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I'm having a tough time joining my lower unit to my upper unit after I installed a new impeller. There's around an inch gap remaining and I can't get the gearshift rod end to line up with it's mate on the lower unit. And the water tube sections need to line up,too. How do you line up things if you can't see if they're connecting correctly or not.

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You might have to slightly rotate the long stainless steel drive shaft that goes up through the midsection to get the male splines to mate with the female yoke in the powerhead (don't put any grease on the top of this shaft just on the splines). The rubber on the water pump housing is a blind mate. It is made of reinforced hose and will mate more easily if you apply a light coating of grease to the hose. Sometimes it takes a few tries. Dont force it. It will fit when you get it just right. Be patient.

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Thanks, Eddie. Are you familiar with the white plastic cylindrical piece around 1 inch long that fits vertically over the gear shift stud that is a male part located forward of the water pump. It looks like the gear shift shaft end which is female is supposed to fit through this piece and onto the male stud, like it's acting as a guide to help create the fit. Is that the function of that white cylindrical piece? If it is, then I can't see if the fit between the end of the gear shift rod (the gear shift rod is not rigid but moves around, as if dangling inside the housing) and the stud is actually happening inside of the white cylindrical piece.

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The white plastic bushing goes on first and the double female goes on next (shifter shaft extension) The black rubber bushing goes over the extension to assist with lining up the male/female shift splines. It should go in as long as you had it in foward prior to removal and did not move the shift spline in the lower unit. If you did, it just three positions FN@R.

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I assisted my neighbor with an R&R 60 hp Merc water pump last spring. Boats.net has the diagram if you need an exploited view. By the way, Walt Disney World uses these motors on their resort transportation boats and security Whalers. The hour meter on many boats is over 4500 hours. Its a great motor.

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I think it is too when your coils keep working as they should. My 2008 60HP Bigfoot had 1 (after 2 years) and then the other 3 coils replaced by Mercury even after 6 years. All under warranty but you still pay for labor and trying to figure out why she didn't run smooth. All said and done she is a great outboard on my 2008 Montauk 150.

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thanks, Eddie:

I don't see the white bushing in the parts diagrams but it does seem to belong where you say it does. The upper half of the bushing has a funnel-shaped interior so I assume that's to help the female end fit down into the male "stud" that is now inside of the white bushing.The double-female extension seems to have remained in the upper unit after I slid the lower unit off so the lower end of the double-female shaft needs to fit through the white bushing and onto the male "stud" that remained in the lower unit.
I don't recall seeing a black bushing and I don't have any black bushing parts on my work bench The only black rubber bushing I saw was the one that is on the top of the water pump housing that fit into the hole that the drive shaft goes through. I hope that's not the black bushing you're talking about because if it is I'll have to take the lower unit out from where it is now and I don't have the heart to start over.

I think I'm ready to jack the lower unit up the remaining 1" that remains. The motor and upper unit is still on the transom and I have two hydraulic bottle jacks holding the lower unit up. One jack is underneath the aft end of the cavitation plate. The other jack is under the forward end of shorter "cavitation plate" above the cavitation plate. The aft bolt is into the aft hole of the lower unit, aligning the aft end of the lower unit with the upper unit. Am I risking damaging anything if I jack up the aft and forward portions of the unit simultaneously this way?

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Randolph I don't know how heavy the bottom part of the 60HP Bigfoot is, but I caution you about using "force" to slide it up.
I did some 25 and 40 HP motors where I had problems getting the lower unit back up and every time it is a question of wiggling (lining-up the spline and water-pump) to get it up. This is a two man job.
Forcing the LU with a jack might cause damage and/ot doesn't line up the pump intake and and or spline.
After it is fitted you may use the bolts and nuts to pull the housings together but I advise against the jacks.

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Then I can use the jacks to help two of us by just elevating and keeping the lower unit near where it's supposed to be and wiggle and raise the lower the unit for the final fit. This way, we'd be close to a fit but not forcing a potentially damaging union of the two units. How does that sound?

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I need to keep the gear shift shaft from dangling around so it will go into the white bushing and fit with the splined stud that it's supposed to fit onto. Is there a rubber bushing part that I can slip over the gear shift shaft that will center the shaft over the center of the cylindrical white bushing? If I try to join the two units now - even with help -
I'll fail to get the gear shift shaft parts to join and nothing will happen when I shift at the helm. Then I'll have to take the units apart again. I need some way to stabilize that shaft so it will be centered over the white cylindrical bushing that's supposed to help guide the shaft onto that splined stud - so the linkage will happen. Is there a rubber bushing that I'm supposed to have that will help?

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Randy, nothing on your job necessicates the use of jacks. Do not jack the lower foot to its mating surface of the midsection. I tilt the motor and use a chair or stabilizing piece of wood to rest the foot on to hold the drive shaft in the power head tunnel if i get tired while aligning the shift splines. It helps to have an assistant if its too awkward for you alone. Use gloves and grasp the skeg with one hand and with the other hand grip the front of the cavitation plate area. At the higest point where you are comfortable that you have everything lined up you use the bolts to reach final sealing againts the midsection. You should be able to get the shift rod started in the opposing shift spline and see the mate before you start a mount bolt. You can use a thin piece of metal or long thin flat screwddriver to push the upper shift rod to position. There are four different series of serial numbers for this engine. That means there were minor changes during the production for ease of assembly at the plant. There is a possibility your motor does not have the alignment guide hose. You are correct about the black hose section mounted to the pump. That one will hit the mark without a lot of attention. The hardest part is the weight and, the up and down motion if you have to rest. Just be pepared to be able to rest it on something. Its not too heavy that you can't handle it. Some units have taken me a few tries and some i hit the first time I raise the foot. EJO, I was not aware of coil problems with this motor. Usually problems like that result in a recall. The Disney Captain who seemed to be very aware of the maintenance schedule did not mention the problem when he praised the outboard. He did mention they replace the lower units due to abuse. Understandable, if you have been on these boats as much as I have. Wow the constant shifting while the wheel is still moving. Glunk, Ouch!

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Thanks, Eddie. I'll try your method instead of the jacks.I had my reservations about the jack method which is why I asked about the wisdom of doing that. Tilting the engine might position the gear shift rod in the right position to make the fit with its mate on the lower unit. In this case, the loose rod would be moved forward in the housing by gravity. I will try to make that fit first before I fit the long aft bolt in its place, if possible.