How often do you maintain your outdrive?

pstew96

pstew96

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I like to say, if it aint broken, don't fix it, because when someone fools with something on my boat, they sometimes make matters worse, but then how long can you go before you really should do some major maintenance?
 
I change the fluid and anodes every year. Pull the drive off and regrease everything every two years. After year six I replaced the bellows, replaced the gimbal bearing, and repainted the drive. At the begining of year 11, the gears were slipping, so I bought a new outdrive, and had the shift cable replaced. Still have the original transom assembly, so I'll probably have the bellows and bearing re-done this winter.
 
Every 100 hours and/or annually I pull the ’96 Volvo Penta DP-S to grease the U-joints, the gimbal bearing and check the alignment. I replace the synthetic lube only annually at winterization along with the above.
 
I pull the drives for the winter. Check the bellows and grease everything up before they go back on in the spring.
I change the oil and impellers in the drives before they go back on.
 
I put about 80 hours on my boat in the summer and the same on it in Florida in the winter. We trailer it down. Before I go south I reseal the drive. When I return and before I put it in the slip I reseal the lower unit. The seals under the water pump are the weak spot. The bellows, gimbel bearing, and the shift cable I replaced spring '09. They weren't leaking, they just had 9 years on them. I thought I shouldn't push it. I have a spare outdrive from a friend who junked a boat like mine. I can work on one at home as needed while using the boat. I take the spare lower unit with me when I go south just in case.
 
The drive (Bravo I) gets pulled,inspected and serviced every fall. Boat is shrink wrapped and drive is stored inside. The drive is installed and aligned in the spring.
 
5.7L merc with Bravo II outdrives on a 16x72 houseboat. Schedule for a pull out the week of 10-18, first time the outdrives have been serviced snce new in 1998. Overdue a coupe of years. Have scheduled to change out everything from gimble bearing, u-joints, shift cable, and bellows and all.......Hard to pull these houseboats every 4 years or so
 
How often to service the outdrive will vary. As mentioned, some will have the drive removed annually. For me, that would seem to be excessive due to the limited hours I put on the boat. I change gear lube about every 100 hours which is about 5-6 years. I replaced the bellows last year, after 17 years, and they were stiffer than the new ones but were never a problem. If my boat sat in the water instead of on a trailer, I surely would not wait that long.
 
You're in salt water, Long Island, so once a year pull the drive at the end of the season and check the bellows for water, gimble for smoothness, ujoints for loosness and play, and also make sure the input shaft seal is not leaking gear oil in the bellows. The driveshaft splines have to be greased as well as the gimble and the ujoints. On my OMC Cobra drive I clean out the area around the bellcrank and grease all pivot points on the shift linkage with OMC triple guard grease. I also change the gear oil and check for water, if so I get it re-sealed. In the spring I put in a new impeller (easy on a Cobra, right in the aft end of the upper unit). Finally change the anodes as well. This is not major work but required maintenance yearly if you read a Merc, OMC or Volvo manual.
The main problem with I/Os is a lack of maintenance will cost you. Salt water that leaked into the bellows and lays there all winter will rust the gimble, driveshaft (and then cause the input seal to leak) and ujoints. If you never have it removed, it is possible for the driveshaft to corrode into the coupler. Then the drive will not come off.
I built a drive stand I can have the drive off in about 15 min.
 
Once a year I change the gear lube, pull the drive and inspect bellows, grease gimbal. Replace the water pump every other year.
 
Reading these posts really makes me appreciate my inboards more and more. I leave them in the water year after year and don't do much of anything to them.

But I do wish you all the best of luck with your I/o's......Mark
 
But you have to replace the cutlass bearings every 15 or so years, right ? :}
 
Patrick:
A couple of things that may have not been mentioned.

First, make sure to change gear oil in the fall before layup. If there is any water in there, and it freezes, you will be replacing your lower unit.

Second, pull the prop off every fall, grease the shaft, and reinstall.

Everything else mentioned in the thread is good information. Do all of it annually in the fall, and you should be good to go. This coming from someone who owned a merc outdrive powered boat for twenty years, and learned alot of this stuff the hard way.

eric
 
Thanks folks! Just one thing, I have had in my last boat a fatal crack or slit in the U joint bellows hose that cost me an outdrive, I have a feeling that someone may have stabbed it with a sharp knife because it was that clean of a slit. Does anyone know how long these hoses should be expected to last? Hate to go through that expence again!
 
I can't tell you how long they are supposed to last, but I can tell you mine seem to be ready every 4-5 years for replacement - whether I trailer, or leave boat in a slip for 3-4 months.

I believe the Merc manual states that you should examine the bellows regularly, and replace at first sign of wear, which is indicated by cracking. I don't think there is an expected service life, just depends on use.

Curious how a bellows crack cost you an outdrive. I was under the impression that worst case would be a rusted gimbal bearing. Little worried, because I have a new drive, and my upper bellows doesn't look great. Guess I'll have it done this off season.
 
The slit I had looked so clean and the bellows still looked clean and new, but the way I found it was after getting under way, it sounded like a gurgling noise, so I knew something was amiss. Then the whole outdrive was full of salt water.
 
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