Got screwed on a boat ..Need help
 

Bought an 89 marlin 26 offshore boat with 454 and bravo one . First two minutes on lake would not shift into forward. Pulled outdrive , something is jacked up in outdrive . They are 2500 to rebuild and 3000 for refurb.

question could I bolt a bravo 3 upper on the bravo one lower and it work ? I know they are different ratios … if they bolt up how would it affect my performance

Joys of buying a used boat unfortunately...

What model is the Marlin, Ceaero? Do you have a pic? There was very few made, wondering which one it is. Where are you located?

Yes will mate. Figure out what teeth gears you have to figure out the ratio. That will determine performance as well as what prop you’ll want.

I found a whole bravo one upper and lower for 1000 I think I’m going to just buy it . But it’s a gamble too the guy doesn’t know anything about it . Anything specific I should check

yes!! It’s a marlin cearo 26, has 454 , bravo one , 23p prop

do you know about these boats ? I couldn’t really find any information .

it won’t let me post pictures until I have 10 posts , I just joined the forums

I’m in Tennessee

If you broke your last post down into individual sentences, you would be at 6 posts.

re drive - oil condition, metal on magnets, leaking seals ( pressure test drive is best), ensure all the splines ( prop and input shaft) are arrow straight and not twisted, u-joints are tight, drive turns FNR, corrosion/ cracked cases etc.

😂

For $1000 I would be suspicious.
Your next post will be saying you bought a bad drive.

Yes BUT ....
The difference in a "standard" B1, B2 and B3 is the lower ONLY. The upper is all the same

Now for the BUT
The lower will bolt to the upper provided they are compatible. Basically after 1993 your good


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lol

Are you sure it's an outdrive issue and not a cable issue? I had the same problem and found out it was the cable. Could be easier than you think.

I disconnected the cable from the engine bay to the shifter… I had full movement easy . Then I tried to push the cable going from engine bay to outdrive it would not move forward at all ..I could only pull it . I pulled outdrive . I tried to push In where the shift cable connects it will not move forward. Prop will sometimes spin with shaft in forward and sometimes not .

You can only shift a bravo with the input shaft turning.

There was only 18 of them made back in the day. Would be interesting to see which one your is. Almost all were on the west coast, but when we moved back to the midwest in 1992, We sold it. Never really kept track of it after that. would be cool if it re-surfaced.

Hmmmm… well with everything hooked up I cannot push the shifter forward it will eventually go forward but just throttle it won’t go in gear

That’s awesome . I’ll post a picture of it . I have the original title . It was from Nevada . Are they pretty good boats? Good hull ? When it was running I had it at 50 mph at 3300 rpm trimmed down

how can I trouble shoot it then ? When I pulled the outdrive it looked like there was no gasket and oil was leaking from the shift cable area ..I don’t know what to do now

Posting random stuff so I can post a picture of it

Sorry

The boat is actually red but the previous owner plasti dipped the boat black ..I’m currently removing it to reveal original red gel coat I’ll post a picture when I’m done .

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...b38af6ade.jpeg
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Cool boat.

The gear ratio for regular Bravo 1's and 3's is determined by the upper gears.

Marlin was a popular west coast family boat line. In 1989 they ventured into the Performance line, built 18 Ceaero's but in 1991 company was purchased by Kal Custom and sold off in pieces. The Ceaero molds were sold to Magic boats, then there was some light changes and they were sold to Eliminator.

Mine was the "Hot Boat" magazine test boat in Feb 89(?) then was used by Land and sea to do prop testing. I Purchased it at Holiday Marine in Bullhead City in 89. Is your the Burgandy and Red?

Anyway.... They were fun boats back in the day, Couldn't roll them, just kept biting in when they turned. All had 454's Ran a respectable 65-68 depending on Props.

Only problem (at least with mine and it could have been because it was a test boat, stripped motor mounts out of the Stringers, but it was an easy fix. Other than that, was a fun/great boat back in the day.

Not for B3


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So you've confirmed the upper shift cable is free. Is the lower shift cable free?

To my knowledge there is no gasket on any version of the bravo. Is the cable area leaking or when you pulled the drive and the petcock was depressed did it just leak gear oil?

Have you drained the oil to see what it looks like?

Also, if you bought a performance boat and get away with nothing other than an outdrive that blows up on you, you'll be the luckiest guy on this website!!!!

so there is no gasket when you pull the outdrive ? So I just slide it back on and put the nuts and washers on?

Lol 😂

i understand things break , but it was within the boats first 5 min on the lake

Current progress on removing black matte plasti dip ..
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...5c2755043.jpeg
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Title of thread is clickbait since no women pictures. LOLOLOL

Take a pair of needle nose pliers and grab the jaw of the shift link latch, turn the input shaft clockwise
( being that you’re facing the input shaft of the drive) and ( while still turning the input shaft) push the shift link into the shift link cavity and you should feel it snap into gear and the prop shaft should start turning in the direction for what would be forward for a r/h rotation prop ( which you have)

After 2 minutes he couldn't get it in Forward anymore.. Kids theses days.

Bravo 3 is ratio determined by a combination of the upper and lower gears and it is not the "lower ONLY" and the upper is NOT "all the same" as you originally stated.

There is no gasket but there is 3 O-rings

Ya got me
My first comment was in relation to changing the lower determines if its a B1, B2 or B3. Was not talking about gear ratios, hence why I posted the compatibility charts

My second comment based on what you talked about upper gear ratios and no mention of lower B3.

Ok thanks

Oring kit only about $10 or so
Quicksilver #16755Q1 Bell Housing Installation Gasket Kit - MerCruiser Bravo Drives, 1-Set

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...6b6a5be43a.jpg

Welcome to the broken bravo brotherhood! Bravos are pretty much listed in the consumables category of the boating budget and many keep a spare in the truck on long weekends;) Cool boat!

ehh I can’t post those pictures 😎

Thanks for all the help guys .. picking up outdrive in the morning I hope it works ..

also got a lot of the black plasti dip off . Here is the side of the hull . Not been cleaned or waxed yet


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