Mid Section Reassembled

I received my mid section parts along with a new oil pump earlier this past week. I was looking forward to getting the new oil pump installed, however there was a main seal in it missing. This is a larger seal that is on the top side of the oil pump. If you look at my photo of the parts list, you'll see it is included in the "box" which indicates it is a part of the oil pump assembly. However, Yamaha apparently changed what's included with the new pumps, and that seal now has to be ordered separately. So, it is on order. In the mean time, I installed the new oil strainer, and reassembled the mid section. All the exhaust area ;ooked good. I replaced all the seals and gaskets, finished assembling the mid section, and then rehung it back on the steering flange on the boat. Hopefully the oil pump seal will get here early this week, so I can get it installed. Before finishing the mid section, I was able to heat up and remove the old main shaft collar, and install the new one. The original reason for having to pull the power head was just to fix that shift linkage lower bracket. That's now done. I may try to remove the old balancer assembly, and then install the new one, while the power head is hanging in my garage, while I'm waiting for the oil pump seal. However, if I can't figure out how to stabilize the power head, I'll wait until it's back in it's place before working on the balancer. I'm still hoping to have everything back together by the end of this week. :-)Read more