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mister plumber
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Joined: 28 August 2002
Posts: 1
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| Posted: 28 August 2002 at 8:44pm | IP Logged
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I have a brand new 2002 Bayliner 2858 command bridge with a bravo III.
I have two questions:
1)Does the B3 problems with corrosion exclude the 2002 models or do they have it also? 2) I am consuming lot of drive lube (about 1/2 oz./running hour), I had the dealer look at it and he couldn't find anything wrong with the lower unit. He said he hauled it , but I don't believe him. I am still using the same amount of lube. Is this common with B3's and is it related to the corrosion problem?
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honeycoombs
BoatUS Member
Joined: 16 March 2002
Location: madison wisconsin usa
Posts: 135
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| Posted: 28 August 2002 at 9:23pm | IP Logged
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I have a l996 BIII. In the early part of every boating season I have to keep topping of my lube jar and after a while the problem fades away. In my opinion when the techs change my gear lube in the Fall for winter layup they don't fill it properly and leave air pockets that are eliminated with use and then the lube level drops. Hope this if of some help.
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viking65
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Joined: 12 June 2002
Location: Daytona Beach, FL
Posts: 556
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| Posted: 28 August 2002 at 9:30pm | IP Logged
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I'm usin the same amount of drive lube, as you talk about, every time i come in from a day or half day of runnin' my buzzer goes off, and i have low fluid levels, on both my bIII'3...i dont know why either, but i do know that there is nothin wrong with my drives.------------------
"Wide open BABY is how we run !"
PS484@comcast.net
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1998 Viking 58 Convertible > "Aquaholic"
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Caroline Ajootian
BoatUS Admin Group
Joined: 18 June 1999
Location: Alexandria, VA, USA
Posts: 3991
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| Posted: 29 August 2002 at 11:53am | IP Logged
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We haven't heard any reports of corrosion damage on 2002 Bravo IIIs. There are rumors flying around that Merc has made modifications to the outdrives and to their Mercathode system to prevent damages.
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Caroline Ajootian http://www.BoatUS.com/consumer
cajootian@boatus.com
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werlec
Forum Member
Joined: 29 August 2002
Location: forest hill, md, usa
Posts: 6
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| Posted: 29 August 2002 at 12:13pm | IP Logged
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I read on another board that B2's & B3's use a little fluid due to the design of the seal(s), my B2 uses abt an ounce every 5 hrs or so.
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edf
Forum Member
Joined: 02 November 1999
Posts: 30
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| Posted: 09 September 2002 at 12:51pm | IP Logged
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my 99 b3 does the same thing .had it pressure tested ,they say ok, replaced seals ,still lose fluid ....the starboard engine doesn't have this problem , hmmm
can anyone get me a name of a good lawyer , i think it's time to stick it back to merc...
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LAZYDAYS
Forum Member
Joined: 09 September 2002
Location: Middleburg Heights,OH,USA
Posts: 6
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| Posted: 09 September 2002 at 6:04pm | IP Logged
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I just bought a new 2003 Rinker Captiva 232 w/350 Mag 300 Hp and the Bravo III. is the newer Bravo III subject to the crosion problem? im in fresh water do i have to worry??.the first day i took it out the boat ran great then i ran the props into some shallow area and put some nicks in the props and now i lose proformance will the slight nicks in 1 prop cause any damage to the sterndrive?no vibrations detected!also were do i find out info on the pitch mine is p28 will 30 be too much for my engin?
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Robski97
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Joined: 17 February 2002
Location: Bellmore, NY, USA
Posts: 108
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| Posted: 15 September 2002 at 7:41pm | IP Logged
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Guys,
Have a had drive lube loss since march in my port engine. Turns out theres a defect in the cast in one part of the i/o. There is no fix yet. My dealer Surfside 3 Has attempted to repair a few with no sucess. I dont know the exact part thats cast wrong but ur dealer should know about it. So far its only affected 2002 bravo III's to my knowledge.
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2006 44 Searay Sundancer
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Robboater
Forum Member
Joined: 30 July 2001
Location: Deerfield Beach, FL,USA
Posts: 157
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| Posted: 16 September 2002 at 12:54pm | IP Logged
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Guy's,
There should be no loss of fluid in an outdrive. It is a sealed gearbox designed to keep water out and fluid(oil)in. Based on the fact that a gearbox does not get hot enough to burn 90wt oil off, the fluid loss you are seeing has to be due to a failed seal or crack in the gearbox housing.
