O.E.M. vs Aftermarket

Neverquit

Seaman
Joined
Nov 28, 2018
Messages
51
1985 OMC stringer 400
Took the drive off this week to give it a once over, everything working fine but being on a new to me boat I figured now with a minus 36 windchill outside is the time to give it a little TLC.

Ball gears, one looks real good, the other I would guess has 30 % wear on it so I decided I will put a new set on it and while it is off might just as well put a water pump in at the same time.

Looking for parts I have found new OEM gears and have found aftermarket sets for roughly the same money.

Anyone have a bad experience with one or the other for these parts?

Seals, nuts and caps come with the aftermarket gear sets, imagine I would change just because.
Is it routine to put a new nut and cap on each time they are removed?
The OEM gears come by themselves but I can order the nuts seals and caps if required.

Same question for the water pump kits.

I was going to replace the transom boot/seal while I was at it but looking at this one I would believe it was replaced by a previous owner not very long ago.

I have read that the aftermarket boots do not last near as long as the factory ones so I am leaning towards not messing with a good thing.

Before I order parts Is there anything else I should be replacing as routine maintenance while it is apart?

No leaks to be found anywhere on it neither oil or water. All the oils are clean and clear and are being changed just so I know how long they have been in there.

The lower leg was replaced just before I got it and that portion looks fine.

Reading on this site it is obvious not many have a lot of good things to say about these stringers but being that it has held together for the last 30+ years I figure with a little TLC it should still hold up a long time for the number of hours a year I go fishing.
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
Staff member
Joined
Jul 23, 2011
Messages
47,307
Since OMG went out of business over 2 decades ago, and the original supplier of gears and shafts went out of business about a year later...they are all "aftermarket" parts for the OMG stringer.

As far as the boot goes, correct, get a good quality boot.

Inspect the splines in the 3 piece vertical driveshaft. The small stub to upper is a known failure point
 

wrench 3

Commander
Joined
Aug 12, 2012
Messages
2,108
You're not supposed to reuse the nuts on the ball gears and the caps are basically not reusable.
 

Neverquit

Seaman
Joined
Nov 28, 2018
Messages
51
Should have the last of the parts showing up this week, ended up ordering;

New ball gears, caps and nuts.
Manual
The big exhaust seal that goes just above lower end (expensive sucker)
Complete water pump kit
Shifter cover gasket
As well as a new belt and spark plugs and spares.

Minus 34 C again this morning but supposed to be up in the minus 20 C range later in the week.
Spending more time loading the woodstove than I am working on the boat.
 

harringtondav

Commander
Joined
May 26, 2018
Messages
2,438
I'm probably stating the obvious here. My wife's family had a '75 OMC Ford 302 Stringer. The dealer told us more than once not to engage the drive when it was tilted up any amount. The reason was obvious to pa-in-law and the guys along for the trip. The ball gears are intended as a straight on coupling, not an angle drive.

The trim and tilt switches were next to each other on the dash. Way too many people used the boat. So I wired a N/O push button switch into the tilt circuit and hid it under the dash to prevent accidental engagement of tilt. The boat lived on a lift in the summer, so no big deal. When it came time to put the boat on the trailer we tilted the drive up using two hands.
 
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