I used to own a 1996 Mariner MAG III (Mercury XR6) and that was one tough motor! A few years back it started running rough and I lost a couple MPH top end...after about a year of it running that way I took it on to a professional mechanic and this is what he found...... the amazing part is it had been like that for over a year! After new reeds a leakdown test was performed and it tested at 8%! No damage was somehow done to the motor despite eating those steels reeds....one of the few times I can say I was incredibly lucky!