1998 250 saltwater series steering bracket question

[sea sick]

I just noticed that the lower steering shaft housing part# 61A-44551-01-8D is bad on one of my 250's. Is there any easy way to do this that anyone knows of? This is the part down towards the bottom or the steering bracket that secures the shaft to the lower rubber mounts.
Thanks

[boats.net]

No there is no easy way to replace it. It has to be disassembled down to transon bracket to remove steering arm. Remove the powerhead, and since the upper motor mounts also connect to steering arm the upper casing has to be removed.

[sea sick]

Yeah, that's what I was afraid of. But, I am still going to keep my fingers crossed and try to loosen the top two nuts to see if I can do that with the weight of the engine resting on them. Maybe that would alow me to break them loose. I know that the chances of that happening with 50 plus pounds of torque applied to them is very slim. I'll say my prayers.
Thanks