Hole in upper casing of 50TLRZ Need Help!

[marlinspike]

Hello,

I have managed to punch a hole in the lower portion of the upper casing on my Yamaha outboard. This is a 2 stroke long shaft motor from about 2001. A submerged obstruction was hit while in reverse and I didn't notice the damage until I had been running the boat for a couple of days. See picture:



So, I know water has gotten into the interior of the casing but I'm not sure what if any damage may have occurred. The motor seems to run fine and I haven't noticed any excessive fuel or oil leaking into water. I've been running in cold weather so freezing is a concern. My first thought is to drop the lower unit and get any water out. Then, plug hole with JB Weld and 5200 as I don't have access to a welder at this point. However, I am concerned about what damage may inherently occur by having water in there. Any help would be most appreciated.

Thanks,
Jerry

[rodbolt17]

nothing in there.
its all cosmetic in the picture.
its all simply air space.
may be a bit louder.
if ya cant get it welded JB weld it.
no need to dissasemble anything.
I would be more worried about the upper motor mounts.

[marlinspike]

Rod -

Thanks for the reply. Puts me at ease! I will recheck mounts and for other damage once again more closely as it was a pretty good impact. So, will the water drain out or sit in there? My thought was if I dropped the lower unit, any standing water and moisture could be removed? But perhaps it's not holding water. I looked at the parts diagram and it appears that there is a muffler in there but I could be reading the schematic wrong. I updated the picture to better resution. Seems like about an inch or so of water would be sitting after pulling boat out of water...?

Jerry

[rodbolt17]

it will drain, same as if the hole wasnt there.
that cavity normally has water in it at rest.
its all open inside.
no worries.

[marlinspike]

Thanks again. Much anxiety relieved! This is my transportation to otherwise inaccessible locations!

Regards,

Jerry