Looking for a used i/o boat, which outdrives should I avoid? Which should I look for?

[cecho]

I've owned a few stringer drives and I've learned the hard way to stay away from them. What other types of drives should I stay away from? I do all my own maintenance and repairs. Labor isn't any problem, it's parts availability and cost of parts that worry me.

I'm hoping for either a small block Chevy or V8 Ford engine... assuming parts aren't ridiculous for either one.

 

[tazrig]

Re: Looking for a used i/o boat, which outdrives should I avoid? Which should I look

I've owned a few stringer drives and I've learned the hard way to stay away from them. What other types of drives should I stay away from? I do all my own maintenance and repairs. Labor isn't any problem, it's parts availability and cost of parts that worry me.

I'm hoping for either a small block Chevy or V8 Ford engine... assuming parts aren't ridiculous for either one.

Small block Chevy's would be the logical choice for the power plant as there are a ton of them out there and parts are therefore cheaper.
As far as strictly the leg or sterndrive itself goes, stay away from anything OMC or Yamaha as they don't make them any more and getting parts can be a night mare. Anything Mercruiser in either Alpha or Bravo line you should be fine. Alpha being the smaller more common and less expensive drive to work on. Bravo is the heavier duty drive for applications over 300 hp. Volvo also makes a good drive although parts aren't quite as easy to get as Mercruiser they are still readily available. Don S. A moderator here on the forum would be the go to guy for Volvo drives as he's a certified Volvo mechanic and could tell you which drives in particular are better than others based on your application.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Looking for a used i/o boat, which outdrives should I avoid? Which should I look

Small block Chevy's would be the logical choice for the power plant as there are a ton of them out there and parts are therefore cheaper.
As far as strictly the leg or sterndrive itself goes, stay away from anything OMC or Yamaha as they don't make them any more and getting parts can be a night mare. Anything Mercruiser in either Alpha or Bravo line you should be fine. Alpha being the smaller more common and less expensive drive to work on. Bravo is the heavier duty drive for applications over 300 hp. Volvo also makes a good drive although parts aren't quite as easy to get as Mercruiser they are still readily available. Don S. A moderator here on the forum would be the go to guy for Volvo drives as he's a certified Volvo mechanic and could tell you which drives in particular are better than others based on your application.

Ayuh,.... The only thing I can add to that is,....

Don't even Think 'bout a Mercruiser, with the infamous 470 motor...

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Looking for a used i/o boat, which outdrives should I avoid? Which should I look

Ayuh,.... The only thing I can add to that is,....

Don't even Think 'bout a Mercruiser, with the infamous 470 motor...

Maybe so, never had one, but it sure looked good on paper....the sales brochure outlining it's features.

Mark

 

[agallant80]

Re: Looking for a used i/o boat, which outdrives should I avoid? Which should I look

Bayliner L Drive

If you stick with Mircruiser or Volvo/Penta you will be fine. You will want to stay away fromt the Volvo/Penta composit outdrive though.

 

[Bluepike]

Re: Looking for a used i/o boat, which outdrives should I avoid? Which should I look

The Volvo composite drive is called XDP. If you see one, run away as fast as you can!

 

[Mason78]

Re: Looking for a used i/o boat, which outdrives should I avoid? Which should I look

The Volvo composite drive is called XDP. If you see one, run away as fast as you can!

What is the problem with the XDP drives?

 

[spoilsofwar]

Re: Looking for a used i/o boat, which outdrives should I avoid? Which should I look

What is the problem with the XDP drives?

They continually destroy bellows due to a design flaw, transom shields crack, delamination of the composite... Thats what I recall off the top of my head from reading about all the problems way back. They were mostly a disaster, and volvo made a lot of people mad with them - they were fitted to some high end boats and even when volvo offered replacement under warranty, the replacement drive would inevitably fail due to the design flaws... Volvo finally scrapped the concept and developed the Ocean X drive.

Just google "volvo XDP drive problems" and you will have reading for days. Some unfortunate people have gone through real hell over these drives.

 

[Friscoboater]

Re: Looking for a used i/o boat, which outdrives should I avoid? Which should I look

Just like everyone else... I say stick with Mercruiser or the Newer Volvo Penta drives. I don't care how good of a deal anything else is... RUUUUUN!!!

 

[cecho]

Re: Looking for a used i/o boat, which outdrives should I avoid? Which should I look

Thanks for all the info, what do you guys think about a 270 mercury outdrive?

 

[Don S]

Re: Looking for a used i/o boat, which outdrives should I avoid? Which should I look

Thanks for all the info, what do you guys think about a 270 mercury outdrive?

