Mercruiser drive vs. SEI

[85elite]

I'm looking for help and opinions on comparing the mercruiser drive and the SEI.i have always been a believer in genuine parts but am struggling to make a decision on this.

Last year I picked up so me fishing line around my prop and didn't notice until long after it took out the seal. The problem is it also had pitted my bearings etc and is now very noisy. I took it to my mechanic and he said it would be best to get a whole new drive. I stated looking for a good used one but after several failed attempts and trusting people that what I was buying was decent I decided to look at new. The new Mercruiser is about 2800 with a 1 year warranty and the SEI is about 1400 with a 3 year.

In reading posts and talking to some boat mechanics I was warned that I would not be happy with the SEI as it was noisy and cheaply built. This however was a few years back and unfortunately a couple drives ago ( I have had some bad luck with this boat). In reading some current posts I see many who seem happy with the SEI.

Could I get some input and opinions on what direction to go?

Thanks
Jim

 

[alldodge]

Many guys/mechanics are just biased. SEI has put the drives out a long time and can be matched toe to toe with the Merc. There is a lot of folks here which have gone to the SEI without issues, and if they do come up they are by far better at handling warranty issues

 

[Rick Stephens]

I had good experience with an SEI drive.

 

[Bt Doctur]

I have installed a few also. No operating issues and a better warranty too

 

[flipbro]

I run a upper merc and lower sei 2 seasons . No problems. Shifts very nice.

 

[85elite]

Thanks for the responses so far. Has anyone experienced the noisy SEI drive at all.

 

[JustJason]

I've seen SEI drives that have had no gear whine, I have seen SEI drives that start quiet and then develop gear whine. I have seen SEI drives that have gear whine out of the box, but goes away after a while. Eventually you are going to sell your boat to somebody else. If your boat is worth 10K or more, it might be worth your while to stick with OEM parts. If your boat is of lesser value, the SEI drive will be fine.

 

[85elite]

I've seen SEI drives that have had no gear whine, I have seen SEI drives that start quiet and then develop gear whine. I have seen SEI drives that have gear whine out of the box, but goes away after a while. Eventually you are going to sell your boat to somebody else. If your boat is worth 10K or more, it might be worth your while to stick with OEM parts. If your boat is of lesser value, the SEI drive will be fine.

What if I have 30k in a boat that's worth under 10k?
Seriously thanks for your advice. I guess a little gear whine is not a big deal to me at this point.

 

[alldodge]

What if I have 30k in a boat that's worth under 10k?
Seriously thanks for your advice. I guess a little gear whine is not a big deal to me at this point.

Don't see anyone with knowledge saying anything about an SEI drive, but folks with here say info may frown at first. Then after taking a ride and hearing no issue or whine the SEI will not be a resale problem any longer.

Never heard of an SEI drive any more then any other OEM drive that has the same kind of problems. No drives whine unless there is a problem

 

[Scott Danforth]

What if I have 30k in a boat that's worth under 10k?
Seriously thanks for your advice. I guess a little gear whine is not a big deal to me at this point.

BOAT is an acronym for Break Out Another Thousand. Its a hobby nearly as expensive as owning airplanes and less expensive than racing

regarding SEI. I would use an SEI drive in a heart beat if I had a broken Mercruiser

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Buddy of mine installed an SEI drive on his Rinker. They have an excellent customer service dept, with knowledgeable folks who stand by their product. A three year warranty? How can you go wrong. Follow their written break in procedure to the t, and you'll be fine. After my friends experience I wouldn't hesitate in buying an SEI.

 

[85elite]

BOAT is an acronym for Break Out Another Thousand. Its a hobby nearly as expensive as owning airplanes and less expensive than racing

regarding SEI. I would use an SEI drive in a heart beat if I had a broken Mercruiser

Oh I agree with that statement! Thanks for your comments.

 

[85elite]

Buddy of mine installed an SEI drive on his Rinker. They have an excellent customer service dept, with knowledgeable folks who stand by their product. A three year warranty? How can you go wrong. Follow their written break in procedure to the t, and you'll be fine. After my friends experience I wouldn't hesitate in buying an SEI.

Thanks for taking the time to give your advice

 

[85elite]

Don't see anyone with knowledge saying anything about an SEI drive, but folks with here say info may frown at first. Then after taking a ride and hearing no issue or whine the SEI will not be a resale problem any longer.

Never heard of an SEI drive any more then any other OEM drive that has the same kind of problems. No drives whine unless there is a problem

Thank you for that. I did call SEI and their customer service representative said if the drive starts with a whine or develops one while under the three year warranty to let them know.
my luck lately has been so bad I could replace with a brand new unit every three years and be money ahead.

 

[redneck joe]

What if I have 30k in a boat that's worth under 10k?
.

Yeah thats my ratio...


im starting my fifth year, no issues. And you said this will be your third because of bad luck, remember that the sei is unconditional warranty. Hit a stump, yer covered. Fishing line, yer covered.

 

[cdiamond]

It Has Been My Oberservation That

A Good Many People Can't ( Or Won't ) Grasp The Concept

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR !!!

As A Mercruiser Certified Tech. For over 30 Years

I Have Posted My Opinions ( Based On Knowledge & Experience ) Regarding These Chinese Outdrives

So Here We Go Again - Pay Attention Now

PRICE IS WHAT YOU PAY --- VALUE IS WHAT YOU GET

so lets look at this with some common sense:

if your sei drive develops a problem - where can you get it replaced / repaired under warranty ???

only ONE place in the WHOLE COUNTRY

and who pays to remove, disassemble, reassemble and reinstall the drive -
YOU DO !!!!

where can you get your merc drive replaced/ repaired under warranty ???

answer- ANY MERC DEALER IN THE COUNTRY

who pays for removal, disassemble ..... etc ???

answer - MERCRUISER

this "fantastic warranty" is strictly a MARKETING STRATEGY

to low information boaters

3 year no fault replacement ???

this means

that these units are produced at such a low cost

that they can give them away if they self destruct

with all that said:

are they a less expensive option under a few circumstances ???

i would think long and hard !!!

just be aware of what you are purchasing

 

[alldodge]

Merc will not pay to remove and install a drive that needs work unless bought from and installed by a dealer. Case in point bought new B3XR drive from dealer in another state and had it shipped to me. After install and before use, the drive started leaking at the prop shaft. Merc agreed to repair after 3 weeks (Slow customer service) but the local dealer would not remove/replace at not cost, I removed.

The SEI drive can be repaired by any Merc dealer or by anyone that has the knowledge to repair a Merc drive. If a problem does happen under warranty the drive is not disassembled/reassembled by the buyer, it is done by SEI. If problem comes up within two weeks, SEI pays shipping both ways. After two weeks and a problem develops you must ship the drive back, they will inspect/repair and ship back within one week but can be in two days.

So there are far more then just a "few" cases

Finding a Gen II drive for 2800 in most cases is done by looking around and installing your self. Most dealers will change list price which brings the cost up a bit more.

 

[cdiamond]

i have personally spoke with sei warranty dept

regarding their policies

the drive is shipped in two halves

it must be returned the same way

they WILL NOT pay for any removal, diassembly. and or reassembly and reinstallation

sei is not going pay any MERC dealer to repair their drive under warranty

i suggest you speak to sei before

you "misstate" their policies

 

[alldodge]

Looks like your missing the point

Have

A

Great

Boating

Day

 

[redneck joe]

As you can see, thoughts vary on SEI. If you want to waste an entire day reading a thread with about 400 posts on it on another forum that swings even more wildly than this, send me a PM and I'll get you the link.