Mercury 402 1976 Impellar

[JackL]

I have a 1976 Merc 402 and it has ran great until recently. The moter runs for a while and then sputters and dies. my first thought is it appears to overheat. So i want to change the impellar to get better water flow.

Here is the PROBLEM I can not get the lower leg off. I have the Clymer manual and have removed all the visible bolts and a few more. Has any one heard of a trick or any thing that can help. the lower unit comes apart about 1/4 inch with lots of persuaision but no more

what is stuck inside ??

thanks in advance for any advice

[boats.net]

The drive shaft splines may be stuck in crankshaft, if thats the case there is no easy way to remove without breaking something. May want to take it to a dealer.