|
The shifting problem has been fixed, and I sold the boat! I figured that the boat will never look as good to a buyer as now, so I let it go. I am looking for a V-drive now.
My shifting problems existed since I got the boat from my brother in law 4 years ago. Although he only put 35 hours on it in 5 years (it was a 1994), he was extremely dangerous to propellers. I know he even mangled an older style stainless prop. I believe that incident started the problems, since the prop did not have a break-away hub.
The problem was the engine dying when you shifted into reverse. It never happened coming off the trailer, but always once the engine was warm. After numerous attempts of shift cable replacements over the years, and the problem was getting worse, it was evident that something was wearing or very wrong with the lower gear system. The propeller shaft was pulled, and it was clear that one of the bearing was cracked and the gear had moved too far along the shaft, wearing the shaft badly.
So a new prop shaft, forward and reverse gears, and 1000 bucks later....it shifts well again.
i/o can be great wake boats, but the using them with sacs and a ton of people puts lots of strain on the drive system. Maybe the bravo drives are more robust than the alpha...but I wouldn't consider another alpha i/0 because I typically run with 8 people and lots of gear, it is smarter for me to go with a 300hp boat, made for the torque requirements. Too bad in some ways, all my experience troubleshooting would have been helpful for another i/o.
|
)
Linear Mode
