OK….. with the skeg straightened, and 3M 847 & a seal kit in hand, I rebuilt the lower. Cleaned all the guts of the old oil / grease / gunk, and removed the old seals. This is only the 2nd lower I’ve ever completely rebuilt, and in both cases the upper shaft seal came out in pieces. Don’t know why that is, but I can tell you that a seal puller didn’t stand a chance.
Anyway, all done……and holds pressure! Can’t decide whether to put it away as a spare, or mount it on the engine & rebuild the existing gearcase. I’m leaning towards the latter. Thoughts?
I should maybe also add: 3M 847 did a phenomenal job of fixing the soles of my work boots! The soles were beginning to de-laminating…..now they’re as good as new!!