What makes the OMC outdrives so undesirable?

['96 Charger]

I've seen tons of people talk about how much they hate these drives. Just curious really. I know OMC made some questionable business moves which lead to them going bust so no surprize there.

 

[bear_69cuda]

Re: What makes the OMC outdrives so undesirable?

I think they made good engine/drives ( not including L drive ) but parts are difficult to locate, mechanics, and service are hard to come by...

 

['96 Charger]

Re: What makes the OMC outdrives so undesirable?

Gotcha. No issues with MerCruiser drives though since there's like 10000 of them and just as many mechanics for every square mile.

 

[twostroke87]

Re: What makes the OMC outdrives so undesirable?

hard to find parts, they tried to figure out what everyone hated about volvo, merc, and they're own stringer mount drive, before coming out with the cobra drive.

They honestly did pretty good with the cobra drive, except some gear angle issues, shift cable issues, interrupt switch mechanism, TIMED interupt switch mechanism, and kill switch to stop the timed interupt switch mechanism etc etc etc. They tried to make it the best drive, but in the process made it difficult to adjust.

Then they came out with the FICHT outboard engine. It all went downhill from there

 

[float2]

Re: What makes the OMC outdrives so undesirable?

For one OMC never was associated with performance like Mercruiser was. Many older houseboats and larger heavy fiberglass boats of the 70s had OMC drives. They just never had that reputation for performance. I guess I liken them to the American Motors Corp (AMC) of the marine world. They just didn't put out a product that sold like Mercruiser and they had a poor business model that eventually led to their doom. As said parts are getting hard to find. My 800 series sterndrive has always run well and if anything happens to it I think I can still replace it. I'm not sure where OMC got its engineers back in the day but they unnecessarily designed the electrical systems (at least on my model) to be somewhat more complicated than a comparible Mercruiser of the same era. The other downside is the OMC hole in the transom is larger than a Mercruiser so if you want to switch brands you face time consuming and/or expensive modding.

 

[Bluestream]

Re: What makes the OMC outdrives so undesirable?

The OMC stringer drive had a bad reputation for being prone to breakage and being hard to repair. It was not that OMC could not build a good drive, but they did not want to get involved with patent infringement. The ball gear design was inferior to the u-joint drive, and the balls gears would wear out after 200 hours. OMC dealers got to the point where they would not even take in a Stringer drive on a trade in even if they sold it to the owner. But many people who bought them didn't know any better, OMC had a very good dealer network (at least around here) and had many loyal customers for their superior outboards.

After the patents expired OMC was free to bring out the Cobra drive which to me was superior to the Merc Alpha drive of the era. Unfortunately teething problems with the shift cable did not help things for OMC. The Gears were never a problem even though they first claimed that some of the gears were defective.

Most people do not want to buy a product of a company that is no longer in business, even though there are parts available for the Cobra drive. New, used, and aftermarket. This is not even a consideration for me as I can get any part I need for my drive. My friend has a model-T Ford and can get parts for it easy. The Merc 470 has many parts NLA as well. Not sure about older Merc drives, but I expect the same for them. If I was given a choice between two boats the same price, in the same condition one with a Merc and one with a Cobra I would take the Merc. If the Cobra was in great condition and the Merc well used I would take the Cobra.

Poor management at OMC, a soft boating market, along with issues with the FICHT outboard put the company into bankruptcy. Hard to believe the year they went under they sold 100,000 outboards.

 

['96 Charger]

Re: What makes the OMC outdrives so undesirable?

Poor management at OMC, a soft boating market, along with issues with the FICHT outboard put the company into bankruptcy. Hard to believe the year they went under they sold 100,000 outboards.

Boy am I glad I didn't buy that 97 Javelin 389 with a 175 FICHT back in 06. You sure do see a lot of OMC boats from the mid 90's out though and their motors on other boats. Funny thing is their carb engines seemed to be pretty solid. I've been many a miles with an OMC outboard pushing. Can't say I'd own one though being partial to Yammie. Back when my fishing buddy's tournament fishing uncle (Scott Suggs) was sponsored by them I hear he blew up quite a few Johnson and Evinrude motors. Couldn't keep a set of plugs in a FICHT he had either.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: What makes the OMC outdrives so undesirable?

