what is an acceptable temp for a bravo 1?
after around a 15ish mile cruise with a few blasts to 5k rpm
we were gettin out the boat and i stepped on top of my drive and
it felt warm on my feet. water temps were around 80 degrees.
next time out ill bring a temp gun and see what it is.

I'm surprised this thread hasn't been jumped on.
Exterior temp readings are going to be misleading and hard to be repeatable to be very useful.
I won't give any hard fast numbers on gear oil temp because optimum operating temps vary between brands, viscosity and blends of lube. If you want to have some fun try using temerature marking crayons or temp indicating strips on the outside of the upper and lower case, inside the case (both upper and lower) and on the prop shaft and input gear. Go for marker indicators with a temp range of 150 to 250 degrees.
This will give you real world max temps happening inside and outside the outdrive.
Have fun.

That's normal. When running at any speed,most all above the cavitation plate is out of the water. A drive shower helps keep it cooler, but you'll still feel some warmth in the upper after a run. Takes my drives several minutes of soaking in the water before the temp isn't noticeable. I don't have a temp number.

I once taped a thermocouple to the top of my drive.. Ran it hard and saw 190*.. But that was only one pass of a mile or two and 6000rpm. I was told by the previous owner of the Bravo Shop that at 220* on the top cap.. bearings would fail. I never got it that hot, nor did I have any failures of that nature.
I was in Denver once, with a friend's boat. We made a pass across this short lake.. When we slowed down, I decided to take a swim. It had been a few minutes and I climbed up the back of the boat, put a foot on drive.. It was hot!! A drive shower is a start on temp control..
Hope that info helps..

Put one of these in and than you know for sure what your drive is doing.
http://www.bravoshop.net/index.php?m...roducts_id=929

The Bravo Shop thermo couple is a pretty neat tool. I recommend using one or any other thermo couple that monitors lubrication temperature. By the way there are three cavities worth noting in a Bravo. The upper gear set cavity, drive shaft cavity and the lower gear set cavity. With motors in the 600 to 650 ft lb torque range I can tell you there is as much as a 30 degree gear oil temp difference between the cavities. The upper driveshaft housing has much more heat transfer to the exterior surfaces than the lower gearcase because of the direct mechanical contact of the additional bearings. The yoke bearing pack generates a lot more heat than one might expect.
Something worth noting and a little thought provoking is the minimal surface area intside of a Bravo drive for the gear lube to transfer heat to. Its my belief we are transfering way more mechanical heat to the exterior surfaces in the upper housing than heat transfer from the gear oil.
There are some really bright minds on this forum. I believe there is much to be gained in an oil bath drive system by increasing internal surface area and redirecting the way the gear oil swirls and circulates inside the drive.
Just my 2 cents

I have a Livorsi drive temp gauge in my XR. It runs around 200-240 degrees between 3500 and 4500 rpm cruise. Second year with boat and no unusual metal on drain plug magnet. I run the standard blue/green Merc drive oil and an Imco top cap cooler.