Making a lower unit service stand

In this video I make a lower unit service stand for outboard motors. The first step is to determine the best dimensions for the outboards I will be servicing and then I weld up some box tubing to match. To finish it off I add some polyboard to the top to protect the paint from getting scratched.
For outboard repair information, checkout my website: outboard.dangarmarine.com/guide
If you are enjoying this channel, please consider making a donation to www.paypal.me/dangarstu or become a Patreon of Dangar Marine at / dangarmarine
T-shirts and other merchandise available at teespring.com/stores/dangar-m...
Common items used in these videos are available from my Amazon store at www.amazon.com/shop/dangarmarine
Dangar Marine is proudly sponsored by MarineEngine.com. MarineEngine.com supplies a wide variety of spare parts for many brands of outboard motors. If you are in the US, be sure to check out their online store www.marineengine.com/
All music available at soundscloud.com/dangarstu

[@Fireship1]

Made one of these years ago to deal with a heavy mercrusier alpha 1 lower unit I once owned. Made mine out of wood. It really helps when you are changing an impeller or even when you just have a lower unit sitting around the shop. Yours is much nicer Stu. The tig welding was a nice touch. Great video! Thanks for sharing.

[@DangarMarine]

Thanks mate, yes, I never thought of it that way but they would make nice storage racks too. We have loads of gearboxes floating around so I might make up a timber one with five or six slots to keep them in.

[@raymondcasey5747]

Terrific idea. Well done.

[@brt-jn7kg]

I appreciate you posting this I need one desperately I have a couple made out of 2 x 4 but they're just not going to cut it anymore.

[@michaelkatzberg4995]

Now that's a Keeper. Thanks for a great Work Base.

[@DangarMarine]

Thanks Michael, I use it all the time now, can't believe it took me so long to get around to making it.

[@johndunckelman3657]

Dear Stuart Allen (aka Dangar Stu); Dear Stu, I just wanted to say how I enjoy your excellent videos and tutorials. I have been trying to get my boat to crank since the beginning of August, and today was the big day. A repair manual is a great thing, but even better if you can see how things are trouble shot in the real world of an outboard mechanic par excellence like yourself. Today, I cleaned and checked every connection on the boat (23 ft Hurricane Fun Deck with 2000 2-stroke Yamaha, 115TLRZ). At the end of that arduous task, my work paid off. Because of your videos, I was able to replace my starter solenoid, check the neutral safety switch and replace the ignition switch (none of which did it). In my inspections today, I did find one blown fuse under the cowl of the motor which I replaced, and upon cranking, the engine cranked on accessory instead of start on the ignition switch. Part of my difficulties were caused by the boat manufacturer not having the same wire colors and codes as the Yamaha engine. I switched two wires, lug for lug on the ignition switch and everything worked as it should. Many thanks for sharing your time and skills to make me a better boat mechanic. Much appreciated. Keep up the great work. John Dunckelman, Cape Coral, Florida, USA.

[@DangarMarine]

You're welcome John, glad to hear you got your problems sorted out. :)

[@davekimbler2308]

As you know or may remember I rebuild vintage outboards and after watching this video I like your design, what I do now was to clamp the lower unit to my work bench . But I think yours is better , thank you !

[@DangarMarine]

Thanks Dave, it did work pretty well. The only difference I would make next time is make the support arm round tube that goes into a sleeve so I can rotate the whole unit.

[@davekimbler2308]

That’s exactly what I was thinking and use an automotive engine stand ! I’m looking for snowmobile by-fax ( plastic track runners )and like you said do both sides .

[@davidpowell3691]

This will be my next job. I have a Mercury 90 straight 6 that won't go in to Forward gear. First job is to make a tool to remove the ring that holds the bearing carrier in place, then I have to make a puller but before I actually do the job I am thinking a stand like this is very much in order. Thanks again for another highly informative and well thought out video.

[@DangarMarine]

Hey David, I can't believe I didn't make this sooner, it's well worth it. Those bearing carrier rings really do need a custom tool too. Send me a pic if you make one up.

[@WillsGarage91]

Great video Stu. We use similar stands at the shop I work at.

[@DangarMarine]

They certainly are a much safer way to work on lower units. Looking forward to making up a better way to mount it, probably onto our transmission jack I think.

