Bravo Drive oil cooler-Drew Marine Cool Swirl
 

Was wondering if anyone has experience with this or a different brand of system similar to this. Website stated that it lowers oil temps by 100 degrees.Just wondering if it is worth it and if it makes a difference in drive life. I have to think that it would. By the way, I called the number on the drew Marine website and the person answered the phone Washington State Attorney General's Office.:cool-smiley-011: I wasn't quite sure what to say:whistle:

You can fab up a system with a Tilton electric oil pump, remote oil filter/bracket and some steel braided AN tubing. Its easy...

Done it, been there.

The positives:
Yes, it drops oil temperature by a lot. Not 100 degrees but maybe up to 60 degrees. 40 was a typical drop when beating on it..
The oil filters circulating the oil no doubt gets rid of debris/shavings
If you have the Mr Gadgets oiling locations it will inject the oil right onto the pinion and bearing area which is good.

The negatives:
Changing the oil in drives takes a good bit longer and requires 2+ more quarts to fully re-prime the system. This takes time cause the filters are back somewhere on the transom and arent particularly easy to get to.
If you have spare drives, they all need to be drilled with added fittings. Drilling for the fittings requires total drive disassembly.
If you still blow a drive it will require a shop to add fittings to your new drive - kind of a pain in the azz.
More chit hanging off your transom - not a big deal but maybe for some it is...
At the end of the day if you get 80+ hours out of an XR you are lucky. I still think you will have pitting even with a cooler. If you are wasting them every 40 hours... It will buy you time but for me it just prolonged the inevitable.

What I finally came to was what we just mentioned in another thread:
1. Big top cap like Max Machine or similar with 7/16 studs. More torque and more rigidity
2. Use Amsoil or similar 75-110 or 75-140 (this by the way dropped temps almost as much as the cooler)
3. Keep your eye out for used XR or X drives. Even at 2:1 it takes more to go thru two $3500 drives versus one $8000 drive.


XR's are pigs.

Thanks for the reply. Just bought a 43 Scarab AVS with 500efi's and bravos. I know this is not the ideal setup and am looking for ways to prolong their service life. How about drive showers? Do they work and which one is the best?

I think that I've heard that going to a transom pickup (that's a different argument) and plumbing the drive pickup as a drive shower has great results.

I have an extra Teague billit cap in real nice condition if you're interested.

$175 shipped to the 48

http://teaguecustommarine.com/em0011...t-top-cap.html

Does the Teague cap use the larger studs or the standard ones?

I've also been intrigued by these coolers. NOT to be confused with a shower which I'm not sold on. Is it possible that this cooler could keep the lube too cool and too thick, putting strain on the parts? Is temperature really what kills the drives and causes gear pitting? I mean this oil is made to operate at high temperature. Could it just be the inherent strain of running so much torque through two small gear sets? Has anyone checked into the cost? Oh, and why would they answer the phone like that?? :eek:

http://drewmarine.com/products/cools...swirlpics.html

edit: Looking at the pics it looks like you only need to remove the top cap and rear upper cover, not disassemble the complete upper.

My lower gear set pitted after 3 seasons and it runs submerged in water.

7/16"

I'll try to grab some pics.

Mr. Gadgets set up has oiling return line in a different location. I dont know if it is due to my steering top plate or he prefers it somewhere else. Either way, a lot of people have a Latham steering plate on top of the drive and that will change things for some people.

How is this done?