My speedo hose where it connects to the back of the outdrive won't stay on. Does anyone else have this problem? There is not much slack in the hose at all and I'm wondering if when I raise my outdrive it is just popping it off. It's only connected with a small hose clamp. Can I add slack to the hose so as to not put as much tension on it?

Wow a member who actually has a working pitot style speedo. How about zip tying on. You could always put more line using an extender. Also the tube could just be stretched too wide.

You should have enough slack inside the boat to pull some through the stern for extra slack at the pick-up. Take off the bracket that holds the hose where it comes through the transom and you should be able to pull some through.

Had a working pitot style speedo.

Thanks I'll give it a try.

DOH

On both bravo and alpha drives, There's a brass fitting between the inner and outer side of the boat to connect the speedometer hose to. The hose does not run as a whole from the drive all the way up to the gauge, The brass fitting splits the hose sort of speak.

For example on the bravo see page 4B-34,
http://www.boatfix.com/merc/Servmanl/11/11b4r5x.pdf
Or page 4B-42 for the alpha,
http://www.boatfix.com/merc/Servmanl/14/14b4.pdf

If you want to go with a new hose, Then the Bravo Speedo hose (tubing) part number is 32-5495025 & the Alpha Speedo hose (tubing) part number is 32-5495053.

Normally most will just extend the hose with something like the inner metal part of a blue electrical wire butt connector in the middle of the hose so you can secure it up tite with zip wire ties for example.

Use heat shrink for the "clamp".
Heating it up causes the tubing itself to sort of mould itself around the hose barbs and the heat shrink secures the connection. Never had one of those connection fail on 100+mph pitots. Blew the bourdon tubes out of plenty of speedos, but the heatshrink connections always held.

MC