What Is The Most Hour's On A 496ho Motor Before Any Type Of Rebuild .
Same Question For The Bravo X Drive's
Thank's
Mike

merc's rule of thumb is approx 300-400 hours(do head/valve job) and approx 150 hr on the drive

Alot more then the blue motors

I know there are some comm'l applications into the 1000's of hrs. For a perf boat I would do the 300-400hr work mentioned above...we like'em to run fast, strong, and reliable right?

i'm at like 450 or so...guess i need to get mine done! how much does something like that typically cost??? and should i do it now? or just wait till the end of season?

A buddy of mine has over 950 hours and still has excellent compression on all cylinders on a twin engine installation. He keeps his oil, filters and plugs changed regularly. He had to replace the exhaust manifolds at about 700hours as they were the aluminum ones and they started leaking. Still runs like new.

I had 502's with almost 700 hours on them. Compression was down but still ran fairly strong. I've since rebuilt them.

I have some new (steel crank) 496 HO Long Blocks for $4,700 if you want new not rebuilt at 400+ hrs.

you're kidding right? overhaul?

Your kidding right. With all do respect to much smarter people than I , I think some of you are paranoid. I have 434 hours on a 496ho and an XZ drive and have no Intentionson tearing into either one. Change the oil every 50, And take care of it. I'm shootin for 1000. My friend has a denali with an hour gauge. 300 hours was about 9000 miles. Yes I know a boat motor is used under much more severe conditions. Lets say Its 3 times worse, thats still only 27,000 miles. Gonna rebuild your truck motor at that point? I succumbed to all the people who told me I was nuts for 350 hours on an impeller last year and changed it. Nothing wrong with it, I still have it.
Relax and enjoy the water. Thanks, for reading. I await all the replys telling me again that I'm nuts. Bring it on. JC