OK, it actually did but I figure I'd tell the story since I had trouble getting it off last fall. This is the starboard drive, the port came off easy and went on in about 5 mins.

So I started around 1pm and finally got it on around 8pm. I had the U joints greased, input shaft greased, gimbal was greased, every thing prepared. I messed with it for a little bit and knew that it was going to be diffucult because of the trouble I had getting it off. I finally had a second pr of hands to help turn the prop while I man handled it up into the bell housing. After about 30 mins of that it got to be to heavy so my dad suggested using the engine hoist which meant I needed to move the boat down the drive way and lower the tongue so the ass end would stick up.

Now a lot of you guys thought that the tranny may be out of alignment hence all the trouble I had in the fall, I thought of that but I also though might as well try getting it on first. We could feel the input shaft hitting the trans just not falling into the opening, yes we were spinning the prop. I call Bill Kingery from Total Marine Performance, luckly his shop is only 2mins away and borrowed the alignment tool. At this point I'm thinking out of alignment and time to whip out the check book and let some one else handle it. Alignment tool went straigt in first time no play, no slop. So we then tried it with the bell housing tilted upwards, but still nothing.

My dad left around 5:30 after about 10 different combination of methods and Kingerys assistant Rob came over and man handled the chit of it for about an hour and was stumped, we even tried RT930turbo's method of put wire around the U joints to keep them straight, but no luck. The end result came from a mechanic up in Mansfield OH named Jason Kunkel, him and his dad own Kunkels Marine, he told me because the U joints can bind up when your sliding it in and the input shaft isn't real wide until its all the way in is why we keep hitting around the opening, so we taped, yes tapedthe U joints to keep then straight and wouldn't you know it, first time it slid right in.

Now we used paper tape so that it will tear apart easier and I will probably replace the U joints next winter, there wasn't any slop in them but I was told that newer U joints will be stiffer.

+1 on the engine hoist, makes it a lot easier.

Sometimes they are just finicky. I've had the same drive go right in, or sometimes have to be pulled off and on half a dozen times to get it to line up.

Another trick is when the joints get wound up, turn the prop shaft the opposite way to unwind them and wiggle the drive up and down at the same time and it will usually slide in. Usually wiggling the drive up and down while moving the prop shaft back and forth about a quarter turn each direction seems to be the ticket.

And keep plenty of oil seals on hand, the ones that go over the check valve, in case that damn drive goes flying on when it finally lines up and goes in. Seem to manage to ding those pretty easy and have a leak, remove the drive, replace....fight again....

Shoulda called, I been doing the masking tape trick for years. People laugh when I tell them that, but it works like a charm. Its not like bravo with a gimbal bearing.

I jus went through the same thing with my ten meter.the drives removed off no problem.the star board went right on in 30 min of messing with it....I say...this ant as bad as everybody says about trs.the port......10 hrs I played.all the stuff you guys did.no luck.my marine buddy came over....bam.40 mln done.he used a line narrow screwdriver to hold the bottom of the shaft.....what a pain in the dick

How many winds of masking tape?

hows your allignment..that was my problem.........rotten transom......