water pump on outdrive missing hose

[Gyroe1970]

So I decided to change out the water pump/ impeller on the outdrive of my omc cobra today. I have opened the cover on the outdrive and found that there was no hose coming from the outdrive assembly to the pump. The hole where the hose should be coming up out of the lower section is plugged with a plug. The nozzle on the water pump is not. Wouldnt the unit dump some water out into the water pump area? Do i need this hose or was this a factory thing? Any thoughts?

Thank you!

Jim Reeder
Arkansas!