shift shaft seal leak?

[THEFERMANATOR]

Originally Posted by cfelton

I ordered a complete seal kit from Ebasicpower Wed night. It came in yesterday.I pulled the lower unit off today and saw oil coming out from under the water pump so I removed the entire pump and it looks like I might have a bigger problem. The input shaft has alot of play in it . I can pull and push it in and out about 1/16 of an inch. When pushed in it has side to side play in it too. When I pull out on the shaft it pulls the top tapered bearing in place and the side to side play goes away. Maybe it needs reshimming or something. It ran smooth the last time I ran it and there was no metal particals in the oil. Anybody got any ideas? I hate to put new seals in it only to have it tear them right out again. How much play is normal on the pinion shaft?

That play sounds normal, and if it wasn't there your drive would self destruct. Spare would know better, but I believe they use a tapered bearing in there so that it tightens as it is loaded. This way as you apply more power it holds the driveshaft more solidly so as to prevent it from wlaking and damaging the gears. Make certain to be careful on the small O-ring seal that allows oil to flow from the 2 halves. Make sure not to damage that area as it will cause havoc if you do so. And the water pump base should be replaced as a whole assembly, not just the O-rings on it.