I was just cruising when i heard a terrible grinding noise and then lost forward. I had to backup nine miles to the trailer. What the heck happened? I have about 150 hard hours on bravo 1 and about 550 hp.

99% chance you broke the floor out of the forward drive gear,I have done exactly what you are describing,including the backing up for 8 or 9 miles,Smitty

how many dollars. I hate spending money on things that dont help it go faster.

If your drive is a 1998 they no longer make a replacement gear for it,what merc sells is a upgrade kit with xz gears with a thicker floor,the kit also comes with most the bearings and parts needed to covert it. Expect to pay about 2000$ for the gear kit and labor to install it (assuming the tower in your upper is still good). The lower should be examined too for debris and damage,Smitty

i just pulled the drive cap and found lots of metal. ick. might be an early end to the season. Is 550 hp too much for that drive or is this fairly common? I am always hammer down every time i take off. maybe thats it

that and wave hopping are the 2 biggest Bravo killers

When I was at 550hp, I usually got around 50 hrs on a bravo 1. Upper Gear set, bearings, and race for that unit lists for $2011.00. I would recommend going to an XR or your will be visiting this scenario pretty often. All it takes is one blowout on a big wave and you will be facing the same problem again.

These boats don't steer too well in reverse (as I am sure you now know!)



BEING KOOL AIN'T CHEAP!!