Its pretty well in a safe spot. Have to open the back to get access to it. I'm having a hard time in thinking it could have over pressured because the box itself doesn't look like it swole up. Oil just leaked on a belt and got slung everywhere. Maybe a belt frayed and slapped it! I'll check that out in few minutes.

Good luck with the detective work
and the fix once figured out

Went to the mechanic. Explained everything and he told me it's most likely brittle plastic. Screw it. I'm going to order the parts and just do it and see how the next trip goes. If it pops again then I know there is more of an issue. Question. Has anyone ever ran out of water on muffs long enough to get the drive warmed up? I've ran only a few minutes before and after oil change but I want to run in gear and see if I can get pretty warm.

you will not be able to heat the drive up on muffs…there is no load running thru gears or bearings. As such, nothing to create heat. You can spin your prop for hours probably without generating much heat.

Thank you 1Moses1. Will test at the water after repairs. Got everything ordered and now we wait. If this thread is still open I'll post after our next trip on what the end results are. Thank you all. Have fun out there.

Why need to 10 post for pics

same issue with 10 post

Bots usually get figured out and kicked off before 10 posts.

boat was new 4 years ago. drive is the original one. port side pic and starboard side pic. can you spot the difference?
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...edd1c5d360.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...b9b069556d.jpg

Not very obvious, but I see at least a minor detail difference between your #One and #Two pictures.