Mercruiser Alpha 1

[kenmyfam]

Looking at a new (to me) maybe boat. It is a Doral Grande 1988 fitted with a Mercruiser Alpha 1 outdrive. I know absolutely nothing about outdrives as I have been a Johnnyrude outboard owner since I can't remember.
Wondering what the good and bad points of them are before I consider taking this any further.
Any and all help and information will as usual be greatly appreciated.
Thank You,
Ken.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Mercruiser Alpha 1

i can't think of anything else that is so popular as the alph1. everyones got one. well, almost everyone.. lots of help here to work on them. parts available. dealers everywhere. what's not to like for a reg. duty drive...

the bad part for you will be regular pm for sterndrives that you don't do now for your outboard. but that will be the case with a vp or a mercruiser.

edit, another thing. mercrusier started with the 1 drive. then it was the 1r(revised), then the 1mr(major revised) then the alpha1 gen.1. then the gen 2. ea. time they appear to have made any deficiencies better than the previous version. gen.1 is second from the top. there's nothing after gen2. so mercruiser hasn't come up with better ideas for making the gen2 better.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Mercruiser Alpha 1

Thanks Ziggy.
So are spares etc readily available ???

 

[ziggy]

Re: Mercruiser Alpha 1

best i know kmf. ya can buy a whole new alpha1 drive form mercruiser. or lowers or uppers or bits and pieces...
they are also available new in aftermarket copies from sei. uppers, lowers and whole drives..

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Mercruiser Alpha 1

Great. Thanks for the info. I will go and have a more serious look at it now and maybe a water test.

 

[Evinrude Boater]

Re: Mercruiser Alpha 1

mercrusier started with the 1 drive. then it was the 1r(revised), then the 1mr(major revised) then the alpha1 gen.1. then the gen 2.

How can you tell which version you have? I thought there was just the 1 and Gen 2.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Mercruiser Alpha 1

w/o going and looking in my mercrusier bibles and really researching it. some of the things i can think of off hand that were changed over the years.
elimination of the lower drive shaft oring slot just under the splines that connect into the upper
elimination of the preload pin and reconfiguration of how the drive shaft and gears in the lower mate together.
moving the trim limit and trim sender switch from mounted in the center of the gimble ring and inside the boat, to being mounted on the sides of the gimble ring
the shape of the anti ventilation plate
the shape of the top cover for the upper
how the drive gear brgs. are preloaded onto the yoke on the upper

my guess is there's more too. which of these changes is termed 1r or 1mr i'd have to look in a book to find out... maybe someone else knows which were termed which w/o looking in the book..

a quick glance at the engine/drive application chart. looks like
1-R appeared in 83
1-MR appeared in 85
alpha1 appeared in 86
gen II appears in 92, though i thought i understood 91 as possibly having gen II also. don't know where i got that idea though. 1 and 2 are really different though. so id between them should be notable..
that's the best i can see...

i'd bet that s/n would be a good way to find out exactly which you have... if no s/n available, back to the book to look at the idiosyncrasy's as to which you have...

 

[Bondo]

Re: Mercruiser Alpha 1

It is a Doral Grande 1988 fitted with a Mercruiser Alpha 1 outdrive.

Ayuh,... What Motor,..?? If it's a 470,.. You DON'T want it....

Otherwise,... The Alpha 1 is the Most Popular outdrive in the World....