lower end rebuild... reasonable $$??

[s2gots]

88 4winns with 5.7 Cobra drive......a couple weeks ago I posted about hearing a slight thumping noise when starting out in the water...a few people said to check the throttle cable, and a few said it might be the lower gears...well the shop I took it to for a look over said it was the gears...the cable is the 'newest' version, and the tech said the lower drive still had the 2 degree gears, and need to upgrade to the 5 degree...The estimate came out to about $1600.00 parts and labor and about a day to do. Does any one know if this is a reasonable price for the work at hand???
The gears alone are about $600.00 Can they be had for less??

TIA

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: lower end rebuild... reasonable $$??

omc parts are hard to get and expensive, having the knowledge to work on them is even more expensive. a lot of shops will not touch them. we only have one shop here that will work on them.

 

[s2gots]

Re: lower end rebuild... reasonable $$??

two of the shop guys said they have been working on cobras since they came out...been through all the recalls and what not...

I understand that this sort of work will cost more compared to newer model boat, but I dont want to be taken for a ride either.....Im just curious if the $1600 is in the right ball park....

 

[180shabah]

Re: lower end rebuild... reasonable $$??

Read here and seek a second opinion about swapping the gears.

 

[thunder219]

Re: lower end rebuild... reasonable $$??

I just threw a set of gears out from my old 88 bayliner. I dont know the proper names for the parts but the dog? that joins the gears together was wore out and it wore the steps down on top of the gears. I looked at the ticket and for the gears and the seals was almost 750.00. That included overnight shipping and was 3 or 4 years ago.I didnt have any problems finding the parts but there is not a shop around that would touch it and three of them have been in town over 25 years and family owned and operated.The one shop even sold boats with the omc drive.

 

[dcg9381]

Re: lower end rebuild... reasonable $$??

Check the engine topics section - I'd post this over there - guys in that forum are great with this sort of estimate.

Can you get a non-OEM lower for that drive?
I just replaced the upper gear set (and case) of a Bravo - estimate for rebuilt plus parts was $2k. Replacement of the case and gears, $4600.

I paid $3600 for an entirely new drive instead.... shop around...

If you have it rebuilt, ask about how long they'll warranty the fix.

 

[thunder219]

Re: lower end rebuild... reasonable $$??

I found a reman cobra on ebay that went on with in an hour of ordering all my parts. I called to see about canceling the order but it already went out and the parts guy went out of his way to a guy he never met. He was about 150 miles away and was the only dealer that was enev interested in helping. I was thinking it was around 1300 buy it now. But like I said in an earlier post it was 3 or 4 years ago.
The local dealers around here are around $65/hr and the town I bought my boat I saw they where up to $95/hr. So going that way it wouldnt take long to run a price up pretty fast.

 

[Coors]

Re: lower end rebuild... reasonable $$??

My local shop got a reman upper for me; price didn't hurt that bad.
You have to start phone calls local. Parts, units there, just takes time to find them.

 

[s2gots]

Re: lower end rebuild... reasonable $$??

thanx for the help guys...I called a couple other places near me, and they wont deal with the cobra...theres a few shops I heared about that are an hour or so drive from me, Ill try to call them and get their opinion...

I did ask them about the the cable adjustmen, and they said it was good...
the really good thing about this shop is that its about a mile away from my house....their always full of boats, I counted up to 50 when I picked mine up..
Ill make some more calls and go from there...

I wonder how long I can go with out damaging other parts????

 

[Coors]

Re: lower end rebuild... reasonable $$??

http://www.hastings.org/~stuart/cobra/kw-shift.html
not long, park it.

 

[180shabah]

Re: lower end rebuild... reasonable $$??

I guess he didn't read the link I posted above, Ditto what coors says PARK IT!

You will destroy the gears and they ain't cheap.

 

[s2gots]

Re: lower end rebuild... reasonable $$??

more info on my situation--

By a stroke of luck, I found the previous owners email address...asked him a few questions, this is what I found out:
The complete outdrive was rebuilt in Dec. of 06. The gears were updated to the 5 degree set, and the shift cable was the most recent one available..
I already figured one thing out- to stay away from the shop thats close to my house..they told me I still have the original 2 degree gear set!
In the meantime while I try and find a shop thats reputable, anyone have any more Ideas???

TIA