40 plus clutched long shaft gearbox woes FPCl 667CC8

[Mutineer]

I haven't been here for a while
It's because, after a lower end mishap with the above mentioned engine I switched briefly to the dark side(Johnson) but as that motor was a short shaft and prone to being completely submerged and drowned on the back of my Danica 16 when I'd get nailed by a large power boat wake or two I thought I'd take another stab at the lower end of this poor abused gull.

What happened before was:
- she had leaking lower end seals seals.
-This led to the bottom end being run out of oil at least once
- I replaced the seals
-However the above abuse led to excessive wear on the shaft (rough and ridged), the front end cap bush and perhaps the hardened crown wheel thrust washer
This led to a noisier bottom end, likely as a result of a poor mating between the crown wheel and the bevel pinion
-This led to a mishap when my girlfriend was steering and we nosed directly into a big wake (other boats wakes seem to be the biggest peril!)
the motor started running wild (happily only a couple minutes from our destination(12knts from home)) and a couple hours were spent on the dock dismantling and trying to troubleshoot with no success.

Upon further recent examination it seems I have a few potential problems.

-The teeth are now worn on the two gears in question requiring them to be closer to properly engage
- perhaps the front end cap bush is also worn resulting in the two gears not being pushed together enough by the end cap
- the actual prop shaft is quite rough and worn on the 'front end' making it perhaps a little sloppier and not as easy to shift in and out of gear(friction from the fine ridges worn into it)

on the bench
If I add about a mil or 2 of washer between the front end cap bush and the crown wheel thrust washer I can get the gears to engage each other, too much added and the clutch won't disengage. it seems a fine line and I'm guessing it's a result of the worn gears

Clutched 40 plusses are rare as hen's teeth around here(I've only ever seen the one..and I own it) so no parts available

i wonder if it's worth trying to repair the bottom end or if it's a losing proposition

How hard is it to replace the bevel pinion?? (if I had a replacement)

An ideas?

Thanks and happy new year all!!

[Oyster 49]

I suggest obtaining a complete replacement gearbox as the quickest option. Talk to John Williams at SOS, who owns this forum. He will probably be able to supply what you need.

[Mutineer]

Good idea! I'm looking into that
Thanks