Leaky water tube?

[Angry]

Hey guys, chasing an overheat in my 1987 evinrude 40 VRO.

tried to flush the water passages with a garden hose. Noticed this pin hole leak in the tube. It looks pretty round, not sure if it’s a corrosion hole, or a factory weep hole. What do you think?

if it’s a leak, could I patch it with some JB weld or other epoxy?

 

[Boobie]

That hole was put in at the factory.

 

[vics]

Conflicting advice. One says the hole should be there . One, on another forum, says repair the hole.

 

[faztbullet]

What other troubleshooting has been done? t-stat checked? poppet valve? head gasket?

 

[Angry]

Changed water pump, thermostat, bypass valve, temp sensor. Currently have head off. Changing head gasket, which I think was the likely culprit.

the head gasket has several of these holes. This one being the worst. I think water was getting into bottom cylinder, as it had much more carbon than the top.