What's my drive?
 

According to my drive serial number looked up on mercury parts express it is a "Performance Drive". It is a 2000 model Bravo 1 and it has a sticker that says "Performance" on it. is this infact an early XR? If so, anyone know what the HP rating was on the earlier models?

Re: What's my drive?
 

I'm sure its the standard Bravo, but some of the newer ones are a liitle better than the older ones. All the X, XZ, and XR drives are stickered accordingly.

X's have a stronger upper
XZ's have helical cut gears the same size as XR's
XR's have square cut gears

XZ & XR's use the same lower and have a 1 1/4" propshaft.

I think that the regular Bravo's started using a larger propshaft in the last couple years also.

Re: What's my drive?
 

What's the serial? Is it a low water pickup?

See below for some info:
http://go-fast.com/mercruiser_bravo_sterndrives.htm

Re: What's my drive?
 

Correction--looks like its a 1 1/4" vertical shaft, not propshaft.

Re: What's my drive?
 

Jayhawk,
What does the serial number start with?? If it is before OM as I suspect then you have a standard Bravo 1 with thin floored gears and nothing special. If it starts with OM then the newer X gears are involved, but you more than likely have a aluminum tower. First weak point is the floor of the gears. If you do a gear kit upgrade the next weak point is the tower, in my opinion. After that the lower shafts are next.. What size boat and power are you running.

The rating on your drive would fall into the low end of the scale, but depending on driver capabilities.. and proper set up it can live. If you are planning on upping your power I would suggest a gear upgrade and a steel tower and new cap. I have done this for others and it makes a decent drive. If you are going to big power then you can upgrade to XR gears. If you fly the boat, then the lower needs to be addressed.. XR propshaft and Imco vertical shafts have been working for my customers..

Hope this helps.. If you would like more info.. feel free to call or pm me.

Dick

Re: What's my drive?
 

Checking out old threads for info I have the same Bravo Performance drive it has low water pickups (on torpeto) and it seems beefyer than most Bravos I have seen.I was told by someone these drives were tougher/Beefyer. Is what I was told correct ???? I think I'll ck but I think ser#starts w/OL18**** Its set up w/Merc 525sc factory.

Re: What's my drive?
 

Hey Creeper, thanks for bringing this thread back up. I forgot to post my serial numbers to know what it is for sure. They are:

Drive - Serial: OL749013
Model: 5C31200LS

Anybody know from that? As Griff said, it is probably just a standard bravo 1, but I'd just like to know for sure. I am not planning anything at the moment power wise as she's runnin 72 gps right now. I'm still learning to drive her. My mods this year will be to complete the hydraulic steering and have the prop tweaked a little.

Thanks for the help guys!

Re: What's my drive?
 

jayhawk what boat and motor are you running.

Re: What's my drive?
 

jayhawk,
The OL drive has the thin floored gears in them, just a regular Bravo. If it says Performance on it, it may have Diesel gears in it. At one point the Bravo was offered behind a diesel motor. They did some slight upgrades to the drive. I think the gears were slightly better, but not up to the X gears standards. Then merc offered the diesel gears in the standard Bravo and called it Hi Perf.. It may have a larger lower vertical shaft, but I am not sure.
Basically, you have a standard Bravo outdrive. There are several routes to go with upgrades, depending on what your intentions for the future are.

Hope this helps.

Dick

Re: What's my drive?
 

Mr Gadets then whats up with the water pickup ,there not standard,and why in the rack next to a standard bravo 1 mine looks to be beefy from top cap to lower?????

Re: What's my drive?
 

I've got a 2000 24' Stepbottom Superboat with a 454 Mag mpi that has a set of CMI elbow top headers. With that small of a boat, I don't think I am puttin gtoo much stress on my drive. Unfortunately boating at Lake of the Ozarks and Grand Lake, you can't help but get air. That could be the downfall of it in the future. I don't have any problems with it at all right now though. (fingers crossed) :D

Re: What's my drive?
 

Thanks for the info. The drive does indeed say "PERFORMANCE" on it. I'm not sure if it means anything or is the drive you are talking about. As I said, right now I'm not looking to add a bunch of power, so I think I'm ok. It is a 24 Superboat, so it isn't a real heavy boat by any means. I'm not putting much stress on the drive in it's current configuration. As I said in my orevious post, my biggest concern is airing it out. Driving at LOTO in a small boat, you can't help but get air due to the cruiser wakes!

Re: What's my drive?
 

Performance meant that it had a low water pickup. the gears are standard.

Re: What's my drive?
 

Well fellas I just went straight to te source Merc. Spoke to Rocky he said that the Bravo Performance drive starting w/ser#OL is a heaver drive from the gears to casting and at gimbal area(its nothing like a standard Bravo) . Also the lower pickups was a option. Could be ordered either way depending on app.

Re: What's my drive?
 