[@modemagic1]

This is a good idea that I think will be a winter project of mine. Something to consider on a design modification and that I think I'll do, is to add a piece of steel on the 100mm side facing downward. Then I can use a piece of pipe that slides into my floor jack and locks into the lower unit stand allowing me to use my floor jack to raise and lower the unit into the outboard/power head. I can simply use a longer or shorter piece of pipe depending upon how high the motor is. Love this idea Stu!!!

[@DangarMarine]

Thanks David. I think combining this holder with some existing jack or stand is the way I will go too. I didn't really go into in this video but I'm thinking of adding a base to the extension so I can bolt it to my transmission jack for exactly the reasons you describe.

[@modemagic1]

I was thinking at standard floor jack but a transmission jack would be even better! Great idea!

[@alpel945]

Learned a great deal by watching your videos, fixing a Mercury and you have been a lot of help, thank you

[@DangarMarine]

You're welcome Al, good luck with your Mercury.

[@marcoty6312]

I guess im asking the wrong place but does someone know of a way to log back into an Instagram account? I stupidly forgot my password. I would love any tips you can give me

[@jonahalec1076]

@Marco Ty instablaster :)

[@marcoty6312]

@Jonah Alec thanks so much for your reply. I got to the site on google and I'm waiting for the hacking stuff now. I see it takes quite some time so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.

[@marcoty6312]

@Jonah Alec It did the trick and I now got access to my account again. I'm so happy! Thanks so much, you saved my ass !

[@adventuresofjake2553]

Good work, very innovative

[@DangarMarine]

Thanks mate.

[@brobins72]

i built one so it would fit in the 2" receiver hitch on my truck. good for mobile work, and it can pull right out and be used in the vise.

[@DangarMarine]

That's a great idea. I'm going to find a bit of box section just bigger than the arm of my stand (like your hitch) and make a mount so I can add it to my transmission jack soon. Being able to rotate it is nice, but I think being able to slot it in one of four ways will be more than enough.

[@shrconstruction]

I welded a receiver hitch to all my welding shop tables to be able to move around vices and jigs and such by just welding a small piece of the hitch side square tubing to those items.....works super great for all sorts of projects.

[@num1machinegunneroif]

thanks for the idea. I going to build one.👍

[@DangarMarine]

They are certainly nice and handy, well worth the time to make it.

[@crispernator]

Gday mate excellent idea i used to put mine in a set of supa jaws but it was always held by just the skeg this is a great idea

[@DangarMarine]

I've certainly put my fair share of outboard lower units in vices by the skeg. I feel much better having them in this though as I feel it was just a matter of time before one broke.

[@crispernator]

yep might just make one of these i rekon

[@woden20]

Even grinding away the galvanized coating i'd weld it outside can bugger you right up. Will definitely be making one of them. Nice.

[@DangarMarine]

Yeah, I agree, galvanising fumes aren't good for you. I edited it out of this video but I hit the metal again with an angle grinder to get more off before doing the full weld as the spot welds were still smoking and going white. A respirator under the welding mask would have been a good idea.

[@ronpowell2373]

Neat idea , I may make one for the leg of my engine. But seeing your mount I thought of making mine to fit my engine stand. That way I can flip the leg over 90 degrees each way. As for TIG and MIG welding, I use a small fan to blow the fumes away from my face all the times. No beer this time? I didn't spot it if it was there :-)

[@DangarMarine]

I'm thinking of adding a plate to this one so I can mount it on my transmission jack. I'm going to try to find a bit of square tube that the arm fits in so I can slot it in at one of four angles.

[@jesteronetime]

once again a great vid. bit of super glue on the pop rivet heads if needed..fantastic info.go stu

[@DangarMarine]

Good idea re the super glue.

[@philipcrothers7415]

I made one Aswell to accommodate my 70 Johnson gearbox and a 4 hp gearbox

[@DangarMarine]

That's a fair range size, good to know it worked out.

[@humleridder]

Hi Stu, you make som great videos. Please keep up the great job you do with this.I just got an idea for an improvement on the stand for a user like you who uses it on a daily or weekly bassis. Definetely do the pipe-thing to rotate it.... and here comes my idea to make a quick and versatile fix to be able to rotate it with no movement of the lower unit inside the horseshoe. Make another horseshoe to sit welded a few cm above the first on - all welded together in the same construction and with room to slide the lower unit in between those. Look up the tool called "Winbag" which is a small rubber air pillow with a pump and a deflation vent - really easy and simple to use and made to hold windows during installation. They compress completely flat. Use (and mayb even attach) one or two on each side between the upper horseshoe and the lower unit. Now you can fix and un-fix the lower unit in seconds without risking to scratch the paint like with the clamp. I bet it sits steady even when rotating it since the winbags can take a lot of pressure (I think it is 100 kg for each winbag).I know it is a bit of money and a bit more work - but I think the tool will be improved reasonably in relation to that. Especially if you are a professional that mounts and unmounts a lot and you want to take good care of the paint. If you are really inventive you might be able to make a better solution with parts from a bicycle inner tube to have a hold all along the horseshoe. Then you just need to figure out where to get the hand pump and deflation valve.

