alpha out drive

[FREEMAN77]

at the end of the season I noticed I had some water in my lowes unit it is an alpha one I have seen alot of them rebuilt on ebay for around 300-400. is it worth taking some where and having it redone or should I just buy one already rebuilt? any idea what something like this might cost to have the seals redone? even a ball park figure would be good.

[Broadhorizons]

I haven't had to replace a drive but I'd be really skeptical of a rebuilt drive on Ebay for $3-400 when a remanufactured is probably $1500 to 2000 and new is more than that. I'd talk to a reputable mechanic before I look to replace the entire drive, it may just be a seal or something similar.

I thought I noticed some water in mine this past summer when I changed the drive lube for the 100 hour service. I talked to "a reputable mechanic" about it and we decided to just monitor it and he did a pressure test on it at the end of the season. When it was winterized, there was no water noticed but it hadn't been ran as long since the 100hr service, so we are going to monitor it in the spring and then see if we need to look into it further for bad seals.

If you don't change the drive lube as part of the 100 hour service, I would strongly suggest it.

[MCF]

I would start by replacing the plastic washers or o-rings on the fill and drain screws. Sometimes they get brittle and let water in. Having had seals done on various lower units over the years, I would guess you are looking at the 250.00-300.00 range, or more depending if you need the upper ones done as well. I had to have a COBRA outdrive done years ago and it was 350.00, but the upper one needed to be done as well at the time. As the other post pointed out you can just monitor it for a while, or drain off some into a glass jar to let it seperate to see how much water is in a sample, whether it is a lot or just a trickle.

[UpGrady]

We should all be taking off our Alpha lower units every winter and having them pressure tested and replacing impellers as preventative maintenance. The presence of water does not mean that the drive is shot, as there are many failure modes possible. Simply take the boat to a reputable mercruiser mechanic and they will assess the situation.

I have a pair of Alpha drives on my boat and I have typically had them removed and tested every other year, additionally, I have oiler jars inside the boat to help keep an eye out for water intrusion during the season.

If the unit is shot, then the mechanic will help you out, a replacement mercruiser certified rebuild is going to run you at least $1500, but the mechanic might be able to discount it some for doing the work. SEI units have gotten good reports as well and are a cheaper option than a Mercruiser unit, but unless you do the work yourself or find an independent mechanic, you will likely be locked into a mercruiser replacement.

[lakebound88]

The problem youre facing is similar to one i had in the past. How are your bellows? Good? Poor?

The seal for youre shaft could be bad?

I had my outdrive done last spring on my alpha one generation 2, all together i paid about 500 to have all seals changed, impellor and gimball bearing changed. i found the kit on the internet, but paid my mechanic to do the work in his spare time. I know my information may not help, but i have had the service done on my drive, so any info in costs could always be apreciated..

good luck.

[Knotlost]

Its very easy to do a pressure check and figure out where its leaking, if its simple, then dont sweat it. After pressure testing it will already be emptied of oil, after the "leak" is fixed it will be fine, if you concerned just change the oil in 10 hrs of use or less.