I appoligize Creeper.. I was refering to the internals not the case itself. I have noticed differences in castings, but never have noticed a beefier case. Guess I need to be more attentive in that area. I do see some thinner areas in the very old cases when installing steel towers, but I was under the impression that the outside case was dimensionally the same. I normally dont recommend upgrading (for big power) the very old cases. I generally use a new style case, but then again, I am running a 95 case with steel tower and XR gears on my 28' Check, but not that much power, I may be making 700hp.
So I stand corrected, thank you!

Jayhawk,
With your combination, you shouldnt have a problem. If you are good on the throttle so you can enter the water with same torque as you exit, it should be fine. If you see the prop shaft splines twisting, you will know you need more practice on the throttle. Of course all of this is dependant on the condition and setup of the drive itself. If you try hard enough, you can break anything.
Typically the Bravo with thin floor gears will break a floor in the gear first, if enough power is available. But you can twist vertical and propshafts with the air game as you describe. Just work on your exit and reentry and you should be fine. Keep an eye out for metal on the magnet and change the oil often, add a drive shower to keep it cool..

Dick

Re: What's my drive?
 

Also without getting into it indepth, I asked him in exact words is it like an X drive and he said yes. And now I really don't know much about the X drives so.

Re: What's my drive?
 

As far as launch/re-entry, I think I do ok on the sticks. I spent many years racing PWC and in that time I did alot of wave jumping. With that, I learned by feel on when to close and open the throttle. So far, it seems like I'm doing ok. Afterall, this is just a bigger jet ski is all! :D

Re: What's my drive?
 

Hi .. That Was Very Informative Everyone. I Have A 1990 242ls 454 With A Performance Drive Also . Iv'e Been Told That It Has A Release, In Case You Hit An Object !! Then Returns Back To Its Same Trim ??? I Think On The Side Of The Trim Rams It Says [ Dp Or Hp ] I Cant Remember, It's Put Away For Winter :(

Re: What's my drive?
 

MY DRIVE SN# [ O L 435790 1.50R ] WITH A MIRAGE 21P PROP ... MAYBE SOMEONE CAN TELL ME WHAT SET UP I HAVE ? THANKS :cool:

Re: What's my drive?
 

Gadgets, you are correct. Same casting, same thin floor, but the diesel gears were double shot peened. Only difference between the diesel & "HP" upper is the decal. The HP lower has the old style vertical shaft, but is low water pickup.

Anybody who want's to can compare parts here:
http://www.mercruiserparts.com/selec...+++1996%2D1998

Re: What's my drive?
 

Thank you Marc!! That was it, I remember now.. double shot peened gears. I knew it was a bandaid approach. Not sure if it helped with strength or not.
The new gears are so much better, it seems a mute point to remember the improvements they tried years ago.

Again, thanks Marc for the info!

Don, I believe they are referring to the PSI relief valve in the trim pump. It will release, if you hit something, but it will still do damage to your lower if you are going fast enough. I have never relied on that feature, but it has been in most setups since the early 60's.

Dick

Re: What's my drive?
 

Ok Thanks Mr. Gadgets

Re: What's my drive?
 

So, Mbam/Gadgets is the Bravo Performance drive a better drive than a standard Bravo? Is it indeed the begining X drive. And or was I miss informed by Merc. And why does my drive look diffrent.I am getting real confused........and you say it has old style vert shaft,but low water pickups and Merc told me that lower was a option,You are saying Hp drive is low water??? see what I am saying..or is it a morfadite drive...

Re: What's my drive?
 

Marginally better if at all. Only you can tell for sure if your drive has the low water pickups or not, but I think it does.

Re: What's my drive?
 

Mbam, prev. I decribed my set up and yes it has low water.And are you saying I was miss informed from Merc???

Re: What's my drive?
 

creeper,
Could they have meant that the HP was precurser to the X. I think at that point they relized there was a problem with the gears and with sufficient power the floor of the gear would break out. The double shot peening may have been a step they tried before they came out with the X style gears.
So in retrospect. The HP drive is not much of an improvment over a standard Bravo, compared to an X drive or the XR/XZ drives.
Now about your case looking different? I am not sure what you are referring to. Most of them look the same to me, maybe I am missing something. I have several upper cases lined up in my shop now.. Could you describe what you mean and maybe I can set an old case next to an new one and see what you are talking about.. Then we could go for pics.. that would help a great deal.

Dick

Re: What's my drive?
 

My 2005 Bravo 1 serial number starts with OW. Is this any better than the standard Bravo 1 ? I'm running 570 Hp approx 545 propshaft HP. Drained my outdrive lube today and it looked good . Still green. No shavings. Its a DWP and I run a shower. Am I going to need to upgrade my drive? Usually easy out of the hole, but occasional throttled air on Lake Michigan. Boat is a 2005 Velocity 260.

Re: What's my drive?
 

Revd,
That drive has the good gears in it. I am not sure if it is the X or XZ drive, but it has the thick floored X gears in it. Unless you head towards a blower motor and 800hp + you should be ok.. I have a customer that can eat gears with 850hp in a 260 Velocity, so we upgraded him to XR gears and no problems since. I really think you will be ok!! My theory is to stay with the X style gears unless you have enough power to break the teeth off, then XR gears are a the next step.

Hope this helps.
Dick