IMCO SCX Problem
 

Anybody with the SCX's have this problem? Bought two SCX's and installed. Two problems with one of the drives, first the problem drive shifts a lot harder than the other. This is livable but a pain. Now the real problem. I have had a mystery oil loss with this drive also. I replace o-rings and still have an oil loss. Found it yesterday will my boat was sitting in the garage. Oil is leaking out of the lower case. It's leaking through pin hole pores in the casting. Since the oil is Torco, it was hard to see until the lights in the garage hit it at an angle as i walked past. Tomorrow i'll see what IMCO has to say.

If its a casting issue or a lower unit issue...call Craig Wilson @ Wilson Performance Marine in FLA. We just got our lowers back from him, they blueprinted lowers....tremendous improvement in speed and handling over stock. The guys @ Wilson are top notch...and very professional.

Thanks, i'll give them a call

Did you replace your old shift cables? Might be the shifting issue? Mine both shift well with 40" props.

Are you running sc lowers or scx lowers on your scx uppers? If they were new from Imco I would hold them accountable vs calling a third party in Fla. I remember the early B-max drives having porosity problems too, I am sure these housings are probably cast in Mexico or something . These things happen, Smitty

my levels have dropped slowly also , havent seen visably leaking ?

Installed new shift cables. I even switched the drives around and still one shifts hard. Dave at IMCO said they have had problems with shifting

SCX lowers.

Getting ready to fill mine for the first time. Maybe I should do it now and see if it weeps.

Crap! I was just reading yesterday about someone having a shifting problem with the SCX and it turned out to be an internal rubber spacer? They cut it in half on advice from Imco and problem solved? I wish I could have more details and can't seem to find the thread but I'll keep looking for it.

Hey Mr Gadgets, I hear your the man to talk to on a great deal for the SCX's? What's the best way to contact you regarding a possible purchase of 2 uppers and bells?

Respectfully disagree. Call Wilson...spend a few bucks...get it fixed..and get more speed. IMCO will do nothing and provide you with no advise as to how to improve Hydrodynamic drag of the anvil lower that is the SCX...we had one of the first sets off the shelf and could not be happier with the end result.

SCX problems
 

Talked to Dave at IMCO. He said castings are sand casted which then any voids or defects are welded at finish. Sounds like i had a finish weld that didn't take. Told him to send me a crate, it's coming back. Also told him to look at the shifting problems. I'll keep you posted.

how much does wilsion charge to reshape the housing?

email.. me.. wrenching madly to try and make Hot Boat weekend this Sat.

Approx 4k for a pair...but this depends on extent of work etc. They are pretty quick on turnaround too. Guys have been doing this for 30 yrs...and have done almost all the lowers on every record setting/bad azz boat you can think of.

TRL505, Thanks for the nice comments.
We have all our info background on our website: www.wilsoncustommarine.com
We do a lot of work to your lowers, its not just a case of sharpening and shining. We spend a lot of time " trueing" your lowers and makig sure they are straight and then we go to town on making them hydrodynamic!
The results do vary, but the difference on every boat we have ever done is considerable.
Call me at anytime and we can go over all the info for you.
Like TRL505 said, we have worked on lowers for about every fast cat and V bottom there is out there.

B/R
Craig D. Wilson

Its from my buddy, 29scarab10

I finally got mine on the water a few weeks back. It shifts cleanly and no leaks. I was only able to get 7hrs on the clock and no WOT. So far I am happy with the SCX!! :)

I noticed that my level drops too. Maybe 1/2 quart in 10 hours? The res goes from full to just below min.

There seems to be a lot of controversy over how this drive is to be filled. It's my understanding is it's to be filled to the vent hole only and the reservoir is strickly for expansion.
It's not to be filled like a Bravo where you pump it up past the vent hole and try to maintain oil in the reservoir. I had problems with mine losing oil also and discovered it was coming out past the front pinion seal. Dave @ Imco told me to follow the instructions and fill it to the vent hole and leave it alone. Since doing that, I have had no problems.
Anybody else have comments on how they are filling their's, I would appreciate your input.

i fill to the vent hole fill the resivor to the max mark after a couple hours it will settle down and when it cools fill resivor back to max mark it works for me

That's correct.. Casting process was improved by the Bravoshop's new owner.:drink:

Intersting, BMax had the same issue a long time ago when they first came out. Ron Bender did a lot of R&D to fix it.:party-smiley-004:


Interesting concept....same as the Bmax....:grinser010:

The whole drive is an interesting concept... almost the same concept as a bmax. ;)

That's the method I was using at first but after running the boat hard, the oil in the bottle settled into filling the top of the drive completely hydrolocking the drive and pushing the oil out the pinion seal.
My boat is a 38' Fountain so extended WOT is not uncommon.

As you may have seen in the other thread I started, I am running an SCX upper and SC lower. Ran it for 2 seasons by filling the drive fluid to half way up the bottle. Never had a problem. Are you guys saying that with a complete SCX ( which I will be running next season ) you should only fill the drive to the upper sight plug, leaving the bottle empty? :eek: I dont like the sounds of that.

