and repair videos as published on our CZcams channel.
Little editors note, IF you ended up taking it to a mechanic to get it fixed, might want to mention that part right up front. Now I am about as novice as you can get and I have an engine in two pieces no chance of ever getting them back together without a cost, probably more than if I had just tried to find a place.
so you puled it apart without watching the whole video? BS ... then to find he took it to a friend.. what a load of codswallop
@@ybet1000 I in fact did. I have done similar work before. There was only a need to catch the nuanced difference on this particular unit. Or what I thought would be nuanced differences. I am not certain why you would call that BS?
I don't understand your ignorance. He most definitely made a video insinuating he was going to do something, but by the 3/4 point through the video, after many hours of trying, he failed and had to "take it to a professional". That is the facts cockwobble
@@dwightlowman961 He showed you exactly how to do it.. and highlighted the pain and suffering if you don't "get lucky" putting it back together... he did it,.,.. I dont know why you are so "upset" with him . for showing you the real job... he could have edited it with a "see back together.. no issues..." .. instead.. he showed ... 2 hours.. then another hour.. then help from a friend... I dont see why your upset with him?.. he video is exactly what you are going to experience.. and tells you exactly how to do it..
@@dwightlowman961 Again .. so you watched the video .. saw how difficult to put it back together was.... then .. pulled yours apart and how are blaming him... cause .. you watched the whole video before pulling it apart.. you don;t make sense
NOOO!!!! you done all the service good exept that puting back gair... you need to put to REVERSE gair and that part goes easy ! next time dont do thease tricks with cargo belts :DD
Great video - Question can't you get someone to turn the motor head itself to align the shaft from the top as you are pushing it from below instead of turing the prop?
Thank you for your positive comment Rob, which we've passed onto David Fickling along with your question. He says "Yes, having someone else rotate the motor from the top instead of turning the prop would work, but would be probably not so easy to control - I suggest removing the spark plug to make the engine easier to turn if you use that method. My problem though was that the splined end of the shaft was sliding past amd missing its socket completely, so rotating motor or prop made no difference."
@@CruisingAssociation Thanks very much for replying for clartifying that. It will help when I do one I am going to have to replace the impeller on. I might turn it upside down but will take the precaution of draining the oils first to avoid spillage and contamination of oil into the head if there is any seeping past the piston rings.
@@CruisingAssociation Ah!! . i had a little light bulb moment !! - having preciously taken the motor power head unit off to do other work by removing the nine bolts that connect the power head to the leg ( a very eary and five to ten minute job to remove it and about same to replace it ) I had to re align the spline to replace the power head. - It was relatively easy task since the power head is easily moved around to fit it back on.
That may be the best option instead of the inverted option because it is a one person job .
@@Rob-fx2dw Do you have a video or link to one for that. I took my leg off a couple of weeks ago, did the impeller and cant get the leg back on!
@@MrAgreetham Only These - czcams.com/video/rcEaaEmImpA/video.html and this :- czcams.com/video/oCWbU-kS5IE/video.html and this Dangar Marine guy :- czcams.com/video/srGVSl4_n8Q/video.html
You can also take off the motor power unit by undoing the 9 bolts holding it on (from underneath the power head) and re installng the power head after bolting on the lower unit containing the impeller.
Bought new motor and kid pushed rubber stopper inside. Can't get a socket or wrench on nut. What now
Oh dear. If the rubber stopper is in the actual motor then you’ll have to strip it. If it’s just in the leg then maybe it won’t cause any harm, but still, I would want it out of there and you’ll need to remove the gearbox unit to do that.
I'm glad to know I'm not the only one with problems fitting the lower unit on one of these. Its quite demoralizing
The CA hopes the how to video has helped.
Complete failiure 😩
I was just trying to re install the lower unit on my Tohatsu 6. It WOULD NOT GO. I remembered why I had that nice bore scope in the bottom drawer and got it out. Even seeing where I was going it STILL was troublesome getting in the right spot. However it worked. What a design! I will load a pic if I can figure out how. drive.google.com/file/d/1vntcTcwZEBjxp0CmbzP0rq_0FWZeaYtu/view?usp=sharing
Thank you.