Old bravo 1 help
05-27-2018, 06:08 PM
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Old bravo 1 help
Here's my problem....I have a '89 Warlock World Class 28' with twin 525SC's The boat still (somehow) has the stock Bravo1s and I know the drives are on borrowed time, I drive it like a boat like this should be driven, but with respect to the fact the drives have (again SOMEHOW over 1200hrs.) on them. So, my question is, can I, when the time comes swap a pair of Bravo X's on to my original gimbal housing's? I have searched, and searched, but not found a answer to this. I do know about the oil reservoirs, that I don't have, but am unsure if I can install one, or need to replace the bell housing to make this all work.
05-28-2018, 06:16 AM
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Check to see what gimbal bearing you have. X, XR use the newer style which fits all. older X XR gimbal bearing have red dot. Look up gimbal bearing on here there have been many post about differences to fit larger u joints of X&XR
05-28-2018, 01:49 PM
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I knew about the bearings,I installed a new one last season. And the drive will bolt right on, but, since I don't have anywhere to put a drive lube bottle on my current gimbal, do I plug the fitting in the new upper, or is there another way I'm not seeing?
05-28-2018, 04:01 PM
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IMO, the boat only weights about 4500 dry, so having regular B1's behind 525's is not an issue. If it weighted 7 or 8K then there might be something to think about. Just like putting a 383 stroker on a Alpha one 18 footer. No issue there either with the boat only weighting in around 3500. Not the HP that will break/wear things its the torque
05-28-2018, 07:46 PM
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This is a very low serial number 1988 1.5 drive (one of the first Bravo 1 drives), so it had the dipstick in the top cap. You can see the stainless line comming from the top cap through the transom to the bottle inside. The bottle needs to be big as the drive is completely full of oil which helps the top bearing live. I drilled and tapped my somewhat newer 1.36 drive's cap also.
Last edited by SFOcean; 05-28-2018 at 07:50 PM.
05-28-2018, 08:02 PM
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I was looking at the kit to add the bottle externally, looks like that's the way to go. For the record I hope AllDodge is right. My last boat was a 23' World Class (Hence my screen name) with a 365hp 454 mag/Alpha drive. It lived for about 6 years, then I swapped it for a Bravo which broke after 2 hours of use. Right after I got it back running again, I found this boat, and wound up in the same spot with a overpowered drive again. Thank you for the feedback/ideas, always appreciated.
05-29-2018, 03:41 PM
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I don't think you are over powered at all...I have the same setup with warmed 525sc's and haven't had any issues - I even run 5 blades which is a "no,no". Change drive fluid every 25-30hrs and no signs of issues,
05-30-2018, 10:10 PM
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Have you rebuilt your bravo with new seals and bearings to make it last?
I'm thinking about doing that vs just changing the fluid and hoping it stays together, any recomendations?
Thanks
05-31-2018, 01:45 PM
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If your not having drive problems, I would leave it alone. Some how, my drives have never been opened up! I change the drive oil every 10-15 hours because I'm paranoid about it, this boat has had the 525's since '96, before that they were just 330's. And total the drives have around 1200 hours on them. Just be easy on the throttle out of the hole..
