All depends on the person. Me personally. I would junk it and buy a new one.

I think it depends more on the persons budget.

putting good money on top of bad is a personal choice.

between bellows kits, steering pin, shims, trim block, and other miscellaneous parts…you already exceed $1000. Add sand blast and powder coat…likely another $300-500.

the sealing surfaces on the exhaust port and main seal look shot. After all that time and effort who knows if it will even seal. Not to mention structural integrity of the parts once all the rotted pieces are removed.

as someone already mentioned you can likely find used assemblies good condition for 1500-2000.

to each there own.

I agree with what your saying, I am going to try to clean it up this weekend but I fear it is like you said "JUNK" I am going to look for a good used or possibly bite the bullet for a new one. I need to see where im at when the engine is done at the machine shop so I know what direction I can go.

Depending on your setup and plans for the boat...if you are replacing it anyway and don't have hydraulic steering...may want to save up and get an ITS setup and kill 2 birds with one stone...wish I would have done that instead of adding my steering and now wanting to switch to ITS and having holes in the transom for external steering.....just a thought...bite the bullet even if it causes more downtime and do it right the first time....ask me how I know hahahaha

But back to your original question...I personally would not use that...if the seal area was clean and no corrosion I would say sure but to me it's not worth the risk of putting it on after refurb then having a leak...again..ask me how I know hahahha Not to mention that no matter what you do with it...without countless hours of filling and sanding and whatnot you will still see the old corrosion marks under the new paint and it will not look good IMO. But I understand how budgets go and limitations when it comes to this kind of thing.

I agree throwing hours of labor and time into something that might fail immediately or surely to fail down the road is not worth it. I looked up the ITS and that's sick but for how I use my boat its a waste. My boat is on a "small" and I mean SMALL lake it s 7miles to drive around it with a car so the boat is a sexy looking floating dock for my wife, 11yr old son and myself LOL. I use about a 1/2 tank of fuel a season LOL.
I think I will just look for a good clean used one or bite the bullet for a new Mercury replacement. I see there are alot of different part numbers, I need to figure out which is the right replacement for mine.
This boat maybe see's WOT for 1-2 min clips at best!

That makes a lot more sense then hahaha...I would for sure go the used route...hit up sick stinger as he usually has a ton of stuff laying around...might be able to get one pretty reasonable. Just make sure you get good pics of everything before you buy so you're not in the same boat....pun intended hahahaa

Try Doug at Mastertech. 573.216.0139 He may have one on the shelf that is already rebuilt and ready to go. You can also try the Bravo shop in Kaiser MO.

LOL thats my fear LOL

Thank you!

https://www.google.com/maps/place/La...2Fg%2F1tdf28s3

Just for laughs this is the lake I have a 25' baja on LOLOL