 lower unit/good news/bad news
Well the good news is I got the damn lower unit off the engine. The shaft was froze(rusted) in the crank. The bad news is I cracked the lower unit case around the shifter and lower unit lube leaks a hair and basically means the lower unit case is in need of replacement. I thought of trying to save it with 5200 rig job, but I would never feel comfortable and to my amazment these engines lower units are plentiful at semi reasonable cost. I have found one that is new and hopefully the correct shaft length. What exactly is the correct shaft length for a 225 on a 25 Contender anyway? I measured 27 1/2 inches from the top of the shaft to the top of the case(shaft is installed in the lower unit), so I assume it's a 30 inch shaft. I figure I'll get a used one and use it while I get this one strightened out. Kind of nice to have such a popular engine and parts readily available. I barely opened my mouth about getting a spare, and I already have couple lined up. I get to pick from a few, rather than be stuck with "buy a new one at max price or wait". I was all ready to be down for a month, this morning, and now I'm going to pick one up very soon(maybe even today), and will be running tommorrow night, hopefully. | 
