I have noise from my right Bravo outdrive, being told poss. gears in lower end. What is the best to do rebuild unit or replace with reman assy? Anyone know who knows how rebuild them in the chicago area that is reliable?

Wait 'til end of season if it doesn't let go and take both of them to George at All American Drive in Bronson, MI (google him- has a great website). Only a couple hours away and does excellent work with high performance bravo stuff. Two year warranty on much of his work. Way better than a reman unit. Lot's of shabby outdrive "mechanics" out there. Beware.

Bravos are not that complicated. Do not wait until they blow. Could be much worse then. Shogren Performance can easily rebuild your drive.

How much metal on the lower magnet? Flakes or chunks indicates the lower gear set is gone. Now metal has gone through all the tapered bearings and they need to be replaced. Upper will be contaminated by this metal and usually the pinion bearings need to be replaced. Depending on how long it was run with the metal suspended in the oil there may be other bearings that need to be replaced. I have seen them with metal throughout and upon inspection some bearings can be salavaged. Any dents in the rollers and they need to be replaced. Proper setup and lash is important. Depending on who does the remanufacture, it can be a gamble. I found a merc reman with a thrust bearing missing. It is a good thing I opened it up before it was run on the boat.
Hope that explanation helps.

Dick