Open Question to Mr Gadgets and Anyone else with input ...
 

hey Dick ..... When I blew an upper this spring (port) I replaced the upper with a new one and Also went ahead and replaced the whole Starboard Side Drive ... So the port is new upper and old (pre 90) lower and Starboard is all new DWP dive. My question is... the starboard motor has water pressure issues now ....not severe but at WOT over 30 lbs ....That drive is DWP ...the old lower is just side water pu ..... and no WP issues ... What do you think about going to Side water PU on both drives? I have found 2 lowers with side water PU and also maybe a buyer for my new DWP lower .... wada ya think? I am thinking if i dont need the LWP (my drives are deep) I could be adding drag with the DWP drive? Hope your back is well .... By the way ...I had heart Valve Repair surgery in Sept ...missed 8 weeks of work and it was a tough haul ...but getting better now every day .....Thanks for any thoughts ..... mike ...

Mike,
the easiest way to fix this is plug the dwp front holes.. Or add nose cones to both and you will be good. No need to swap a whole lower, unless you want to replace the old lower.
I would keep the DWP (starboard) lower and put a nose cone on both. Although cheaper to just plug them. That should end your water psi problems..

Back is doing fine.. first surgery BCBS wont pay for.. Been arguring with them for over a year. They said no pre-auth needed.. then bang.. I owe the whole bill.
But the back is fine since the second surgery and all it well.
Sorry to hear you needed heart work.. but glad to hear you are coming along. Dont rush things, you will get better as it goes!! It took me almost a year to get to somewhat normal!!

Dick

Thanks Dick ....I thought about the nose cone's ...But seems I read where they did not help the 311's much ....not sure though ...... will have to be the perfect storm also .. I have the old lower sold and a possible buyer for the new lower ...then buy the other lowers before they are gone ....All during this time of year (xmas) .....thanks ....m

Merc makes a water pressure relief valve kit that keeps pressure around 20-25psi pn#863208a3

Like Mr G said, just plug the lower holes or at least a couple of them. Tap the holes and install brass pipe plugs or maybe even some plastic plugs.

Offthefront. If I were you I would keep both pre 1990 lowers. Have the one that was on the upper that blew flushed out internally. If you are lucky, there should be no damage so it should be inexpensive or even free if you know how to dissasseble a lower yourself.

Add nosecones to both lowers to improve the cases efficiency. For About $250 you should have two good lowers with side pickups. Then sell your dwp lower, sell me just the uppers and keep your $1,600 for 2 new lowers. You should be ahead 2.5k and be in the same place as if you bought the 2lowers.

The only thing you might need to do is block off the oil transfer hole in the one new upper. But you needed to do this to the side you run the new upper and pre 1990 lower on anyways, so just do that again.

BT

Those kits are 285 at mp.com ...plus the plumbing and thru hulls ect ....I am running one now on the DWP side ...Also where we run sometimes its not real deep wth silt bottom and I worry about picking up trash .... on the good side DWP would be harder to get blocked off with a piece of plastic ect ....m

I have found a good deal on 2 2003 B1 lowers with side water PU's .... I am going to run those and sell the pre 90 lower and also the new DWP lower ...These new lowers shoul have the lower front oil hole ... right? I think so ....

Griff .... I like that idea too ..only thing I am thinking that with the LWP you get more drag ...even with some of the holes plugged holes ....every little bit helps ....m

[QUOTE=offthefront;3006786] These new lowers shoul have the lower front oil hole ... right? I think so ....

Yes they will.

Mike,
you wont have any trouble with the oil holes on the new ones. I think that was very early 90's that you would have to worry about it.. If you have any questions I can take pics to show u.. If need be. When you do mix and match the old ones you need to drill a hole to compensate for it. But mid 90's to present will match up, no problem.

Dick

What hole needs to be drilled Mr G? I've been running a mosh bosh of uppers/lowers with varying oil hole configs. All I have been doing is plugging the oil hole in either the upper or lower, which ever didn't have a mate. Is there an additional step I should be taking?

I was told the the front oil hole was an attempt by Mercruiser to solve some Drive Failures on higher HP setups and it didn't really help.....So plugging the upper on a newer drive and using the "pre 90" lower is ok .... As MG stated ... :)

We will see you next week right offthefront? Let me know the location where we meet up.

Dave

10-4 ...... I10 and 301 prob .... we'll set it up ....m

BT, if you look at an old upper case that doesnt have the oil transfer passage, you can see that there is a hole drilled in the front part of the cavity where the vertical shaft goes into the upper. I have drilled that hole, because that was the way it was done before the hole in the lower was designed.
The theory is that the lower gears act as an oil pump and push oil up to the pinion bearings and it flows over the pinion gear teeth. If you run a bravo with the back cap off, you can see it happening.
Without a hole in the lower, that cavity that supplies oil to the pinion bearings is closed off.. But I am not sure how the added hole affects this process. Just know they had it on the uppers for years before they changed it.
Dick

I think I get it Dick. If you run a newer upper having the tranfer hole, with a lower with no hole, you have to plug the upper transfer hole automatically. So to get the oil rotating (convecting) into the upper part of the upper you need to cross drill into the oil galley. I'll check that out, thanks for the info.

Dave

Yeah, that's it, the hole is on the front side of that cavity that the vertical shaft goes up into the upper ( not sure how to describe that tunnel ) and it is drilled on an angle, if I remember correctly.. a 3/8" hole, but I would have to verify that.. Been a while..