OMC King Cobra out drive lower unit -bent propeller shaft

bcollins47

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I have 1995 OMC King Cobra 3868211 with a bent propeller shaft. Can a experienced person replace the shaft or should I have it rebuilt by a shop? In additon, I was told that this unit might cross over to early Volvo Pentas. Is that true?
 

bruceb58

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Yes, it does cross to a Volvo depending on your model number.

EDIT: Looking closer looks like it doesn't cross to a Volvo if it's connected to a 7.4L. What is yours?
 
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HT32BSX115

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Howdy,

It really helps if you post your actual engine/drive model number.

for 95 boat and a King Kobra 7.4L, it could be any of the following

744DCPMDA 1994
744DCPMDM 1994
744DDPMDA 1994
744DDPMDM 1994
744DGPMDA 1994
744DGPMDM 1994
744DJPMDA 1994
744DJPMDM 1994

744DPHUB 1995
74FEPHUB 1995

Unfortunately, ALL of the above drives are the OMC "Interim" drives (they have the raw water pump on the back) They are NOT Volvo SX drives nor are they interchangeable with the SX.

Although OMC has been "gone" for nearly 30 years, You can probably get them rebuilt with certain new old stock or used parts (not cheep).....or you could find yourself a Volvo Penta SX drive, transom mount and other associated parts and swap it out. (ALSO NOT cheep)

If your engine has EFI & Electronic IGN and you can find all the parts to fix it if it breaks, the boat is in otherwise good condx and you want to keep it, it might be worth it.

But for any 26 year old boat, it may cost more to swap out the drive than the boat will be worth after you're all done. It would all depend on how much you could do yourself and if you can find "swinging deals" on the 'new" drive and other required components.

Another way to "fix" would be to find another (damaged) boat with a 7.4L engine and Volvo SX (or Mercruiser 7.4L + Bravo I or III drive) and swap the engine/drive your boat. Then you could sell the donor boat/trailer/engine parts that you didn't use.

I did that about 10 years ago removing a 460 King Cobra and replacing with a Mercruiser 7.4+ Bravo drive. I sold all the OMC stuff piece by piece over a few years. After it was all done, I probably had $5k in the boat + another $5k in the engine and drive (sold the OMC stuff for a total of about $3500)

It was a LOT of work but I am still not sure if the boat is worth much (1987 FourWinns) The engine and drive sitting on the floor is probably worth more than the boat with it installed!!

If there's nothing otherwise wrong with your drive, I would replace the propshaft. (but there may be other damage and you could have to replace the lower casing bearings etc)

If you cannot do any of it yourself, either way, it will be fairly expensive.

Regards,



Rick
 
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bcollins47

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The engine is 7.4L 74FEPHUB , Drive # 3868211 .. Does anybody know the part # for the propeller shaft? Do any volvo parts cross over to this drive?

Thanks,

Brent
 

HT32BSX115

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The engine is 7.4L 74FEPHUB , Drive # 3868211 .. Does anybody know the part # for the propeller shaft? Do any volvo parts cross over to this drive?

Thanks,

Brent

Hi Brent,

I guess I didn't post the source of model numbers. Sorry about that!

Go to http://epc.brp.com/

Find your model number and you'll find that propeller shaft part number is OMC #3854083

Unfortunately, as I indicated above, it's not available. You may "luck out" and find one (new old stock) sitting on a shelf some place collecting dust (for big-bucks) or maybe you can find another drive that you might be able to cannibalize parts from. That drive is not equivalent to any Volvo drive, so there's likely no VP parts you can substitute.

It might be possible to to have it straightened but when you take it apart, the bearing preloads, seals etc will need to be serviced. And if the cone clutches are worn/damaged, you might not be able to find them, Opening up that drive might not be all that great considering that other required parts may also not be obtainable.

If I was going to fix that drive, I would want someone that is familiar with that particular model and they are few and far between. Most of the people that went to the OMC schools, are either retired or dead!

Good luck,

Rick
 

Lou C

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One source for obsolete and NLA OMC parts is Sea Way Marine in Washington State, you could try giving them a call.
 

sam60

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May 21, 2011
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I have a King Daddy OMC King Cobra drive hooked to a .030" over rebuilt 7.4L with less than 30 hours on it. It's connected to a 25' Cabin Cruiser hull and sitting on a nice trailer. I disclose that OMC is long out of business and parts are difficult to find and everyone walks away. Life is about lessons.
 

HT32BSX115

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I have a King Daddy OMC King Cobra drive hooked to a .030" over rebuilt 7.4L with less than 30 hours on it.
Hey! I passed right over your house a few days ago thinking about you!!

Hows that thing running?
 
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