Force 50 exhaust leak

[txcoastguy]

I'm pretty sure my '89 Force 50 has an exhaust leak under the cowling. Seems to be coming from under the exhaust port cover. Is there any solution without trying to remove the exhaust port cover and risking snapping off the screws (seems to happen a lot on old outboards). I had thought about ventilating the cowling to allow more fresh air in during idle.
Would venting the cowling cause any problems? Thanks.