I have been doing some looking for an xr outdrive. I found a used one that the owner says has 20 hrs. Would this be a good deal (if the price was right) or should I stay away from a used xr.

my personal opinion is never buy a used engine or drive if the selling price plus the cost of a rebuild is withing 20% of new. You have no idea how it had been treated. If you can buy it right then just take it straight to the shop and have it gone through before a gear eplodes and takes the whole thing out.

Hillbilly I have to say that all the posts I have read from you are really "on the money".

Thanks for being here.

MRW

Hey Hillbilly,

Heard this somewhere before?!



RD

Common don't make his head swell!!!!

You also have to take into consideration the cost of the rebuild. It could run anywhere from several hundred to a few grand.

If you are going to purchase do not purchase sight unseen. You need to do your due diligence:

1. Look for skeg or prop shaft damage. The spline may be twisted like a candy cane.
2. Fresh paint is not a good sign. I rather purchase one where I can see exactly what happened to the casing.
3. With the drive standing up (should have been up for at least an hour or so) drain some oil (all you need is a smidgeon) out of the lower drain plug and inspect for metallic particles in gear lube. I know people who have changed the lube and flushed the housing to get rid og the filings..
4. Rotate the gears using both splines (one at a time). Watch the prop shaft closely for runout. Also listen and check for any uneven pattern or rotation.

This by no way means it is good but is a fair start.

And you are right, Hiillbilly has been on the mark. He has either had a lot of stuff break, has buddies breaking stuff or this is what he does for lliving.

Maybe some others have some more suggestions.

I would want to know how much power was in the boat the drive came from. Someone with a used XR to sell probably has more power than an XR can handle. The question is did they upgrade to a better drive before or after they upgraded to bigger power? This often boils down to having enough money to do everything right all at once, versus running the old drive behind the new power until problems occur.

express is right, my formula of price+cost of rebuild/reseal+20%= cost of new unit only aplies AFTER the checks he spoke about.

Thank you all for the compiments, I used to do this for a living until recently, I had an oppurtunity in Florida that I could not pass up. I worked at a shop called Maveric Marine in Van Nuys California. Boss was a great guy to work for and a great buissness owner, one of the few that understands that when a problem does occur,and they will no matter who you are, by bending over backwards to make it right you make a customer for life. The only bad thing that people had to say about us was "they are good but expensive" I'll take that anyday. And yes I have also had ALOT of things break, you know the saying the plumber has leaky pipes. It applies to mechanics too, if you ever see a boat for sale that says "excelent maintence, mechanic owned" run fast and far I think it's been 28k since I changed the oil in my own truck