Force 120 (~1998) starter mounting bracket wear

[MidwestFloater]

Hi all. I'm looking to possibly purchase a major fixer upper boat with a force 120. The boat is a 2000 and I think the motor is from around then. The owner indicated the motor needed a new starter and flywheel. Upon inspection, it appears that the starter became loose, then over time while starting the motor, it rattled the starter in the mounting bracket and eroded the mounting holes, as well as damaged the teeth on the starter. One mounting hole appears to be fairly normal sized but the other has a lot of slop to it so a new starter would still be pretty loose.

I'm wondering thoughts on how to correctly repair this. I was thinking I could fill the loose hole with epoxy and then re-drill it out. Alternatively I could try to weld in some filler, then re-drill that out (I don't know if that's possible). Looking for thoughts and suggestions before I pull the trigger on it! Thanks.

 

[59Hustler]

JB Weld, then drill should work. I have fixed engine blocks this way.

 

[jerryjerry05]

From what I see?? is the bottom mounting bracket still in place?
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