[@DangarMarine]

Hi mate, I had never seen the winbags before. It's always good to learn of a new tool, you never know when it is going to be the perfect thing for that tricky job. They sell them at our local hardware store so I'll check one out soon. Coincidentally we have a car on our hoist at the moment that we are installing airbag suspension into. Winbags look like a smaller version of pretty much the same concept.

[@johnwaynebailey7808]

Nice video. Thxs

[@DangarMarine]

Thanks John, I use this stand all the time now. Looking to make a permanent way of mounting it soon.

[@garycarter7250]

Great simple jig, I made a simalar one but the steel is much stronger.

[@DangarMarine]

Thanks Gary. :)

[@allthingsaustralia4861]

Good setup, as always very informative video. Have you done a video on how to weld? That's my next newbie project.

[@DangarMarine]

Thanks mate. No, I haven't done any welding videos because I'm probably not good enough at it to teach it. There are so good channels dedicated to welding out there like chucke2009 and weldingtipsandtricks.

[@allthingsaustralia4861]

Thanks for letting me know.

[@davidd8435]

Thinking about making one, what would the average weight of a lower unit be from small to large?

[@DangarMarine]

Can't say I've ever weighted one, but I would say from about 5kg to 25kgs.

[@RagsdaleCreek]

could you make a video on how to disable the oil injection system on a '97 mercury outboard including how to remove oil pump shaft.

[@DangarMarine]

If ever a motor comes into the workshop for that job I'll be sure to film it.

[@fireprint9980]

Again a brilliant video! Pure magic mate! I've now gotten my boat.. Did what you said and put my hands in my pockets and had a visual and found loads of small easy fixes!... However, I noticed the lower fin, was bent... Not broken off, except a small notch on the bottom... I remember you saying they break easily... So my question is... Is it worth trying to vice it and try bending it by the force of vice?.. Or is it bound to break off you think? Really appreciate your videos and help!... Cheers!

[@DangarMarine]

Thanks Roy. You could try heating it before bending it. I've read that if you put motor oil on the reverse side and heat it until it starts to smoke then that is the right temperature. If it does break, you can buy after market skegs to weld on which is something I've been thinking of doing a video on soon. www.ebay.com/bhp/skeg-replacement

[@fireprint9980]

Dangar Marine you're a star mate. Thank you and looking forward to new videos!

[@kodibassInsideoutboards]

Mine is the same but I made one side (arm) with a bolt & wing nut at the front end so it is able to swing wider at the end to take larger Lower units, I also made mine self standing ( a pipe within a pipe + a T handle thru a nut to adjust the height) I have had it for years it is pictured in several of my vids. I Have a commercial model made by specialty products out of California ,,but I much prefer my hodge-podge homemade ,, kodi

[@DangarMarine]

I was thinking about making it adjustable, but when I realised it could take a wide range anyway I decided to keep it simple. I'm definitely going to make it free standing down the track so I don't end up with gear oil all over the bench.

[@cellomena8088]

hey buddy first of all i want start off by saying all of your videos have been very helpful to me so far but i have ran in to a problem i have a force motor 125 and i have taken the lower unit off im trying to get the gears machine everything was going good until i got the driveshaft an pinion i have taken the lock nut off but the shaft doesnt come out nor dose the gear fall off is there any tip you could give me that could help ive tried all sorts of pullers but non seem too help an plus the driveshaft is about 30'' to 31'' long so agin if you have any tips i would surly appreciate it an agin love the videos so keep em coming buddy

[@DangarMarine]

Hmmm, sounds like a bit of a corrosion problem, or maybe a slight bend in the end of the shaft. A bit of heat in on the pinion gear might help it drop down, but if you want to reuse it I'd be careful about using too much heat. I'm also trying to think what you could fit in there that would expand and put the driveshaft up but nothing is really coming to mind. If you do put any force on the bottom of the driveshaft, be sure to put the nut back on a few turns to protect the thread.