I don't think FICHT motors were universally bad. I believe once the problems were identified and certain updates were applied, they were fine.

 

[crewscontrol]

Re: What makes the OMC outdrives so undesirable?

Another reason is that Mercruiser (for all practical purposes) invented and perfected the stern drive, at least in the USA. Along the way Mercruiser patented (protected) most of the technology they developed.

For example Mercruiser's hydraulic trim and tilt is still basically the same that they came out in the 1960's. When OMC decided to get into the stern drive business, they had to design an alternative trim and tilt system. To get around the Mercruiser patents, OMC (as I remember) actually lifted the rear of the engine to "trim" the outdrive. That (IMO) was a very cumbersome way to trim a stern drive and is why OMC stern drives could not be bolted through and attached to the transom as Mercruisers are. OMC cut a big hole in the transom and used what they called a "flexible marine grade rubber seal" to allow the stern drive to be trimmed THROUGH THE TRANSOM.

In order to tilt (lift) the stern drive OMC used an electric motor and a mechanical gear drive. This system did allow the OMC stern drive to be tilted (lifted) quite a bit higher than the Mercruiser, but it often gave problems because the entire system was mounted on the stern drive in the water.

When the OMC stern drive was tilted all the way up, unlike the Mercruiser which uses a U joint, there was NO physical connection between the engine and the stern drive. When the OMC stern drive was tilted back down, there was a coupling on the stern drive and a matching coupling on the engine that had to mesh in order to transfer power from the engine to the stern drive. I have seen many of these couplings fail.

Also since the OMC stern drive was not bolted through the transom, all the thrust was transferred to the engine itself. In order to push the boat, all the thrust from the OMC stern drive was applied from the stern drive, to the engine mounts, and then directly to the boat's stringers (frame).

There are other differences as well. The bottom line is that Mercruiser patented just about everything on their stern drive. When OMC came along, they had to design their stern drive to get around all the Mercruiser patents. This often (IMO) led to a less than desirable stern drive, but the OMC's did work.

When the Mercruiser patents finally ran out in the late 1970's??, OMC came out with the Cobra drive, which is quite similar to the Mercruiser.

 

[Bluestream]

Re: What makes the OMC outdrives so undesirable?

I don't think FICHT motors were universally bad. I believe once the problems were identified and certain updates were applied, they were fine.

You are correct, my brother in law has one and its fine. It was cutting edge technology at the time far ahead of the competition, and there were many warranty claims and product up-dates that cost OMC money. Later years had all the bugs worked out as I recall...

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: What makes the OMC outdrives so undesirable?

Another reason is that Mercruiser (for all practical purposes) invented and perfected the stern drive, at least in the USA.

Everywhere else too....The original Aquamatic (Volvo) was "invented" by a guy named Wynne (Strang actually, later CEO of OMC) (but it was really designed while he was at Kiekhafer Mercury)

The stern drive was designed by Mercury (Kiekhaefer) people........

You can read all about it here: http://www.rbbi.com/folders/pat/isd.htm

I've seen tons of people talk about how much they hate these drives. Just curious really. I know OMC made some questionable business moves which lead to them going bust so no surprize there.

NONE of the above really matters......


There's no real logical reason to "hate" them......

The operative statement here is that OMC IS GONE. It doesn't exist.

The Aftermarket and BRP still makes *some* wear parts for most of the common OMC stern drives with notable exceptions.

If you decide to get a boat that has a drive that is well supported, then you're "OK" (for now!!)

There's no guarantee that your model will STAY supported.

Unless you're good at junk-yard "diving" and parts scrounging, AND you'd like to just GO BOATING ...............you're much better off sticking with components that are from companies that still exist and are still supporting what you have.

If you like fabricating your own "stuff" (parts that don't exist) HAVE AT IT!!


Cheers,


Rick

 

[sethjon]

Re: What makes the OMC outdrives so undesirable?

I've seen tons of people talk about how much they hate these drives. Just curious really. I know OMC made some questionable business moves which lead to them going bust so no surprize there.

Personally I think they are ok if you take care of them. Now that OMC is outta business some parts are hard to find. The Cobra is still ok.