So how do you know if it goes down.. Do you put some lube in the reservoir so you can see it go down if you are losing some? Or do you pull the top vent to check it all the time?

I filled mine up to the vent hole and installed it and then continued till I got a little in the reservoir and then topped off the reserviour to the max line. It has stayed there since then. I only have a few hours on it, and not any WOT.. Just blasts up and down the rpm scale while breaking everything in. Wont know more till the water gets soft again in the spring, more than likely, then I can get out and run it harder, if I can hang on to it.. :) The boat and I like the new motor!!!

Dick

Ditto have seen there work and results are outstanding :drink::drink::drink:

You are over filling your drive, & will damage pinion seal.it must have expanion room in top of drive. Per DAVE @ IMCO Please read manual

Not sure if the SCX needs this done but when running a BMax you remove the check valve from the helmet... It allows the oil to leave and return to the drive easier.

If the SCX is an expansion tank just like the BMax you can find out easily by opening the hatch and stickin your head inside as soon as you come off plane. The fluid level will be higher than when you started. ;)

The BMax will rise a good 2-3" in the expansion tank and then settle back down after idling for a few minutes. The reason the oil rises is because the gearset is much bigger than a Bravo (5 inches) and needs to expand when it gets airated.

The SCX helmet comes with a check valve. & you are right the big gears need room,

I also have new scx with sc lowers with aprox., 8 hrs on them,behind aprox., 750 hp. My oil level went down a bit and called imco, talked to Dave and he told me just have air in them and will work it's way out.
I added a little oil to both and they are down again.
Changing oil now and wait till spring to try again
All my run's have been high speed trying to dial it in.
I am talking not much oil, but still.
I would like to hook my alarms back up, has anyone done this, haven't looked that far ahead yet, dialing in and boat new to me.
Thanks Joe

Ok. so what way does the check valve in the helmet allow oil to flow, into the drive or out? A standard Merc helmet has a check valve that shut off flow when the drive is removed. But when it is installed it will flow in each direction.
With a bravo, if you fill to vent hole then replace plug it does keep and air space above the vent hole, no place for the air to go. Just gets compressed and pushes the lube up into the bottle untill the psi is equalized. But air space stays.
With a check valve it would seem to flow in one direction and not return to the drive. Or the other way the fluid in the bottle will flow into the drive when it is needed, but the air space should stay put..
So Racinfever, do you run with the bottle empty? I am looking in the manual and all it says is to fill to top vent hole.. nothing about reservoir. If you do, how do you know that the drive has not lost lube??
The added Warning Sheet with the manual recommends Imco 01-7135 reservoir and that is what I am using. It has a check valve on top to keep the bottle presurized and allow oil to flow back into the drive when needed.
So I am confused about the function of this setup.. I want to make sure I fully understand it before I cause any problems.
Please tell me how the check valve in the helmet operates. I am open to learning.. been learning something new everyday for a lot of years. :)

Thanks!
Dick

I think there is just a large air space that gets burped for the lack of a better term after running a significant amount of time. My reservoir dropped about one third of a quart I refilled some oil in the reservoir and it has not lost volume since. By the way it does not seem like I ever get any expansion in the tank. Must be running cool.

I know what you mean about learning something new everyday. When I first installed the drive, I filled it like you did and had problems with pushing oil out of the front pinion seal. After talking to Dave @ Imco he said to only fill it to the vent hole and put 1" of oil in the reservoir. After running for a few minutes the 1" of oil will disappear so to answer your question, Yes I am running the bottle empty. So with this being the case, there is no real way to know if the drive is losing oil. This method is similiar to the old 4, 5, & 6 Speedmasters. As far as the check valve, it's the same one used in the Bravo helmet which allows oil to move in both directions until the drive is removed and probably acts as a restrictor for expansion and contraction. I'm sure a lot of guys assumed you fill them like a Bravo but the manual clearly states not to. Other than this, I am very happy with my SCX/SC combo.

I have been running my drive hard with high HP 1000 with no issues. I fill my drive up 5 Qt even it puts the level about half way in the reserve tank. After running a few min after an oil change it drop down about to about a 1/4 It raises up about to about 3/4 on hard runs but returns to the 1/4. But I do not have a check valve in my reserve tank to let it flow freely. No leaks here.

Racin,
when did you get yours? My manual does not clearly state this info. I bought mine in Aug of 2010. You may have an updated manual, and I dont. I will check into it..

When you run hard do you see any fluid in the bottle?

Thanks!
Dick

My 03/11 manual says.

....

Here's where I see the confusion may be. It does say to have a 1-1/2 qt. capacity reservoir but it doesn't say to fill it up. It also says it must have a check valve. And to answer your question, yes mine does expand into the reservoir when I run hard.

That's what I'm hoping

Just talked to Fred at Imco, he said to fill it to the vent plug. Then add to the reservoir to the Max line. That will leave the air space intact..
Next spring I will keep an eye on it.. and see what happens.