GAZ

I have a 2002 lavey 29 Nu Era. I blew my XZ drive and I want to replace it. It only had 50 hours on it since a rebuild. I'm done with Bravo drives. I think I have narrowed down my selection to either a Bmax or a SCX4 or a Arneson 6 Bravo conversion. Looking for input from the Lavey folks on these. Has anyone had direct experience with any of these on a Lavey. Also anyone have input on running a -2 shorty drive on a 29 Nu Era.

Quent

Gaz, I have a SCX on my 2750 with 1000HP. 75 hours trouble free. I have a friend with a 38 Fountain, twin 1100s with SCX's, 3 hard years. I stress, 3 hard years. Trouble free. The SCX4 will take some trial and error in my opinion. The SCX seems a proven predictable piece. Quent

lavey jr

What power do you have?
The SCX4 and Arneson may take more power than you have to give up...If you have a big motor than you'll be ok but the SCX would be better for lower HP setup and it will be plenty strong.
And like Quent said, the SCX4 and arneson would be a trial and error because they have never been put on a Lavey before, but I would love to test one out!! Running a -2 lower will not affect the boat in any negative ways, it will increase performance at all levels. You will have to run a bigger prop so keep that in mind also.
As for the Bmax... It's a strong drive but it's also a slow drive. We put one on a 29 with 1000hp before and it was 7mph slower than the Imco drive...

GAZ

Is your 2750 a single engine? What is the hull weight compared to the 29 ? When you say hard years you are not talking about babying the throttles and that are you? I like to pull skiers, tubes, wakeboards, ect. So I want to be able to put full throttle out of the hole and not worry about breaking my drive. What is the difference between a XR/XZ drive and the SCX? Thanks for your help.

GAZ

Thanks for the response.I have a stock 500 EFI ,so whats that like 470hp? If I could find a drive that will actually hold up I would love to put a whipple kit on.

When you say a bigger prop are you talking about pitch or diameter? I want strong, I want the strongest drive I can find, if reliability means I have to give up 7mph so be it. I do not want to be towed in again. 2 drives in 185 hours I think is total BS.

In my opinion the XR/XZ drives are total junk on a single engine heavy boat. Maybe on a twin, or light single but even then alot of people on these forums have problems with them also.

Can you tell me the difference between the XR/XZ and the SCX?

Nordicflame

iTrader: (4)

Gaz,
Has your drive been into before this last time? What is giving out on the drive?
There is no reason that you should be blowing drives at that hp. Your screen shows you live at 6000 ft so your 470pshp engine is putting out 380-390hp at best and yes even Powell will be just under 400hp. An XZ or XR should live many happy years behind your boat before having any issues. I just tore down an XZ drive that has been on a 2750 for 9 years that was powered by a 500EFI, 3.3L Whipple with AFR heads and the gears looked amazingly good considering.
Before you go spending a lot of money I would have a competent drive person look at your drive and put it together right. (they're not always right from Merc either)
A good set of XR gears set up with correct lash, proper drive alignment and all should give you trouble free service for a very long time.
Hope this helps,
Dave

Quent

Gaz, the difference between a XZ/XR and an SCX/SC is night and day. No comparison. Go with proven set ups. It's an expensive proposition to be the first. I've been there and it's the primary reason I haven't retired yet.

GAZ

Thanks for your response. Not sure what went first, but top gears and snapped vertical shaft. I don't know how many times it has been worked on. At least once I was told around 130 hours. But believe me I agree that it shouldn't be blowing up at my hp level.... (stock).... its a stock system from Mercury!

I have heard the same from others that the drives right from merc aren't correct alot of the time also. And partially because of that there is NO WAY I will put a Merc drive on this boat or any other.

GAZ

Do they have larger gears and or shafts? Why SCX/SC and not SCX upper and lower? I think I want to keep the same X dim ? But sounds like a -2 may be better on my boat?

Uncle Dave

Guys that switch to the SCX lower lose a ton of speed.

The Lowers are tougher than uppers anyway so the regular lower should give good life.

Hot setup SCX upper - SC lower.

UD