I’ve not heard that the pin is prone to failure. Wonder how much a key slot weakens the drive shaft Vs a hole? In the service manual for the 1974 Evinrude 40hp, a motor based on the older RD series….it says to position the water impeller keyway pointing towards the prop while the top piston is at TDC to avoid driveshaft breakage. I don’t understand the logic….just reporting it. Doesn’t seem it would make any difference to me but the advice could be based on previous failures.
