New Bravo III X Seacore?? - Maxum Boat Owners Club

shrew · 05-10-2012, 04:25 PM

This is really an outdrive topic, but I started it in Engines, since it seemed appropriate.

I am in the process of replacing my 1997 Bravo III. I found a Bravo III X seacore for sale. it looks like a salvage company that bought a pair that were 2 hours old. It seems they were on a dealer demo boat that was totalled on the rocks in a freshwater lake in the area. They've sat in storage for 2 years. The price is right, but no warranty. Its a cash sale.

My last drive exhibited galvanic corrosion. As a result I really want the next BIII to be a seacore. I don't need the X model which is designed for diesal's and engine's over 400HP (mine is 375 HP). However, the larger geras and more reboust drive is certainly an appealling feature as well.

Thoughts? What would you do?

ss3964spd · 05-10-2012, 06:17 PM

Tough call Shrew. Did the drives ingest any water? Do they require a different transom mounting system? In otherwords, are they a direct bolt on or does anything other than the drive need to be changed? Would they be willing to pull them apart for internal inspection?

Dan

pascavone · 05-10-2012, 06:45 PM

man oh man..... if its working don't fix it......

no point to upgrade a deprecating item.....

heaver running gear? are you going into tug boat duty?

I think building a wood whaler at mystic sea port is a better use of your time....

seapuppy · 05-10-2012, 09:12 PM

actually the seacoreXdrives were for racing boats....and diesel engines..massive amounts of torque can be passed thru those drives....so...if it were me and you weren't so worried about warranty....I'd put them in ...I have 2 seacores in my boat and the nice thing about them is it's easy to blow them down...keep the zinc's up and you shouldn't have any problems....the seacore drives are painted and protected inside and out...so corrosion issues should be a non-issue if you maintain the zinc's...as long as the drives weren't damaged on the outside....or the drive gears haven't been impacted....they should be bullet proof for your application...

SP

shrew · 05-12-2012, 01:38 AM

I need to replace my drive to begin with, so in this case....it's broke. I'm in the market for a new Bravo III. I like the Seacore drive option since it was designed to address corrosion issues prevalent in the BIII drive. I did check and it is a direct bolt on. The main difference with the B III X drives is larger, stronger gears.

So here's an update. I checked out the drives and there is no damage

I got some bits and pieces of the story (boat make and length and the lake it occurred on). I did some digging. It seems the story I was given wasn't completely accurate. 4 yrs old, not 2 and 4.6 hrs not 2.

Here are the drives (still on the boat):
I checked them out. no damage and well greased. It seemed to turn smoothly. There are traces of a rust 'patina' on the U joints. I talked to my mechanic who seemed to think worst case scenario, we can replace the u joints. The drive came with a 60 day warranty, so I ended up buying it. I may be crazy.

seapuppy · 05-12-2012, 02:58 AM

you even got a washdown cool system for it too...with that little time...I'd say the drives will serve you extremely well....let us know how it comes out...

SP

pascavone · 05-14-2012, 12:54 AM

what i figured..... people don't kill people, outdrives kill people....

36 years old and how fast do you need to be going to dent and island?

lets see the toxicoligy report.....

shrew · 05-30-2012, 05:44 PM

I updated my post to remove the links before I posted this next part.

ARG!!!!! There's water in the drives. Returning it.

seapuppy · 05-30-2012, 06:39 PM

ouch!!!

SP

ss3964spd · 05-30-2012, 08:15 PM

Was this found out before or after the drive was installed and the boat was splashed?

Dan

shrew · 05-31-2012, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ss3964spd

Was this found out before or after the drive was installed and the boat was splashed?

Dan

Mounted the drive, then drained the drive lube. Then flushed more drive lube in through the lube level monitor screw, then finally filled the drive with oil. thought about it for a while, then decided to remove it and return it. I did not put the drive on muffs or run the engine for fear of the risk of not being able to return it. I was tempted to tear it down to inspect it, however I was afraid that might also risk my warranty. The launch has been delayed as a result. They agreed to take the drive back this morning. I suspect he drained the other one and realized I was telling the truth. Then again, what motivation would I have to return a drive if it were in pristine condition?

ss3964spd · 05-31-2012, 03:59 PM

I was just curious how far along with the install you got before making the water discovery. So you found the water the first time you drained the drive lube?

Definitely a mood kill. What's your next step - locating another drive?

Dan

shrew · 06-01-2012, 06:17 PM

Yep, returning this drive and locating another. I'm taking a slightly different direction. I'm skipping used, remanned, etc. I'm going straight to new with warranty at this point.

looking at standard BIII, BIII Seacore, BIII X, BIII Secore X. so far the best pricing I've found is:

Standard BIII: $5195.00
BIII Seacore: $6145.00
BIII X: $6499.00
BIII X Seacore: $7295.00

I'd prefer a Seacore drive. My mechanic is putting more importance on an X drive. I'm trying to balance deciding quickly so I can get in the water with what is the right long term choice. Along with financial feasibility, of course.

ss3964spd · 06-01-2012, 08:08 PM

I don't recall the diff between a standard B3 and a Seacore B3 but I imagine it's corrosion resistance.

Could you go for the B3X and just beef up the MerCathode system?

shrew · 06-04-2012, 02:09 PM

Seacore is corrosion resistant. The X is just larger, mopre robust gears, shafts and bearings. Yes I could go with a B3X and not get the Seacore. My mechanic is pushing me to do just that. He is saying if you have to choose either a Seacore or an X, then get the X. I'm more concerned about corrosion resistance. He more concerned about the drive being stronger and a reduced chance of blowing up again. I'd like to get another B3XSeacore, but I only budgeted $4K, so this is a bit more than I anticipated. (No I'm not complaining about money, though if anyone doesn't think this is a lot of money.....feel free to donate to the "Shrew's new Drive fund" LOL!!!!).