Sorry.
Robb------------------
1997 Chaparral 2335 SS, Volvo Penta 5.7l GS/DP-S drive.
http://www.stuckpixel.com/owens.jpg
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jvalich
Forum Member
Joined: 02 February 2001
Location: Lakeland, FL USA
Posts: 1939
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| Posted: 16 September 2002 at 6:30pm | IP Logged
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Hey...any more talk about leaky outdrives and the tree-huggers are going to look to ban all outdrives.I'm with Robboater on this one. Should not be any change in level of the drive oil, positive (water intrusion) or negative (leak). ------------------
Jvalich
2000 Four Winns 248 Vista
"Mental Floss"
Lakeland, FL
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Jvalich
http://www.flowguardian.com
2004 FW 288 Vista "Mental Floss"
Lakeland, FL
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viking65
Forum Member
Joined: 12 June 2002
Location: Daytona Beach, FL
Posts: 556
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| Posted: 16 September 2002 at 8:15pm | IP Logged
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Hey yea now that you mention it i'm refilling gear lube, and even drive tilt fluid has a leak somewhere...that my dealer cant find...GEESE...im going to print these threads out and slap it on my service's dept's desk and go "HERE PROOF THAT IT'S NOT JUST ME !!!!!"------------------
"Wide open BABY is how we run !"
PS484@comcast.net
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1998 Viking 58 Convertible > "Aquaholic"
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captn13
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Joined: 28 January 2002
Location: Cerritos, CA
Posts: 245
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| Posted: 17 September 2002 at 11:34am | IP Logged
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My dealer said that to use a bit of fluid in the BIII outdrive is very common. It is not a closed system like other drives, thus there is room for "evaporation" (for lack of a better word). I too found it necessary to top off my OD Fluid after about 30 Hrs. Hard to imagine such a loss through the vented fill cap/resevoir....but hey, that's what I've been told
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danali
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Joined: 12 February 2002
Location: Ft Walton Bch. Fl
Posts: 109
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| Posted: 17 September 2002 at 5:55pm | IP Logged
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The loss of some gear oil in Bravo drives is very normal. I have owned 8 of these drives the past 5 years and they have all lost a little oil. This is all normal IAW 3 Mercury dealers.
Larry
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Larry
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Wally51
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Joined: 13 November 2002
Posts: 5
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| Posted: 14 November 2002 at 12:52pm | IP Logged
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I have the same problem (losing gear lube0 on one of my Bravo III's. Merc mechanic told me it is one of the prop shaft seals. The seal between the two prop shafts. there is a little play in it and only leaks under certain loads. he said he has seen it before.
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Ken Drake
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Joined: 24 August 2002
Location: Massapequa
Posts: 31
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| Posted: 14 November 2002 at 8:10pm | IP Logged
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Over the years I have heard some pretty funny excuses but evaporating gear lube tops them all. Ken
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Seven of Nine
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Joined: 18 October 2002
Location: Fairfax,VA
Posts: 46
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| Posted: 14 November 2002 at 9:28pm | IP Logged
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Hello people just to let you know I have been working with merc all summer long on my leaks. My BIII have been replaced 3 times on the port & 1 on the starboard still not fixed.I have been talking with merc and have told them that we are done with this. They have been trying but cant seem to get it right.The MFG. of our boat is now involved and we will see what they can do for us.I will say this for merc they tried but enough is enough. FYI I was told that the seals were changed buy the supplier which caused the problem so they corrected mine and it still failed guess there must be more problems, hope I dont have to get a lawyer, really dont want to do that good luck with yours I think they are trying.
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Seven of Nine on the Chesapeake bay
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JV
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Joined: 24 October 2002
Location: Pompano Beach Florida
Posts: 25
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| Posted: 15 November 2002 at 9:50am | IP Logged
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We also worked with Merc for 12 mths on a 2001 B III leaking outdrive fluid. They replaced the lower unit 2 times and rebuilt the bearing seal several times. They finally admitted they could not fix it. We gave up and sold the boat back to the dealer.
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Robboater
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Joined: 30 July 2001
Location: Deerfield Beach, FL,USA
Posts: 157
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| Posted: 18 November 2002 at 5:31am | IP Logged
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Once again I will repeat this. No drive should be leaking oil at all. If your Dealer or mechanic tells you anything else, get a new one. Sorry.
