Just blew a drive....hard to believe at only 500hp...
 

One of my drives let go this weekend. Looks like something in the upper section. I baby these drives just for this reason, I'm very gentle coming up on plane and am careful to throttle smoothly when the boat leaves the water, which is rare anyway. They are XZ's and I only have 500EFI's. But I know these 382's are HEAVY. I had just switched to Hydromotive P5's but had not done any real testing with them yet, just feeling them out. I have some questions for those of you who run these 382's in big water (where props leave the water alot):

- Is it common to loose drives around 250 hours?
- I understand that the 5 blades load the drives more, is it significant enough to be the cause of loosing a drive like this? I like the mid range with the 5 blades but don't want to be loosing drives...
- Is it worth the extra $ to upgrade to XR type gears in the upper section since I will have the drive apart anyway? If so, should I do the other drive or wait til it goes.
- Would drive showers help or is this not a heat related problem....just too much loading....?

One of the reasons I sold my hotrod Scarab was to avoid all these part failures, although I never broke one of my SSM V's. Thanks OSO for the advise.

Some say the 5 blades load the drive more, some say it is better balanced and better for the drive. I believe the extra blade gets a much better bite on the water which gives you better mid-range with less slip. My problem with that is sometimes you NEED the drive to slip some and it can't. My 382 came with XZ and the original owner put 8 PSI Prochargers on the boat before he took delivery. Supposedly they didn't last very long and XR's were put on soon after.
I hear that XR's will rob the motor of up to 30 HP. If your not planning on upgrading power I'd probably put XZ pars back in it. (assuming the case is un-damaged).

Good Luck

drive showers are a must-have
no, not common it seems Bravos life-span is more often than not a result of it's life-style, and of course HP.
the great majority of them live a long time with good sense and good maintenence up to about 600HP.
did you buy the boat used? do you know what kind of life and maintenence it (the drive) had previously?

I lost a drive on the 2001 500's, XR's and under 75 hours on it-Bearing gave out at 70 MPH. It was ugly. I bought it used and prior owner had no paperwork on service.

I would say 250 hrs on an XZ is alot especially for a heavy performance boat.

I think the 5-blade prop (added bite) increased the stress on the drive, which MAY have been weak due to its age.

Sorry to hear of your issues and hope you can get back on the water quickly!

Skip the crap and put the arnesons on it.

This guy did and he has your exact boat.

copy and past whole thing

http://www.arneson-industries.com/pr...asd6kit/TA-382[1].jpg

According to speedmaster inc in florida the XZ drive is better,he gets XR drives in all the time.Someone posted a thread on the differences between the 2 drives helical cut versus straight cut teeth on them do a search.I have a 382 with 500 efi's still running 4 blades 28 inch.How did your 5 blades work?

pic

With the 5's Bring it to 3000 and the hook up is nice.
I have some lab 29 hydros that tend to chatter and need more finesse which taxes the uppers, I Think age and hours play a role there.