I'm thinking of buying my neighbor's boat, which has a 1997 25hp 2-stroke Mariner outboard. The motor runs strong when I test drive it, but I noticed a thin layer of "oily" fluid oozing down the starboard side of the midsection/exhaust housing when I returned to the dock (looks like the oil/fuel mixture). When I take the cowl off, I don?t see any leaks and all lines are quite clean, but there is a small amount of this fluid puddled in the bottom of the tray around the base of the motor, so it's seeping thru from the base of the powerhead. My neighbor insists it is either unburned fuel, or exhaust, and that it's normal. However, it's causing the midsection's external paint to bubble and rub off (which isn't normal). I'm new to boats/motors and don't know much, but isn't this something I should be concerned about? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! (I have pictures, but I?m unable to upload them.)
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