Robb
PS. If it's normal why would Merc be trying to fix it?------------------
1997 Chaparral 2335 SS, Volvo Penta 5.7l GS/DP-S drive.
http://www.stuckpixel.com/owens.jpg
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RockB747
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Joined: 06 November 2002
Posts: 307
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| Posted: 18 November 2002 at 4:17pm | IP Logged
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To LAZYDAYS...Fix the nicks. You may not feel any vibration, but the bearing, et.al. can. If you remove the props yourself, any reliable shop can have their prop reconditioner fix the props for about 70-80 bucks apiece. The prop person can also answer your questions but that person will need some boat info....size, weight, max rpm, max speed at max rpm. If the p30 is to much prop, they can repitch your existing prop. Price goes up to about 125 bucks a prop though.
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Charles Solomon
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Joined: 31 March 2002
Location: Indian Harbour Beach, Florida
Posts: 17
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| Posted: 24 December 2002 at 10:05am | IP Logged
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I have a Bravo III outdrive on my 2001 260 Sundancer. I can't go out for the day without re-filling the oil reservoir. My outdrive has been replaced twice, the first time due to apparent heat damage (yellow bubbles in the paint under the anti-cav plate). Seems the dealer can't fix this. I suppose my choices are A) new boat with no BIII, no new boat (still have a canoe, but I hate to paddle), or a dealer upgrade. Does anyone with a newer mercruiser have this problem?
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Seven of Nine
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Joined: 18 October 2002
Location: Fairfax,VA
Posts: 46
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| Posted: 24 December 2002 at 4:15pm | IP Logged
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Well here we go I have a 2002 Formula 37PC with the leaks from hell 3 port & 2 starboard lower units so far.The last time they fixed them with a new seal for this problem,but the rep did not sea trial the boat properly so I do not know if it is fixed yet,will find out this coming summer. Brad Webber from merc gave me his word that it will be fixed.Since this is a problem with the way the seals were made they should fix yours at no charge I would demand that they do. Good Luck & Good Boating. Kevin
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Seven of Nine on the Chesapeake bay
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Robski97
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Joined: 17 February 2002
Location: Bellmore, NY, USA
Posts: 108
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| Posted: 29 December 2002 at 6:10pm | IP Logged
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Funny at the boat show i Spoke with two reps from Merc. They had no idea what i was talking about regarding fluid loss in bravo 3 drives.....I been the merc for 100 yrs,,,, Never heard of ur problem..... Guess the white flaky stuff on my drive is snow tooo ..
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2006 44 Searay Sundancer
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MarkT
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Joined: 29 December 2002
Location: Newport Beach, CA, USA
Posts: 131
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| Posted: 29 December 2002 at 11:48pm | IP Logged
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My new 2002 Formula 31PC (took delivery in Sept) with Bravo 3 outdrives also experienced significant gear fluid loss on the starboard engine. It threw an alarm after 24 hours of use, the resevoir was nearly empty. I had a 20hour service done (equivalent to the 100 hour service) where they replaced all the fluids and pressure tested the outdrives. They found no problems. I'm still loosing fluid in my starboard engine outdrive but not nearly as much as I did in the first 24 hours. I only had to top off my gearlube twice, about 1/4 of an inch each time, in the last 26 hours on my starboard engine and about half as much on my port engine.
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The SALLY P. a 2002 Formula 31PC
MarkT
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ctcaj
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Joined: 22 December 2001
Location: Fredericksburg, VA
Posts: 7
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| Posted: 02 January 2003 at 4:11pm | IP Logged
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Last spring Mercury replaced both lower units on my 1999 Maxum due to the horrific corrosion on both outdrives. Since the swap I too have experienced both drives sipping the reservoir dry. The old units didn't use any fluid at all! I can't wait to hear to what the dealer says about this.Chris
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Chris
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danali
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Joined: 12 February 2002
Location: Ft Walton Bch. Fl
Posts: 109
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| Posted: 03 January 2003 at 9:40am | IP Logged
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I know it may be hard to believe but I own twin 6.2 Bravo 3 drives on a 2002 Sea Ray sundancer and have not had any issues, no oil loss or corrosion in 200 hours of use in salt water on the Fla gulf coast. So far they have operated as advertised. I hope there are a couple more good ones out there!!
