small holes about an 1/8" on lower unit...what are they for?

I am having Engine issues. I have a 1973 18hp evinrude. It looks like its in amazing shaper but when i drained the gear oil I had water in the oil.
I then replaced the water pump and seals. the gear case seals and pull it all back together. I ran it on the lake yesterday for the first time. It was slipping into neutral. and today i found water in the oil again.

When i turn the prop by hand in FWD it allows the gear to slip a little further into the FWD position and into the reverse positions.

But unless the prop is spun just that little bit more by hand it tends to not want to sit in the "bottomed out" position. So i'm figuring something is not sitting right in the gearcase???

The oil issue is also troubling me as I am sure i did all the right stepson putting it back together. On my leg and on my lower unit are some small holes about an eighth of an inch in diameter. There are 3 of them on the drain plug side of the lower unit and there are a couple of holes about a quarter inch in diameter on the side of the leg that look like odd too.

These are not the exhaust holes on the back of the leg they are on the side..???

Basically what i'm getting at is...

What are they for?

Could they be the source of water?

I think the small holes on the lower unit even allow a small amount of gear oil out of them.
These holes are not damage, they are perfectly round and don't seem to serve a purpose unless they are to drain out or relieve pressure???

Any Ideas I'll try to post pictures later once the wife get's back with the camera.

Thanks.

Those are drain holes to allow water to escape areas that tend to collect water during normal running. If not there the gearcase would freeze crack in the winter months.
Normal area for water to enter your gearcase is through the shift shaft seal. You may as well completely reseal the unit anyway while there. Sounds like you will need to take it apart anyway for the shift issue.

yes i was figuring that redoing and inspecting the gears is my next option.

Thanks for the input Pappy.

Most likely you need a new clutch dog.

Do I need the gears or some other part?

jimdd810 said:

Most likely you need a new clutch dog.

Click to expand...

x2. Or something wasn't re-installed properly.