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Help needed, Drive suggestions
Hello all, I am new here and I will start by saying that I am in a completely different league with drives than you guys. I have a fishing boat in the Carolinas, (dont kill me) that weighs around 10,000 LBS with a 300 HP yanmar diesel. The boat has a Bravo 3X drive that has been very good to me so far. I know you guys put a whole lot more horsepower and torque on drives than what i am, so i was hoping for some information for a replacement drive that would hopefully last me a long time. Right now my drive is still running strong but I know the inevitable is coming at some point. I guess I was thinking that if the drives that you guys are running are holding up for a period of time with the huge amount of horsepower that are being put on them, that maybe they would give me a lot longer drive life. Any suggestions will be very much appreciated. I also am not against going with a single prop versus the duo prop I have now. I really need an education on these drive and hope somebody here may be of some help.
Thank you. |
Volvo DP stuff is far superior to the Merc . Go on to their website and look at what they have. Some of their larger (and little known about) units are for bigger diesel applications in heavy boats. If that B3 has treated you well in a 10,000 lb 300hp diesel boat you're doing something well . Is yours a straight installation or is it jackshafted ?
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IMCO SCX is a direct swap. I’m not sure if you could put the B3 lower on the SCX upper. The bravo upper is the weak part. It might be possible to Frankenstein an SCX -4 upper to a normal length lower and add some spacers so you could run a large diameter prop to get some blade area like the B3 has. |
The boat has a jackshaft to the drive. The B3x drive that is on the boat now has somewhere around 1000 hrs on it with not major issues. I do have a drive shower and my cruise is around 3400 RPM. A direct replacement would be great, so I could hopefully just bolt up and go when something does happen. I can always just go back with the Bravo but I like overkill and not having to worry about things. Thank you for the input and any more is greatly appreciated as im trying to get educated.
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Originally Posted by hogie roll
(Post 4672329)
IMCO SCX is a direct swap. I’m not sure if you could put the B3 lower on the SCX upper. The bravo upper is the weak part. It might be possible to Frankenstein an SCX -4 upper to a normal length lower and add some spacers so you could run a large diameter prop to get some blade area like the B3 has. |
Originally Posted by WHITEOWL
(Post 4672330)
The boat has a jackshaft to the drive. The B3x drive that is on the boat now has somewhere around 1000 hrs on it with not major issues. I do have a drive shower and my cruise is around 3400 RPM. A direct replacement would be great, so I could hopefully just bolt up and go when something does happen. I can always just go back with the Bravo but I like overkill and not having to worry about things. Thank you for the input and any more is greatly appreciated as im trying to get educated.
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Originally Posted by GPM
(Post 4672353)
1000 hours, buy another one just like it or rebuild yours before it breaks.
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The odds of anybody on OSO having 1000 hrs on an outdrive are slim to slimmer. Just stick with what you've got.
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The boat has just over 1600 hours on it now. The previous owner replaced the drive at 600 hours and sold the boat. My world is a lot different as far as excelleration and running. I am honestly pleased with what I have but figured that I would never get this lucky again, so was hoping when I do have an issue to go with something better. Is there a better gear set to go with? And also who does the best at rebuilding these drives? |
Originally Posted by WHITEOWL
(Post 4672428)
The boat has just over 1600 hours on it now. The previous owner replaced the drive at 600 hours and sold the boat. My world is a lot different as far as excelleration and running. I am honestly pleased with what I have but figured that I would never get this lucky again, so was hoping when I do have an issue to go with something better. Is there a better gear set to go with? And also who does the best at rebuilding these drives? |
1000 hours. it has proven itself to work i that app. pull it off and have it gone thru by somebody that will stand behind their work. your maintanance and driving work obviously. i would just keep it the same.
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AADS addresses several issues with their 1-4 upgrades but the upper gear set, until someone develops a better, stronger upper gear set they will fail. you can treat XR gears all you want but they'll break.
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Thank you for the responses! I am assuming that some of you have used AADS before and have been happy. What are your opinions on the upgaded gear sets?
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Originally Posted by WHITEOWL
(Post 4672428)
The boat has just over 1600 hours on it now. The previous owner replaced the drive at 600 hours and sold the boat. My world is a lot different as far as excelleration and running. I am honestly pleased with what I have but figured that I would never get this lucky again, so was hoping when I do have an issue to go with something better. Is there a better gear set to go with? And also who does the best at rebuilding these drives? |
Originally Posted by WHITEOWL
(Post 4672330)
The boat has a jackshaft to the drive. The B3x drive that is on the boat now has somewhere around 1000 hrs on it with not major issues. I do have a drive shower and my cruise is around 3400 RPM. A direct replacement would be great, so I could hopefully just bolt up and go when something does happen. I can always just go back with the Bravo but I like overkill and not having to worry about things. Thank you for the input and any more is greatly appreciated as im trying to get educated.
We're also in NC. What kind of Drive-Shower do you have on your outdrive? |
I have a simrek shower on my B3X and am very happy with it.
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Originally Posted by Griff
(Post 4672418)
The odds of anybody on OSO having 1000 hrs on an outdrive are slim to slimmer. Just stick with what you've got.
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