one cause of freezing GC is likely the accumulation of crud, sand & whatever blocking drain hole (s)
When I fixed up a Merc 2-3 years ago, this what I found in the plugged up GC …. the lower drain hole was totally blocked but luckely the previous owner probably stored it inside …saving the GC from expanding
Anytime impellers are changed, a good air/water blast in (non oiled) accessible lower cavities should always be the way to go.
btw… cheap Dollarstore doggy poop pads are great for catching oily drips …. and sand 🙂
Joining AOMCI has priviledges 🙂
