Anyone running without vertical shaft bushings and broken extension cases?

Much to my dismay, days before launching, and after 250+ hours of hard work on my 26' Whaler, I find this on both my BF225's:



I would LOVE to forget I saw this, dump it in the water, and deal with it next winter as I was planning on doing SB#56 next season anyway.
Both extension housings shot, and atleast one driveshaft needs to be replaced. Guestimate another 2k in parts, and another 2 weeks or so out of the water.

My question is, since it is obvious this has been in this condition for probably a couple of seasons, will it hurt to go another? These are 25" shafts, with almost 900 hours

The more I look at this, and the more I think about it, leads me to think that this is more of corrosion issue than a heat/lubrication issue. Think about it, bronze-like bushing pressed into aluminum housing, dis-similar metals pressed together, submerged and lubricated with salt water= corrosion heaven.

I'm really leaning towards removing whats left of the washer and c-clip, patching the case, and forgetting about that bushing. A shaft that is just a little over 2' long, supported at each end, does it really need a center support?

been there My friend, These broken cases sure make me mad at Honda !!!!!! I have seen all the same common problems with Honda 225 2002 and up .. I would think they would be steping up to help in stead they just keep head in sand and make us pay....

Hope they have enjoyed us being test dummies and have fixed all these issues on new models ? I am sure I ran for along time with my case broken... good luck

Been there -Done that.

I have no idea how long I ran mine before I discovered it since it was covered by that other housing.

Your T-stat corrosion is the only one I've seen that looks like mine-maybe a spot to check on other BF225's

Well, I decided just to cover and seal the holes for now with some aluminum sheet metal. I received the new bushings that I ordered, before I knew the cases were broken, today. They look pretty beefy, but since my lower units are back in, for the second time, and I'm not taking them back off again, I don't know how well they would ride on the damaged shafts.
Curious how well the bushings are holding up with you guys that just put new housings in, and didn't replace the shafts?
Honestly, I would have no problem fixing this the correct way, but with the corrosion in port side thermostat areas on both motors, and the fact that there was a fair amount of water in the engine oil of one of my motors, I'm having a hard time justifying the cost at this time.

I was in your same situation last year. I picked up a used midsecton on ebay ,replaced the bushing, then i used some emery cloth to try and smooth out shaft. Mine looked similiar to the better of your two. I slapped it together at the beginning of season..... I ran it 200-225 hrs last season then pulled it in november. It all looked good. Regreased it and put it back together. I think your second vertical shaft might be too gone , itll probably eat the bushing up pretty quick. But id give it a shot on the first one for sure.