Here are a few shots of my water infused drive. I'm thinking about cleaning it up, changing all bearings, and keeping it as a spare. Sound like a good idea?? The pic of the shift cam didn't come out so good, but I was thinking of smoothing it out. What else would you replace? The lower is in about the same shape. The gears look ok, but ??
Thanks again for the input. I think I'm gonna fab up some merc tools and maybe spend some quality time with my mechanic. I'm sure I'll be in touch with you guys before it's over.

That shift cam doesnt look too bad. I would polish it up and reuse it. Make sure you clean the bearings in the gears good. They will hide a lot of junk. If they are the old style you can get replacement bearings. If they are the new style, they are hard to find. I have some if you need them, but they are expensive. You can tell the difference by the height of the bearing. The old style is close to 1" tall. The new style gears use one that is close to 7/8" tall.

Hope that helps.

The inside of the casing is coated with some kind of sludge that's pretty hard to get off. It's almost like paint that's gotten hot. Any ideas on how to get this stuff off? It's a slow process with solvent and a brush.

Try some carb cleaner.. I would think that would remove it.. or maybe hit it with a heat gun to warm it up first.. Make sure there is no solvent or carb cleaner when you put heat to it..
But I am sure you know that..
Dick

That case looks pretty dirty. Maybe your local engine builder can boil it in their hot tank they use for engines?