What do you guys think about this Cobra out drive plan for the winter?

I have a 5.7 OMC with a Cobra drive but i have found out that the drive is the model for the 5.0. It has the 1.4:1 gears instead of the 1.5:1

The drive seems to be in pretty good condition. i never hear any weird noises or grinding. I changed the drive lube and didn't see any water but I checked the level the next 3 times out and the third time I did see some but it wasn't milk shake or anything. One more thing is the drive really needs to be painted.

But I was thinking that when I take the drive off this winter, pressure test it to find where the leak is, put new seal(s) in, change the impeller, maybe change the drive shift cable, paint it, and do whatever other maintenance is needed, I could post it on Craigslist and/or eBay and see if I could sell it.

If I don't sell it I will still have a drive with all the maintenance done for next season. If I can sell it I can get a 116 SEI drive and conversion kit and I will have a new drive with the correct gear set and a 3 year warranty. Plus SEI is just an hour away from me.

What do you guys think about this? Think the SEI drives are better than the Cobra I have now? Looking here at iBoats, and other Cobras I have saw I should be able to get enough for a SEI drive and conversion kit if I get the cobra all fixed up and painted right?

You guys think this would be a good idea?

Either way I will be doing the maintenance so the decision is not to spend the money on the Cobra drive, just whether I should switch to SEI if I can sell it, and if I will get enough for the SEI drive. (or near enough)

Aren't the Cobra drives sought by a lot of people with OMC drives that cant find them? The ones I have saw online are pretty expensive.


Open for all suggestions / opinions.


Thanks

Re: What do you guys think about this Cobra out drive plan for the winter?

Aren't the Cobra drives sought by a lot of people with OMC drives that cant find them? The ones I have saw online are pretty expensive.

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I would say, yes. They are somewhat sought after..... (I got about 1400 for my previous King Cobra drive + accys)

Changing to an SEI is probably not a bad idea if you need to switch.... But if your Cobra is working ok, It's hard to suggest you get rid of something that works.

After all......the goal is to go boating/skiing/fishing etc......right?

You also have to factor in the cost of the SEI "KIT" (which is somewhere around $350) in addition to the cost of the actual new drive.

Re: What do you guys think about this Cobra out drive plan for the winter?

well first off I think you are mistaken on the gear set problem you think you have... generally smaller engines SOMETIMES have lower gears but you say you have a drive with higher gears.... I haven't heard of a 1.4 but even if that's what it is it should be just fine for your engine. They are kind of hard to find but I doubt you'd get enough to convert with all new stuff. Can't see how it would hurt you to try though.

Re: What do you guys think about this Cobra out drive plan for the winter?

smokeonthewater said:

well first off I think you are mistaken on the gear set problem you think you have... generally smaller engines SOMETIMES have lower gears but you say you have a drive with higher gears.... I haven't heard of a 1.4 but even if that's what it is it should be just fine for your engine. They are kind of hard to find but I doubt you'd get enough to convert with all new stuff. Can't see how it would hurt you to try though.

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In my manual there is a table that shows each year and what each size engine had which drive, and what gear set is in each drive.


I looked up the info on this drive from the info on the tag on the drive.

Model 985271
Engine 5.0
Serial T0566515

In my manual it says that that model # was used in 88 on 5.0 engines and has a 1.50:1 gear ratio. It also says that the 5.7 had a gear ratio of 1.41:1

I figured I'm gonna take it off and do the maintenance and paint it anyways so if its not a bad idea to do the SEI switch I can at least try.

Last time I went to SEI's site and checked it would it was around $1,850 for the drive, conversion kit, zincs, and the install kit.

If its not a bad idea then I will try. Can't hurt anything to try. I just didnt want to try and take the chance of getting rid of my Cobra if its better than a SEI drive.



Thanks everyone