[@cellomena8088]

Well I just finally got it out I had to use a existed nut and a 3/4 bolt an turn on it finally came out but it shot out lol like a bullet about 2 feet but I got to looking it dose look like the shaft is slightly bent but I can't tell

[@Chris-ei7iz]

I've never made one of these lower unit stands but if you worry about different size motors what if you build the main one to fit the biggest motor that you work on then make you plates that will bolt down to the Mainframe to fit different size motors

[@macklinjasper3802]

Sir I have a 1976 Johnson 35 HP seahorse I want to add a pee tab could you tell me where would be the best place to put it.

[@trevormitchell4913]

Hey bro what's up? My outboard is a 70 hp 3 cylinder engine and one of the spark plug wire from the ignition coil pack is sliced open. Do you think it was the cause for me having the throttle open and going 5 mph and also it's shutting off when put into gear? I'll appreciate your help.

[@DangarMarine]

I'd say it is likely cause. motors don't like running out of balance so if you are down one cylinder it will make a big difference. As they say, start by fixing what you know is broken and then start looking for what else might be wrong.

[@trevormitchell4913]

Dangar Marine I appreciate ya comments I live in the Bahamas and want to further my studies to be knowledgeable like yourself in marine mechanics. I will swop it out and let you know what happens thanks bro.

[@dakotaswanson5488]

I need some help I'm wanting to get a 25 Etec evinrude for my 1956 14ft vhull lone star but I don't know if it will rip my boat apart any suggestions?

[@DangarMarine]

It isn't unreasonable to put a 25 on a 14ft boat, but it depends a lot on the hulls construction and condition. In the 50's is probably would have be designed for a smaller motor so the transom might not be up to it. You could always look at reinforcing the transom first.

[@dakotaswanson5488]

Dangar Marine Thanks for the help I just replace the transom with a 1in oak plank and over all the boat is solid it's been in a barn for a long time and I just got it off my granddad in July so I hope nothing bad happens and I will do a walk around soon

[@johnbladykas4454]

Who made the welder and any info

[@DangarMarine]

It is a Bossweld 200 Digi TIG www.ewelders.com.au/bossweld-200amp-digi-tig-mma-inverter-ac-dc-welder-600200.html

[@MikeTLive]

watching your other video kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6eWZK1nfN1jaKM and then noticed this one on the sidebar so paused, came over here watched you make the frame, and now going back :) i really appreciate these videos. i'll be hunting for couple Dangar Marine shirts soon. thanks again!!

[@DangarMarine]

Thanks Mike, glad you've been enjoying the vids. :)

[@marciorozzi2590]

Hi, I need some help. I can not disassemble a 55hp yamaha outboard driveshaft. Do you have Whatsapp? I can not unlock the driveshaft to replace the gears. Please, can you help me?

[@DangarMarine]

This video might help kzbin.info/www/bejne/eHeWlmZofsqZpZI

[@yoyohooyo]

One day I will be faced with that task, maybe. How hours is a water pump impeller good for?? I know a man that didn't change his on his inboard merccruise V6 twins for 12 years. Yeh, he is crazy for real.

[@DangarMarine]

They are surprisingly tough and can last several years. Some people go nuts and change them every 50 hours of running but I would go for about every 100-150 maybe. Age is important too so if you don't do many hours then maybe change it every 3 years. The big risk with leaving them isn't so much that the engine overheats but if a blade breaks off and gets stuck inside the engine.

[@funnymanchannels2981]

how to change the oilseal of wterpump of 15hp yamaha?

[@ailtonpessoa702]

joia

[@garethkortegast7002]

do you ever go home ? 😄seems slot of after hours work happening?

[@DangarMarine]

This one was filmed during the day. When the workshop is quiet I always try to get a bit of filming done but some weeks its hard to grab a moment. Need to retire! ;)

[@odenwatson1341]

Welding on galvanized steel is very dangerous. And very deadly

[@DangarMarine]

Yes, grinding the gal off the part you are welding is important, as is good ventilation.

[@nathansdad04]

By the end of some of his videos.....he looks like he's been working in a coal mine

[@whatsupshittafabraans1926]

If you ever see a handyman fold up work-mate bench on chuck out day, grab it , then carve out some reverse curves, one bench fits all, moving twin screw carrier clamps unit, maybe some minor maintenance to unsized it or a fresh bits of lumber, I got two now, hang on a wall folded after use baby