Merc doesn't make a drive called a 270, Volvo does. Pictures would help.

 

[cecho]

Re: Looking for a used i/o boat, which outdrives should I avoid? Which should I look

I'll be taking a look at the boat in a few hours. I'll see what I can do about images. The owner was pretty sure it's a Pre-Alpha Mercury 270 though. Did Volvo ever label their drives as something other than Volvo? Maybe the drive only has a 270 label on it.

It has a perfectly fine two-season old and winterized Mercruiser 351 Ford V8 in it and the top end on the out drive is supposedly bad from "running aground" so I'm obviously looking at doing some repairs. What might parts cost if I'm going to be repairing an out drive top end if it's a volvo or pre-alpha mercruiser?

I've rebuilt a stringer drive's top and bottom before. I'd imagine either the volvo or mercruiser would be as easy and much cheaper to deal with. My biggest worry is part cost and availability as well as the need for expensive special tools.

 

[Oshkosh1]

Re: Looking for a used i/o boat, which outdrives should I avoid? Which should I look

The owner was pretty sure it's a Pre-Alpha Mercury 270 though.

I'm pretty sure he's wrong...
It could be a Volvo 270, or a Merc "Pre-Alpha" which would be the R or MR Series...but that's going back three decades.

If the "top end" is bad from a "hard-aground"(See USS Guardian stuck on a reef outside Manilla!)I would take a good look at the lower also.

 

[cecho]

Re: Looking for a used i/o boat, which outdrives should I avoid? Which should I look

I'm pretty sure he's wrong...
It could be a Volvo 270, or a Merc "Pre-Alpha" which would be the R or MR Series...but that's going back three decades.

If the "top end" is bad from a "hard-aground"(See USS Guardian stuck on a reef outside Manilla!)I would take a good look at the lower also.

Yes, it's a late 70's cuddy cabin. Will I still be able to get parts for the out drive (assuming it's one of the two) without a second mortgage and a PI?

Can the pre-alpha's be upgraded to an Alpha without redoing the transom?

 

[Oshkosh1]

Re: Looking for a used i/o boat, which outdrives should I avoid? Which should I look

Others here are more familiar with the "vintage" drives and their compatibility.

I think used parts can be had on "Fleabay" for both pretty readily.

 

[Don S]

Re: Looking for a used i/o boat, which outdrives should I avoid? Which should I look

There is no such thing as a "Pre Alpha" that is nothing more than a tag stuck on some drives by the aftermarket parts people to mean "It's older than an Alpha, but we don't know what you call it. So we will call it pre alpha"

Really an odd name, all the drives (including the TR and the II that was nothing like the alpha) is a pre alpha.

Go HERE and get the ID and History for the Alpha style drives. Then you will know what you are looking at.

Are you sure the owner didn't say 470? Because that was a Mercruiser only engine with issues. Not something you want to mess with if you don't enjoy replacing head gaskets and charging systems.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Looking for a used i/o boat, which outdrives should I avoid? Which should I look

I'll be taking a look at the boat in a few hours. I'll see what I can do about images. The owner was pretty sure it's a Pre-Alpha Mercury 270 though. Did Volvo ever label their drives as something other than Volvo? Maybe the drive only has a 270 label on it.

It has a perfectly fine two-season old and winterized Mercruiser 351 Ford V8 in it and the top end on the out drive is supposedly bad from "running aground" so I'm obviously looking at doing some repairs. What might parts cost if I'm going to be repairing an out drive top end if it's a volvo or pre-alpha mercruiser?

I've rebuilt a stringer drive's top and bottom before. I'd imagine either the volvo or mercruiser would be as easy and much cheaper to deal with. My biggest worry is part cost and availability as well as the need for expensive special tools.

Ayuh,... Just an Fyi, that motor ain't been used by Mercruiser, since that boat was built....

I ain't gonna say ya can't get parts for it, but they're tougher to find, 'n there's a price premium on Ford marine parts...

 

[cecho]

Re: Looking for a used i/o boat, which outdrives should I avoid? Which should I look

Looks like it's a mercruiser 233

 

[cecho]

Re: Looking for a used i/o boat, which outdrives should I avoid? Which should I look

Here are some images I took.

 

[tazrig]

Re: Looking for a used i/o boat, which outdrives should I avoid? Which should I look

Looks like an MC-1 (Mercruiser 1) drive 1982 or older. The engine looks like a 351 Ford but I can't be sure? Don? Bond-o? Confirmation?