same?

can someone explain or tell me why the johnson lower/skeg has this groove where the front bearing sits(left pic) and the evinrude(right pic) does not have it? 324451-1 appears on the inside between the oil fill and the pivot pin on both thanks.....

the broke(original) had just a bit of end play, the evinrude(same year) has less, just a smidge but spins and shifts fine...

looking at clearance chart....prop shaft in front gear bushing 0.0020 max. - 0.0010 min.

rev gear bushing to prop shaft 0.0015 max. - 0.0005 min

rear rev gear to rear bushing 0.0020 max. - 0.0005 min

i have digital calipers but not sure what they mean to measure????

i did not change shift shaft seal, o ring or bushing, should i have? it shifts fineand i feel a constant slight resistance through fwd,rev and neutral. did not do a pressure test either. you do that with the lower off? in my manual it shows it on with pump connected to oil fill plug/hole. im going to harbor freight in a bit to get some zip ties and am gonna buy a pressure pump/tester. if you remember the other thread where i said i felt the pee hole water and it was very hot (a tad over 160) and the stream looked weak and thats why i tore into it to check and change water pump, well i started it in the tank today and noticed right away the stream looked a lot stronger. so i let it idle for about 20 minutes and the water was way cooler, and i also put my hand on the crankcase cover like you said and i could keep it there for 10 secs or a bit longer where is before i couldnt keep it there for more than a few seconds or under the pee hole water for a few seconds. pee hole water is cool enough to take a shower under it now, a warm shower that is. did my motor get warm enough just idling and revving it up a little bit every few minutes? and also did drain lower to check for water and it did not have a single drop. thanks kim... oh one more thing, im thinking i should change the thermostat.....should i? better yet would you?