Patent ID: 8601692

Claim:
A method of assembling a marine outboard engine having: an engine casing; a first driveshaft having a first end and a second end, the first end having a first helical gear disposed thereon, and the second end having a first driving gear disposed thereon; a second driveshaft having a first end and a second end, the first end having a second helical gear disposed thereon, and the second end having a second driving gear disposed thereon; at least one height adjustment member associated with at least one of the first and second helical gears, the at least one height adjustment member being movable between a first position and a second position vertically higher than the first position; and a driven shaft having at least one driven gear disposed thereon; the method comprising: placing the first driveshaft in the engine casing such that the first helical gear is free to move in an axial direction relative to the engine casing; placing the driven shaft in the engine casing such that one of the at least one driven gear meshes with the first driving gear; placing the second driveshaft in the engine casing such that: the second driving gear meshes with one of the at least one driven gear, the first helical gear meshes with the second helical gear, and the second helical gear is free to move in an axial direction relative to the engine casing; rotating the driven shaft to cause an axial displacement of one of the first and second helical gears with respect to the engine casing as a result of the rotation of the driven shaft; and moving the at least one height adjustment member from the first position to the second position, the height of the second position being determined based at least in part on a magnitude of a relative axial displacement.