My prayer was answered and I found my re-cip saw with a metal cutting blade attached. After a quick cut of the universal joint shaft, everything came apart for repair work. Rust was holding the square end in so that’s all cleaned up now.
This project is going to get a bit more involved than I planned as the vertical shift shaft doesn’t want to turn freely and I suspect it’s bent. That means off with the powerhead! While it’s off, it would be a good time to fix the tight swivel and pivot action as I’m sure the salt has done something to tighten everything up.
The carb is cleaned out and it has a nice blue spark on both plugs but I better fix those other problems before starting it. It may have to wait a while as there’s a ’57 Sportwin here calling for help!
Is there another source for diagrams besides ME?
http://www.marineengine.com/parts/mercu … ru-2827676