Alpha 1 Warm to the touch after running

[pikiewicz]

Hi all,
I guess after many years of boating, I never felt the outdrive after use. We were skiing for a while and I touched the upper part of the outdrive when it was submerged in water. The water temp. is around 81 and the drive felt warm. Not hot, just warm. Warmer than the water. Is this normal for an alpha 1 gen 2 to create a small amount of heat? The lower unit was the same temp as the water but the upper unit was warm. I see they make cooler devices but I never had any interest in getting one. Any thoughts or suggestions would be great.
Thanks in advance

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: Alpha 1 Warm to the touch after running

When the boat is on plane the upper is out of the water.The lower stays in the water.It's cheap insurance to install a drive cooler.
The oil in the drive doesn't circulate,so it doesn't cool.The cool oil is good for the lower.
ALL high performance boats usually have something installed to help dissipate the heat.
They aren't that expensive and easy to install.J

 

[ziggy]

Re: Alpha 1 Warm to the touch after running

have ya ever noticed drives with that white stuff on them, like this..

i think that white stuff is minerals from the water that gets boiled off while running on plane. most of the drive out of the water. that's pretty hot..
i continue to run w/o a drive cooler as i feel that if one was necessary mercruiser would have put one on. but i have thought about getting one. it is discerning to know they get that hot but i think it may be the norm. i've seen plenty of drives with the white stuff on them. including genII's.. lime away takes the white stuff off..

 

[Eric 3.7LX Alpha 1]

Re: Alpha 1 Warm to the touch after running

have ya ever noticed drives with that white stuff on them, like this..

i think that white stuff is minerals from the water that gets boiled off while running on plane. most of the drive out of the water. that's pretty hot..
i continue to run w/o a drive cooler as i feel that if one was necessary mercruiser would have put one on. but i have thought about getting one. it is discerning to know they get that hot but i think it may be the norm. i've seen plenty of drives with the white stuff on them. including genII's.. lime away takes the white stuff off..

Hey Zig,
Looks like you like speed on that rig according to that upper.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Alpha 1 Warm to the touch after running

Looks like you like speed on that rig according to that upper.

. i think that pic may have been before i discovered lime away... sure is proof they get hot though.. i always kinda contributed it to extended runs on the river when you up on plane for long periods of time... while lake boating it don't get quite as bad...
like speed... my boat only does 42ish.... that's not real speedy by todays standards.....

 

[Philster]

Re: Alpha 1 Warm to the touch after running

It ain't top speed that matters. It's how fast/hard the drive is churning.

In one boat, 42mph is as hard as 62mph in another. At max speed, high up on plane and trimmed up/out, the drives are probably churning away at similar revolutions. i.e., gears are creating lotsa heat and cooling ain't keeping up (relatively speaking).

It gets more extreme with more extreme setups, but the upper gets hotter, whether it's 425 HP and 65 MPH or 230 HP and 45 MPH.

 

[brhodes]

Re: Alpha 1 Warm to the touch after running

Zig,

That photo has been usefull for a number of answers/topics. I am a new boater and after a week at the lake, I was starting to wonder while looking at my drive why that was happening. The thought was creeping into my mind that the PO did something fishy, had to paint the drive, etc. When you say not that expensive to install a cooler, what's the ballpark. Thanks for the great info.

 

[Fishermark]

Re: Alpha 1 Warm to the touch after running

Drive showers will set you back around $100 if you shop around.