Thread: Hit some wood

depends on where the crack is. IF it's on the gear case then you need to see if there's water getting in there. Pull the plug and check it. If it's higher up then someone else will have to chime in on that.

Have it checked, for sure, sorry!

Pictures of it??

If it cracked the skeg, no biggie, happens all the time. It can be welded easily.

The gearcase is a different matter.

Originally Posted by wannagofishin

Driving the boat today on LOZ and hit a small submerged log. Looks like it cracked a small piece of the lower unit housing, but all the rest looks okay. Prop is good, nothing else looks to be damaged - and boat is running just fine. Opinion on this.... Is this something we can leave be and keep going, or will that crack in the housing lead to more problems with the lower unit (Yamaha 150 outboard)

Thanks

So you cracked it and are still running it? If there's water in there, it's only a matter of time before it lets go.

Sometimes if you just crack the housing, you can save the internals and only have to replace the "shell," but if you are running it with water in there it may be too late for that.

Well, I think I'm and idiot, but a happy idiot. After looking at things more closely and looking at some Yamaha lower units, I believe what I thought was a crack is actually a "drain hole" in the housing that was already there. Here is a pic... You can see where the log rubbed the front end (nearest boat), but I think that is just scuffed up.

not sure why there would be a drain hole there? The lower unit oil screws are above and below that area.

Originally Posted by bioguy

not sure why there would be a drain hole there? The lower unit oil screws are above and below that area.

Not sure if it's a drain hole or what exactly it is for, but all the Yamaha lower units I looked at in our complex had the same place, and all the ones I looked at online for sale (thinking I might have to replace ours) had it as well... I will try to find out what it's actually for