Larry
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Larry
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Dongieux
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Joined: 11 November 2002
Location: Mt. Holly, VA USA
Posts: 7
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| Posted: 17 January 2003 at 4:47pm | IP Logged
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Re BIII Corrosion - Trailer Boats Magazine published some material about this a year or so ago. I have a 2001 Regal w/Bravo III, and I wrote Merc w/serial number of drive, asking if they'd incorporated the anti-corrosion fixes in my drive. They replied that they had. Took delivery of the boat in April 2001, and they were supposed to have incorporated the fixes sometime in 2000. Not sure who you can believe these days, though.
Suggest you check the date and serial number of your drive, and contact Mercury.
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Charles Solomon
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Joined: 31 March 2002
Location: Indian Harbour Beach, Florida
Posts: 17
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| Posted: 12 February 2003 at 8:07am | IP Logged
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Latest update:
Mercruiser rep syas relief valve in oil reservoir cap malfunctioned and caused my oil to leak into the bilge. Problem is this is the third oil reservoir on this engine. I just don't trust it. Attorney is now involved ( a hard way to go) since the dealer will not buy back the boat and we do not want a bigger one at this time. Drive coolers etc. sounds to me like a mfr design flaw fixed by an aftermarket add-on. I would appreciate any information about BIII drive lube or outdrive temperatiure problems to develop a database. Please E-mail to Csolomon1@cfl.rr.com
Thanks!
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viking65
Forum Member
Joined: 12 June 2002
Location: Daytona Beach, FL
Posts: 556
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| Posted: 12 February 2003 at 7:32pm | IP Logged
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I believe someone needs to get the TRUTH of the matter. I'm fed up with reading all this Bull and having the same problems on my old Amberjack. I was consuming quarts of drive lube in a single day. My mechanic didn't know where it was going and i traced EVERY SINGLE line and none of them had a leak. I seriously do not understand where this is getting sucked off to. One time it was in my bilge because someone left the cap off. All the other times, well, it dissapeared i guess.I had the port outdrive replaced and the starboard outdrive re-bulilt. Both BIII's mind you. The problem still continued and either no one would give me a straight answer, or it is truly a phenomenon !! Also my drive tilt fluid was leaking somewhere. No one knows where that stuff went either !! ------------------
1998 Viking 58 Convertible > "Aquaholic"
PS484@comcast.net
[This message has been edited by viking65 (edited 02-12-2003).]
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1998 Viking 58 Convertible > "Aquaholic"
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Jim Kennedy
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Joined: 25 December 2001
Posts: 58
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| Posted: 18 February 2003 at 10:51pm | IP Logged
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Guess I'm lucky in these regards. After servicing it, I had to top it off a couple of times (normal) but since then nothing at all.And I do run a Simrek Halo drive shower on mine just to keep it clean primarily. www.driveshowers.com call and talk to Paul Kermis (Simrek) he's a great guy and the drive shower is awesome. ------------------
2000 Sea Ray 240 Sundeck,
7.4 MPI Bravo III (Modified by Full Throttle Marine)
[This message has been edited by Jim Kennedy (edited 02-18-2003).]
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2000 Sea Ray 240 Sundeck
7.4 MPI - GONE
Stay tuned for the repower...
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jvalich
Forum Member
Joined: 02 February 2001
Location: Lakeland, FL USA
Posts: 1939
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| Posted: 19 February 2003 at 7:21am | IP Logged
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Leaking oil in the Bravo III dirve is the new fix for the corrosion problems. Merc engineers have incorporated millions of microscopic holes in the drive casing. When running at speed and the drive warms up, gear lube (microscopic droplettes mind you) are forced out these holes providing a water resistant interface between the drive case and the water, thus preventing corrosion. Their thoughts are, gear lube is cheaper and easier to replace than outdrives. They "borrowed" the technology from Hewlett Packard's print engineers when they designed the first inkjet printers. Similarly, they 'Borrowed" the technology from Volvo for the DuoProp outdrive.Actually, this shows great engineering ability form Mercruiser, combining technologies from to completely different industries. Sorry guys...couldn't resist! Thought a bit of humor was needed... ------------------
Jvalich
2000 Four Winns 248 Vista
"Mental Floss"
Lakeland, FL
[This message has been edited by jvalich (edited 02-19-2003).]
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Jvalich
http://www.flowguardian.com
2004 FW 288 Vista "Mental Floss"
Lakeland, FL
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BoatUS Club House Messageboards : Consumer Q & A
Topic: '02 Bravo III
