2001 Lightning - 42' - factory 575s - What drive options would Fountain have put on these? XR's only? B1's possibly? Just curious...

Either. XR's were an upgrade in 01

It is my understanding that in 2001 it was a very popular option to go with Alpha drives or Volvo Penta Duoprops. They offered this with the 575sci platform as well as the 1100sci platform as well. I would think that if you could do an OMC Cobra swap then you would have a solid setup.

I also know for a fact that people have sprayed a 300 dry shot at the 575sci with stock internals with great success. I urge you to do the same.

I was mainly just worried that I would lose my 90 degree trim option I have with my current set up?

My 2002 47 had XZ's on it I wondered why it didn't have XR's. What year did XR's come out?

I have an '02. They both had XR stickers on them. The one that broke had XZ gears in it. The other had XR gears. The weird part was that the drive with XZ gears in it was one consecutive serial number higher than the drive with XR gears. Of course I called Merc. They said that's just the way it is...."tough luck", so to speak.
Based on that I'll "assume" lol you'll have XZ gears. Pull the back cover and look.
On another thought. This is what I do every time I drain the drive. A visual inspection of the gears is better than judging by what's on the magnet.

??? I'm lost here. Alpha... Volvo....??? Never seen either on these boats. Who would put an Alpha on these boats, never mind in front of a 575SCI? The B1 has a hard enough time as it is.

He is a little "off" Not having a boat in 3 years is getting to his head..

On a side note, I ran the serials - both came up as XR's (1.50s). I have not had the chance to pop the cover and see what cut gears are in them.

I will post once I get into them. Thanks

I too thought about paying up for that option but at the time $39 was a lot of money to me.