You'd think after years of working on outboards, I'd learn. I'm trying to resurrect my '83 Johnson 35, and I'm starting to think it's not worth it. Although it has very low hours, it was used in salt, and worse, it sat for 10 years. The power head is in excellent shape, but had I known how bad the lower unit was, I think I would have pitched it and saved myself a lot of trouble. It took 2 days to get the lower unit off, and that's with all of the bolts coming out easily! The unit simply would NOT slide off of the stud in the front! I used every penetrating oil I could find, plus liberal amounts of torch. Finally, the unit came off by the stud breaking. I was able to pound it out of the middle housing, but of course, the part in the lower unit is fused in place. A few other screws along the way refused to come out, even after drilling them out and re-machining the holes. NASA needs to use the 'salt fusion' technique on their space craft! I have yet to find anything that soaks into the dreaded white powder- it's always bone dry after days of soaking, heating and beating. By now, I could have just bought a decent used motor and been on my way. Luckily, the motor was essential free after how cheap I bought the boat and trailer. Just a word to the wise about tackling salty dogs-