 

[nightowl]

Re: What makes the OMC outdrives so undesirable?

....I do like the way you can change the water pump on the cobra, pretty easy. I have even changed it while its still in the water.

Jim

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: What makes the OMC outdrives so undesirable?

....I do like the way you can change the water pump on the cobra, pretty easy. I have even changed it while its still in the water.

Jim

I can change my raw pump while the boat is in the water too........

If I drop any parts.....I just have to fish it out of the bilge........If you drop parts.........well........you have to REALLY go fishing.... (I donno what you'd use for bait tho!!)

 

[Bluepike]

Re: What makes the OMC outdrives so undesirable?

Besides the before mentioned big rubber boot that the muskrats like to nibble on, who remembers that clunking sound when you would lower the outdrive? Maybe it was just ours but I remember the drive was raised and lowered using gears instead hydraulics. Great for going up but dropped like a rock when going down. I am talking 1970's vintage here though.

 

[HorizonblueDK]

Re: What makes the OMC outdrives so undesirable?

Besides the before mentioned big rubber boot that the muskrats like to nibble on, who remembers that clunking sound when you would lower the outdrive? Maybe it was just ours but I remember the drive was raised and lowered using gears instead hydraulics. Great for going up but dropped like a rock when going down. I am talking 1970's vintage here though.

I remember that.

My dad had a 1974 25 ft boat with 2x 120 OMC, back in the 1980's, when I was a kid. I often had the job of raising and lowering the drives. I quickly learned to be carefull on the switches, when going down, cause it actually felt like somebody dropped a rock in the boat, when the drives slammed against their end stop. Only use the switch ? second at a time, when going down.

 

[superbenk]

Re: What makes the OMC outdrives so undesirable?

Besides the before mentioned big rubber boot that the muskrats like to nibble on, who remembers that clunking sound when you would lower the outdrive? Maybe it was just ours but I remember the drive was raised and lowered using gears instead hydraulics. Great for going up but dropped like a rock when going down. I am talking 1970's vintage here though.

1970s - mid-1980s. I have a Stringer 400 and you definitely need to be careful dropping the outdrive so you don't break things or bind the tilt mechanism gears. The clutch pack and housing is probably my least favorite thing about the Stringer drive. Otherwise, I find it's a pretty simple system and works well enough.

The inability (or at least ill-advised ability) to run with the drive tilted is annoying as well. From what I've seen, the Stringer SelecTrim doesn't provide nearly as much trim up as hydraulic systems, so it's tough to get through shallow waters without grinding the ball gears some. (Note, I'm talking trim, not tilt. One nice thing about the Stringer tilt is that it can actually raise quite a bit higher than hydraulic setups, you just aren't supposed to drive them that way.)

Tru-Course steering on the Stringer is also kind of interesting along with the wide turning angle afforded by the Stringer drive. I definitely would prefer a nice hydraulic power-steering setup, but the Tru-Course seems to do a pretty good job for a fully mechanical setup.

 

[superbenk]

Re: What makes the OMC outdrives so undesirable?

....I do like the way you can change the water pump on the cobra, pretty easy. I have even changed it while its still in the water.

Jim

You can change the water pump on a Stringer too, you just need to be sure not to drop the whole outdrive to the bottom of the lake when you take it off, but your boat won't sink!

 

[float2]

Re: What makes the OMC outdrives so undesirable?

that clunking sound when you would lower the outdrive? I am talking 1970's vintage here though.

My '78 800 does that to. I go easy on the switch but it still clunks each time. I would like to find an ex OMC engineer or designer on one of these boards to ask them questions about their designs. I doubt that chance will ever happen though.

 

[ckaiser]

Re: What makes the OMC outdrives so undesirable?

When the Mercruiser patents finally ran out in the late 1970's??, OMC came out with the Cobra drive, which is quite similar to the Mercruiser.

So does this mean that the Cobras are worth looking at? I'm looking for a first boat, open bow fish & ski, ~17 ft, ~$2K price range. Lots of OMC Cobras available that look nice, but my marine mechanic friend says stay away from the OMCs.

Should I automatically pass on the OMC Cobra outdrives?

Thanks!

Charlie