HELP!!! Bravo Drives...
 

I purchased a 96 Donzi 27ZX 500hrs on the engine and drive... well maintained. Boatig today and heard loud "Clunk" drive is stuck idling shift lever position is no longer "linked" to forward or reverse or rather position has no effect on drive being stuck plus very loud clanking sound coming from drive.... Think I blew it up... It is a Bravo 3 May have hit something may have been the hrs.... boat is in slip will pickup tomorrow...

With that being said I have been wanting to get a nicer motor or supercharge the 502 I have but wonder about the limitations of the Bravo 3... I would be happy with about 750HP. I have been told to upgrade to an XR... what do any of you think??? Fix the bravo 3 or upgrade?? Who can rebuild the B3 inexpensively if I can take it off and put it on? the props spin normally so I think it may be the upper??? Still early in the diagnostic part ;-) Will te XR fit in place of the B3??

Mercrusier says the XR is rated for 575hp is this an understatement... sorry for all the questions. I am truly a noob... all help is greatly appreciated. Keep in mind the goal IS about 750hp eventually.

In my opinion, if the damage to you B3 is not too severe, just fix it and get some seat time with the lower HP levels. If you truly are new at this, it would be extremely dangerous to make that much power in that size boat. Also, keep in mind that its not just about stuffing a more powerful engine in the bilge. You need many things to go with it. First and most important... hydraulic steering and an hp gimbal. Then good tabs, HP mounts, a good fuel system, a good oiling system, etc... the list is endless.
In answer to your question.. Although I would not recommend it,with 750 hp, your B3 can live for a while, if you treat it well. But, it would be better to just get an XR or an Imco SC. Drive life relies hugely on who and how it is set up. So, just by having an XR doesnt mean it isbullet proof.

Well I did hit a stump or floating log by the looks of the props and lower unit. Have brown streaks all over bent props... insurance should cover it. Kiekhaefer trim tabs. Wanted to upgrade the steering if I replaced the drive... hmmm. Lots to think about. I suppose I will figure it out when I look at the repair bill. 57mph is the best it'll do now...It just doesn't seem fast enough when I have the feeling to open it up.

Thanks for the info...

Do you want to boat or wrench??? I thought I wanted all that power also. Now I replace drives every other weekend. Be careful what you wish for.

Well thats why its important to me to select the correct drive early on...I don't mind greasing it up the first time around and doing it up right but every few months or less would suck. Looking to make high power with reliability.

I don't think there is such a thing! Is there?

If you want a fast boat, buy a fast boat.......period!!!!

And remember, pick two of the following three:

1. Fast
2. Cheap
3. Reliable

You only get two choices, so choose wisely.

Expensive hobby for sure... steep learning(spending) curve for the high HP upgrades. But hell I'm 29 I figure I can take it one step at a time. I have spoken with ppl who are reliably running xr's with drive showers and procharged 502's making ~750hp what do you guys think? afterall
I am only going on others advice...

One,
The XR upper gears are having a problem with teeth snapping off the driven gear, so unless you get a good gear set... It used to be you could run 750hp and take it easy. Now a days it is a crap shoot. If you want power and reliablity.. try the Imco SCX drive. But it is more money.. You get what you pay for.
The B3 is limited to speed by the design of the bullet. It was designed to get a boat on plane quick and easy. Speed is not in the equation.
One step at a time, sometimes costs more.. Unless you have a plan with an end goal. Of course, it helps to have someone else that has gone your route and proved your plan.

Dick

Dick,

Thanks for the advise. I have seen your name referenced here many times in other posts during this quest for knowledge. It was referenced that you rebuild drives (sometimes with a micrometer), very impressive. To be honest I would like to get into a nicer drive, used or rebuilt, that could handle more power. The 502 has such potential. 750 is what the procharger ppl claim to make with it stock. I would supercharge after a proper rebuild. So maybe closer to winter as I don't want to be out of the water that long. I will probably rebuild it myself as I enjoy taking my time and saving the $. Never messed with outdrives though. The term "craps shoot" bothers me as I would rather get reliability for a little bit more and as I had read the XR was a good drive. I have been finding them reasonably priced. Insurance will be paying for this one so maybe I'll chip in a little and get something nicer if I do the work myself. I suppose I will know more when the numbers come out. I am however stuck with the fundamental question of weather or not to enter the rabbit hole... as I am beginning to understand that this one is rather expensive to navigate.

If I choose to:
Will I need a HP transom @650-750hp or not? I know I may have to replace a bearing to make the stock B3 one work... easier that a new one (and about 2$k less).

I will upgrade steering when I do the engine and I have K planes now.

Thanks to everyone helping out...I am young and very new at this. All input is appreciated!!

(Edited to ask what you have done to that checkmate)

There is a kit available to upgrade a regular transom assy to the HP.. new helmet and gimbal.. Also pieces available from Imco that are even more Heavy Duty. But Merc lowered the prices on the HP transom assy and they were going pretty cheap this last spring.

I am in the process (between drive work) of building a 572" Procharged motor so I can tax my drive and see what will or will not live. The drive I have now I built around 2000 and it has old XR gears in it (meaning they weren't built in the last 2-3yrs) and I have 300+ hours on the upper gear set with approximately 700-750hp NA. I expect the gears to die soon. But they live on because I have no motor in the boat at present. I have a new drive ready to go on the boat as soon as I see metal on the magets or the new motor kills this drive. I am curious to see how long a new set lives compared to my well used set. I should be able to make enough power to break what ever I put back there. If I find I cant get the XR gears to live, I will go to the SCX, which has larger gears.. They have not had any gear failures todate with the SCX. That was when I talked to them last week or so. Every day I hear more about teeth falling off the XR gears. They break right at the root of the tooth.. where as in previous years they would flake and then break. Now no flaking.. just breaking.

Glad to help you out.. the more you know before you spend the better the spend will be!!

Dick

300 hrs on an xr with the power i am looking for ... I would be happy with that. I found an old post for an scx selling used for $7500 but supposedly you needed a new transom??? or thats what they said... will it work on the b3 transom?? What do those conversion kits cost for the HP transom? Found the entire thing on ebay for $2K bu don't want to do it until I pull the motor down the road? Or can I use the same back plate from the B3? Same holes if I do the switch? Thanks

Edited to ask if speedmasters would bolt up (may be a stupid question) Found several used... thinking no but had to ask...