Alpha Owners- Do you like them?

I'm boat shopping. I love my Volvo. It's bulletproof and simple to maintain. Most of the boats I'm looking at (28-30 ft. Express Cruisers) for sale locally have twin V-6's or V-8's and are of course, Mercs. That means they're usually equipped with Alpha Gen II's.

The Alpha layout (water pump in the drive leg) bugs me because IMO it's archaic. You can't resolve the most common cooling issues without hauling the boat out of the water. I'm big on maintenance. Impellers would be replaced immediately, and then every 2 years.

That said, are these drives reliable? Do they have any common 'gotchas' or weak points?

Advice appreciated.

Re: Alpha Owners- Do you like them?

JoLin said:

I'm big on maintenance. Impellers would be replaced immediately, and then every 2 years.

That said, are these drives reliable? Do they have any common 'gotchas' or weak points?...

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Every 2 years would be overkill on an Alpha One Gen 2, but a lot of people do it that way.

They are reliable. They are "simple" compared to Volvos and Bravos. They shift with a harder clunk, but they are supposed to.

However, I would encouraged you to actually check those boats, because dual Bravos have gotten a LOT more popular. Although with the way their water pumps are mounted, even though they are inside the boat, they can "impossible" to get to while on the water. Not as easy as a Volvo's pump. (However, you can rebuild Merc Bravo pumps way easier and cheaper than a Volvo pump, some of which you can't rebuild at all.)

Re: Alpha Owners- Do you like them?

Never owned an Alpha 1 gen 2- but my 86 Alpha 1 gen 1 has been awesome. I have hit enough stuff on the river.[logs, sand bars etc] to do it in { i would think] Running a SS prop besides. I change gear oil every year impeller every 3-6 yrs and it keeps on going. I had to replace lower shift cable ths year. But thats it ! I have had great luck with my entire Mercruiser powerplant/drive Thumbs up from me !!!

Re: Alpha Owners- Do you like them?

Just thinking out loud here, but the Alpha drives must NOT be very reliable, why else would SEI exist, and companies like Sierra, GLM, and a few others all making aftermarket parts for them.

Actually, the drives are very reliable. IF TAKEN CARE OF, and there are millions of them out there in use.
Taking care of them means things like keeping water out of the bellows, changing gear lube yearly, replacing anodes when needed, etc.
With the Gen II impellers, replacing them at 3 to 4 years is about normal, and they usually look almost new when replaced. Only slight curve to the vanes. But after 3 or 4 years, you don't know what all has gone past the vanes that may have damaged them.

Re: Alpha Owners- Do you like them?

Don S said:

Just thinking out loud here, but the Alpha drives must NOT be very reliable, why else would SEI exist, and companies like Sierra, GLM, and a few others all making aftermarket parts for them.

Why do hackers attack Windows OS 'puters but not Mac's? Cause there are millions of them. Never had a problem with my Alpha 1 that wasn't self induced, probably just like 85% of them. Their weak point is running them without oil.

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Re: Alpha Owners- Do you like them?

My gen II has been fine since day 1, no complaints. I perform the maintenance mentioned by Don. The impeller to me isn't that big of a deal.
The way I look at it, the only way that I know of to inspect the gimble bearing and bellows is to pull the drive. That only takes a few minutes.
Once the drive is off, it's only a little more work to change the impeller.
Of course you're looking at boats with twin drives, so twice the work parts costs.

Re: Alpha Owners- Do you like them?

Brewman61 said:

I perform the maintenance mentioned by Don.

.... The way I look at it, the only way that I know of to inspect the gimble bearing and bellows is to pull the drive.

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Yep - whether an Alpha or a Volvo, or whatever, if it is an I/O then you need to pull the drive every now and then for routine maintenance.

Re: Alpha Owners- Do you like them?

Yup, I'm well aware of annual maintenance requirements. I do the same on my Volvo.

I appreciate the feedback, folks. Thank you all.

Re: Alpha Owners- Do you like them?

i have owend 2 of alpha outdrives,they are built to last,like people have said ,maint ,maint keep check every season,drain check for water refill,i only had 1 problem the person serviced my alpha refilled when it was cold out,so it wasnt really filled,yup smoked part of the drive,but he rebuilt it for me and never had another problem,,the one i have now is 1990,its not pretty but still working fine.