shift shaft seal leak?

[cfelton]

I had a little free time today so I trimmed up my outdrive and pulled the boat out to give it a good interior cleaning. I removed everything from the cuddy and all compartments in the floor and scrubbed the entire inside down with car wash and clorox and wiped it dry. I put it all back and was walking around it, kinda checking it out when I noticed a drop of gear oil hanging on the bottom of the outdrive. It had been trimmed almost all the way up for about 5 hours. It had leaked 4-5 drops out of the pee hole in the front of the lower unit. This little hole drains the shift shaft chamber so I'm thinking the shift shaft seal is going bad. My question is, can I change the bushing and seal or O ring without taking the prop shaft and all the insides out of the lower unit? I dont have the tool to remove the bearing carrier assembly. I know I have to pull the lower unit off, but how does the shift shaft bushing and seal(s) come out. The book I have dosent go into much detail on this procedure. Its an Alpha one outdrive. Thanks!