Exhaust/Rudder Plate

[Snivley]

After being out on the water this weekend I came home with less of my rudder exhaust plate than I left with. It appears the previous owner had made a repair that did not hold. Easy enough to fix. Just buy a new exhaust plate and away we go. Question I have is, what issue could having this hole in the bottom of my lower unit have created? I am not sure if it was previously leaking prior to the old fix completely falling off. Everything runs well, steering is a bit stiff now (I have greased it, and the cable so hopefully that was the issue there) but no noticeable differences running it from the past. My manual shows plenty of adjusting the rudder, replacing the plate, and the water pickup tube. Aside from that tube and the shift cable, is there anything I should be worried about before I close up a new plate on it? This picture is the bottom of the lower unit above the propeller where the plate should extend too. Thanks in advance.

My boat is a 69 Evinrude Explorer with a 72 155hp engine.

 

[Snivley]

No Title

Got a chance to fix this today. Posting pictures of the old rudder plate and new one as well as the bottom of the lower unit looking up the gap left behind for anyone else who may need the reference in future. Does not appear any damage was done with the old one being an inch to short. Better safe than sorry though.