Bravo X Foaming Issue
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Bravo X Foaming Issue
My Bravo 1 upper failed, so I just replaced it with a Bravo 1X upper remanufactured unit from Jasper Engines.
Prior to installing the X upper (it's mated to an IMCO -2 shorty), I've never seen even a trace of foam in the gear lube monitor, and when the lube warmed up, the level would increase maybe a quarter of an inch max (in the bottle)
I ran the boat over the weekend with the new drive, and now when the lube warms up the level rises almost to the top of the bottle and has about an inch of foam on the surface.
I ran the boat easy at 3500 RPM's max figuring I'd go easy on it to break it in. My guess is that at WOT, the bottle will overflow.
I've read other threads about gear lube foaming, but I can't understand why it didn't foam with the previous Bravo 1, but now does it with the X model. As far as I know the only difference in the two uppers is that the X is stronger (as opposed to the XR which has different cut gears)
The drive runs cool to the touch. I drained the lube as a precaution, immediately after running the boat, and the lube wasn't even warm, so it's not a heat issue (I don't think)
Any thoughts on what could be causing this?
Prior to installing the X upper (it's mated to an IMCO -2 shorty), I've never seen even a trace of foam in the gear lube monitor, and when the lube warmed up, the level would increase maybe a quarter of an inch max (in the bottle)
I ran the boat over the weekend with the new drive, and now when the lube warms up the level rises almost to the top of the bottle and has about an inch of foam on the surface.
I ran the boat easy at 3500 RPM's max figuring I'd go easy on it to break it in. My guess is that at WOT, the bottle will overflow.
I've read other threads about gear lube foaming, but I can't understand why it didn't foam with the previous Bravo 1, but now does it with the X model. As far as I know the only difference in the two uppers is that the X is stronger (as opposed to the XR which has different cut gears)
The drive runs cool to the touch. I drained the lube as a precaution, immediately after running the boat, and the lube wasn't even warm, so it's not a heat issue (I don't think)
Any thoughts on what could be causing this?
#3
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^^^Like^^^ Meaning more than likely the gear oil they put in it.
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The shop is telling me, it's simply air in the drive that needs to work it's way out, but my question was......Why have I never experienced this before??? They don't have an answer.
My concern is, there's something wrong with the reman unit that's eventually going to cause problems.
#5
How are you filling the drive with fluid? From the bottom up?
This is the procedure that works for me:
-Drain drive AND let it drain all of the fluid out of the bottle. (And remove the vent on the upper)
-Hook up garden sprayer modified to fill drive. (other threads on this)
-Fill the drive from the bottom.
-Once you have fluid coming out of the vent hole in the upper, pause, and put the vent plug back in the upper.
-Return to your garden sprayer and keep filling UNTIL you see the fluid JUST start to come up into the bottle.
-Then remove your fill tool, and put the bottom plug in. If timed right, you will have about an inch of drive fluid in the bottle. Let it settle for a bit, and then go back and add more fluid as needed to the bottle to get it to about 3/4 of an inch below the full line.
-Once the boat is in the water, check fluid again.
-Once you run it for about 10 minutes, check fluid again.
You may be trapping air in the system somehow depending on your procedure and setup.
This is the procedure that works for me:
-Drain drive AND let it drain all of the fluid out of the bottle. (And remove the vent on the upper)
-Hook up garden sprayer modified to fill drive. (other threads on this)
-Fill the drive from the bottom.
-Once you have fluid coming out of the vent hole in the upper, pause, and put the vent plug back in the upper.
-Return to your garden sprayer and keep filling UNTIL you see the fluid JUST start to come up into the bottle.
-Then remove your fill tool, and put the bottom plug in. If timed right, you will have about an inch of drive fluid in the bottle. Let it settle for a bit, and then go back and add more fluid as needed to the bottle to get it to about 3/4 of an inch below the full line.
-Once the boat is in the water, check fluid again.
-Once you run it for about 10 minutes, check fluid again.
You may be trapping air in the system somehow depending on your procedure and setup.
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How are you filling the drive with fluid? From the bottom up?
This is the procedure that works for me:
-Drain drive AND let it drain all of the fluid out of the bottle. (And remove the vent on the upper)
-Hook up garden sprayer modified to fill drive. (other threads on this)
-Fill the drive from the bottom.
-Once you have fluid coming out of the vent hole in the upper, pause, and put the vent plug back in the upper.
-Return to your garden sprayer and keep filling UNTIL you see the fluid JUST start to come up into the bottle.
-Then remove your fill tool, and put the bottom plug in. If timed right, you will have about an inch of drive fluid in the bottle. Let it settle for a bit, and then go back and add more fluid as needed to the bottle to get it to about 3/4 of an inch below the full line.
-Once the boat is in the water, check fluid again.
-Once you run it for about 10 minutes, check fluid again.
You may be trapping air in the system somehow depending on your procedure and setup.
This is the procedure that works for me:
-Drain drive AND let it drain all of the fluid out of the bottle. (And remove the vent on the upper)
-Hook up garden sprayer modified to fill drive. (other threads on this)
-Fill the drive from the bottom.
-Once you have fluid coming out of the vent hole in the upper, pause, and put the vent plug back in the upper.
-Return to your garden sprayer and keep filling UNTIL you see the fluid JUST start to come up into the bottle.
-Then remove your fill tool, and put the bottom plug in. If timed right, you will have about an inch of drive fluid in the bottle. Let it settle for a bit, and then go back and add more fluid as needed to the bottle to get it to about 3/4 of an inch below the full line.
-Once the boat is in the water, check fluid again.
-Once you run it for about 10 minutes, check fluid again.
You may be trapping air in the system somehow depending on your procedure and setup.
The weird thing is that this is how I did it with the old Bravo 1 Upper and never had even a hint of foam.
IMO the drive is not overheating.........Is there anything else mechanical that would cause this?
#8
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Is this a serious amount of foam or just some air bubbles in the lube reservoir? I've seen bad reservoir caps cause air bubbles in the lube.
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I haven't run it past 3500 RPM's but noticed the amount of foam is directly proportional to how high the RPM's are.....I'm thinking it will overflow at WOT.
I ordered a new reservoir cap to see if that's the problem. If it is, it would be a heck of a coincidence though, as this started exactly when the upper was replaced.