agree, there certainly is a difference in water output without the tubes in the older 18-20-25’s too. I guess folks reassemble things and have extra parts, yet don’t think that means anything 🙄
Here’s a 15hp I took apart last night that was seized due to this very issue. The upper driveshaft seal bearing was so stuck with salt that the customer thought the motor had seized. My website explains the story more so I won’t bore people with the rest of the details. After I removed this (and the bearing), the motor was totally fine (replacement parts aside). There was no o-ring on the driveshaft.
