V-Drives and Inboard Motors

J

JJRJR

Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2000
RO Number
557
Messages
23
Hey guys/gals:

OK so the boat I'm looking at (1988 Chris-Craft 320 Amerosport) just had two "rebuilt" V-Drives installed. I think the originals were sent away to get rebuilt, but does it sound right that he paid $9,000 to have them both done? One of them was $3K the other $6K, no idea why there would be so much price disparity.

In any event, I am completely unfamiliar with V-Drives or inboards; all prior boats were I/O. How long can I expect to get out of these rebuilt drives? No boat is maintenance free, but I'm hoping the new engines which are fresh water cooled with neutra-salt system and drives will give me a few years of fun before I need to start rebuilding??

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

John
 
Can't speak to the price (but, $6000 does sound like a lot of money just to rebuild one outdrive) but, once you have v drives or straight drives, you'll never want to go back to outdrives. Much less maintenance, trouble and they handle much better around the dock. You will sacrifice some top end speed and burn a bit more fuel though. I wouldn't take a boat with outdrives for free!
 
Makes no sense to me. He bought a pair of rebuilt drives. His old ones were core trades like you have to do with your old batteries. One would think the price for purchase and install would be equal. What brand are they?

As for longevity, unless you beat it to death, with normal maintenance you'll get at least 5 years out of the rig before any major issues even start to rear their ugly head. With the Nutra Salt system possibly more.
 
Thanks!! Just spoke to the service manager in Ft. Lauderdale that did the work. One of the originals was rebuilt for about $2,800 and the other he had to buy a completely rebuilt unit off the shelf, which is why the price difference. Guy said they are Velvet Drives and are obsolete, but brand new they are just under $10,000 each!!! Hope they hold out!!

John
 
Can't speak to the fairness of the mentioned costs, but just for perspective here are some prices for new drives:
http://www.simplicity-marine.com/hurth-zf.htm
http://www.marinepartsexpress.com/borgwarner.htm

Then unless he did the work himself consider the high hourly yard labor rates for multiple workers during removal, shipping if not rebuilt in-house, and re-installation, sometimes involving moving the engines around and other parts may be replaced at the same time if deemed necessary or convenient, plus haul & splash.
 
Service manager was really nice. Told me to maintain the V-Drives, that should do the following: 1) check shaft alignment annually, 2) change fluid every 100 hours, and 3) check shift linkage annually. Said I should get many years out of those drives. Let's hope so.

John
 
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