I got my $100 motor I was talking about the other day, the one I knew from the start had compression problem. 83 Rude (according to serial #, though there seems to be a lot of Johnsons with an E at the beginning on ebay)15hp 15". The guy forgot the tank and hose, so I didn't start it up to see how it ran. I was just planning on new rings and seals. But anyway, my question now, as I was tearing it down today, I saw that the exhaust housing, or middle section, where the grommet goes for the shift rod was corroded to the point that the hole was bigger than the outside of the grommet. Meaning absolutely no seal. Is this that much of a problem? I know OMC put a drain hole in the part of the lower unit that's directly connected to the space where the hole is, but I'm not sure if I need to buy this housing now. Even if I do, I'm sure it'll still be a good deal for me, under $200 incl. the seals, rings, and housing if I can find one on ebay or they're cheaper than I thought. So anyway, this hole should be above water line, but will probably get very wet anyway. It'll be used in salt water, not nearly as frequently as fresh, but still will hit the salt. Think I'll be safe with the old one with the hole, or should I get a new one? How about a repair like body filler? Not good with body work, but The hole is only about 1 1/4". Not a picture of my motor, and don't know if it'll work from the site it's on but you can kind of see where I'm talking about.<br />
<br /><br />on the top piece to the right you can see the white grommet just below the top edge of the picture. The hole is where that grommet belongs.