I have an MR mercruiser outdrive on an in line six (250 CID). I have had to JB weld a large <br />damaged area on the top gear case (right under the cap) that was fixed with bondo or<br />something similar before. and now I have found a small hole in the lower unit. it must have<br />been patched also and I just did not see it as the zincs look ok and the boat has only been <br />in the water for a few hours since I got it. The boat is a 1970 Skipjack 20 open cruiser.<br /><br />three questions:<br /><br /> I am draining the drive and will sepaerate the upper and lower gear cases tommorow.<br />what should I look for to see if the drive needs rebuild or replacement.<br /><br /> If it turns out that I need to replace the outdrive the iboats prices look good are they<br />good quality on the rebuilt drives, or where is the best place to purchase a drive.<br /><br />Is it worth the trouble to upgrade to an Alpha-1 or Bravo and how dificult is this. It looks <br />like an alpha would bolt right to the gimble but I dont know and a new gimble will drive the <br />price up considerably. 
