Re: lower unit
Price lower units on eBay and price motors, used and new. You'll have more to go on that way. Any motor needs fixing eventually. Find one you want to stick with and learn to fix it yourself, you'll come out way ahead. You might want to start by tearing down your lower unit and see what's wrong with it. Get a manual. If it is "shot" as you say, you have nothing to lose and knowledge to gain by tearing into it. And you might find it cheaper to fix your LU than to buy one. If not, you can harvest the usable parts.
