Outboard shaft extension

[fishnowworknever]

Has anyone ever purchased one of these extensions? I bought a motor and now realized it's not long enough for my boat. I could sell it easily, but I got a great deal on it and was wondering if these are worth looking into?

It's an older 70's outboard

Thanks

[thedeadsea]

I got an awesome deal on a MINT early 80's 25 hp short shaft Evinrude.

I was able to get it converted for about $300 in parts from a local used outboard dealer. If I ordered the parts new, it would have been about $700, making it unfeasible.

What make and size of motor are you looking at converting?

[fishnowworknever]

Just logged on and saw your reply.

It's a 1973 Mercury 40hp short shaft. I got an awesome deal on this thing as well and really do not want to have to sell it.

Can you suggest a couple places I could call that may be able to help? Also, were you able to convert it yourself or have a shop do it for you?

Thanks again

[boatfixer]

What area of the state?

You could try Twin City Outboards, Outboard Recyclers, Tims Outboards.

I know you wont find new parts and I'm not sure about even finding a kit. Once the engines got big enough, you either had a long shaft or a short shaft vs the smaller engines that were easily converted.

[fishnowworknever]

I'm in the cities, Bloomington to be exact. I'll give these places a shout and see what they have available.

Thanks

[thedeadsea]

With an older Merc, you should be able to find lots of junked motors to raid the necessary parts. Maybe try an add on C list first and who knows, you might end up getting one for free. Then start looking, either online or locally.

Most dealers will probably not have much for a motor that old, so if you go that direction, start out looking at the smaller ma and pop Merc dealers who have had the franchise for a long time. These type of businesses are more likely to have a boneyard.

I did the work myself, but I did work for 2 years as a marine mechanic while in college. If you have a moderate level of mechanical knowledge, you should have no problem. The hardest parts are swapping to the longer driveshaft and getting the water tube back into the powerhead. As long as you have everything apart, it would be a good idea to replace the impeller.

If you are able to locate a complete long shaft lower unit, you will save yourself lots of time and work. Just be sure to check the gear oil to make sure it isn't full of shavings before you buy.

I am a Johnson/Evinrude/Yamaha/Suzuki guy so I am not totally familiar with a Merc that old. Providing that it uses a long shaft that has the shaft extension piece vs a longer shaft housing you should be fine. If it uses a longer shaft housing you will need to find a complete junked out motor to do the swap.

[fishnowworknever]

Thank you again for the info. Found a kit at a local shop, going to check it out tonight.

[SkunkedAgain]

Admittedly, I've never extended a motor shaft but IMO you should get the proper motor for your boat. I think that you'll be happier in the end. Since you got a sweet deal on the motor, you should be able to sell it for a profit and then buy the motor that your boat needs.

One year I was excited as ever to buy a new motor. I measured my new boat transom (incorrectly) and started looking for a short shaft. A retired Navy vet was selling a 2002 30hp short shaft that was electric everything and perfect. I paid him the $2k and we put it on my transom. It was obvious that it was too short. I sighed and asked if he'd take the motor back. He did and then sold me another motor ('79 Evinrude 35hp) that was the right length for my boat. It just works out better to have the right motor. Why tinker with extending the shaft when there are a million long shafts out there?

[fishnowworknever]

I ended up getting an extension kit. It was used, but all pieces were in place.

There were 4 longer studs, exhaust extension, drive shaft extension, shift linkage extension, water inlet extension and a 4" spacer.

The hardest part was removing the existing studs from the lower unit. After that, everything went back together in 30 minutes.

[thedeadsea]

Excellent. Make sure you check the water pump indicator when you test run to ensure that the pick up tube did in fact get put back in right, so you don't overheat.