Help!!! lower end removal 1967 Mercury 39

[trsexton]

I would like to replace the water pump impeller on my 1967 Mercury 39, but I can not seem to get the lower end removed to replace the pump. And the big problem the Seloc manual is not instock. Argh

Thanks
Tom

[Tim_Mattson]

Lower unit removal

Tom ,
Quite common to have the shaft stuck in the powerhead......especially if never removed.
Make sure all nuts are loose and sometimes you can wedge a smaller socket between the cav plate and the nut on both sides,then turn each one some more so it pushes down on the lower unit.Forget whether the nuts are below by the prop or not....I`ll look at one I got upstairs later.
Sometimes turning the works upside down and putting pentrating fluid on the studs will help.If you see white around the threads ,then soak and wait a few days.
I`ve also heard of putting wood wedges between the seam, if it has any room of course,then dunking the works in a large bucket of water to swell up the wood which can pop the shaft free.
Sometimes loosening and prying off the powerhead from above was required at the dealer I worked for so you didn`t damage the lower.It gives you the mid-section to pry from and once it moves ,then it will drop the lower.
Whacking the works with a block of wood to absorb the impact can really help too.
Prying a putty blade or two in the seam and using them to tap tapered screwdrivers in between is a good trick,always prying from 180` from each pt and it usually makes that creak of success.
Thunder.....better go....
Tim M