[AntsGrady]

Hello all, quick question I'm hoping someone can answer. The lower unit has 2 shafts, 1 gear/throttle and 1 drive. This is kind of hard to put into words but here goes. The gear shaft comes down the motor and into the lower unit. At the bottom just before it goes into the lower unit it is encased in a foamy material. This is exterior and visible. My winter cover rope recently got caught up in there and took a little of this foam out as the rope was being pulled. It still looks pretty good but I don't know. I'm not a mechanic and don't know what the purpose of this is and don't know the impact if something is wrong. Can someone shed some light on this??? Thanks!!!

[ob]

A bit hard to understand by your description but if I read it correctly I believe what you are refering to is the shift rod.There should be a rubber grommet that acts as a debris shield that is visible from the outside.If there is a foamy material present it must have been added by a previous owner.There is no part of the actual driveshaft that is visible externally.

[AntsGrady]

You're on the right track but I've always owned the motor so this is stock. I believe the grommet may be inside of this. I believe it is protection for the grommet but not sure. So if this has some wear and tear what would that do? Would this in some way cause problems to my lower unit? Does this make things a little clearer?

[ob]

The external grommet will not have negative effect on the sealing of the internal shift rod.Internally the shift rod has its own 4 bolt flange with seals.If the entire grommet that the rod slides thru was to be missing or severely torn away,it would allow cavity water to surge out around the shift rod when running but wouldn't cause any immediate problem within the lower unit.The problem would incur if the lower unit to mid-section cavity was to become engulfed with small debris.This is the primary function of the outer shift rod debris sheild grommet.Difficult for me to give an absolute opinion without viewing the damage but off hand I'd wager you'll be fine running as is.

[AntsGrady]

Thanks OB!!! I like your assesment and you seem to be right on track with what I am referring to. It isn't worn bad or anything but rather be safe then sorry. We worry the most about things we don't have much knowledge on and I've been a little concerned since I'm putting her in sometime in the next 2 weeks. Have a great season!!!