Alpha gen1 ? Help to identify with pic

crazy charlie

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Trying to help a friend that got his 1st boat.He is a distance away so trying to help him by pics right now.He bought a little 17 Glastron bow rider mid 1990s I think. 4.3 v6 mercruiser .What is the circle on the right side gasket just above the shift arm?? I have had 1980s alpha drives for past 30 years and have not seen this on any of mine.Charlie
 

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Scott06

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That is the poppet valve for the gear lube. Must be a gen 2 drive , connects the lube bottle on engine to the drive so you can monitor lube level and get an alarm if low

alphas switched from gen one to gen 2 in 1991 timeframe.
 

crazy charlie

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That is the poppet valve for the gear lube. Must be a gen 2 drive , connects the lube bottle on engine to the drive so you can monitor lube level and get an alarm if low

alphas switched from gen one to gen 2 in 1991 timeframe.
Thanks,is there anything related on the drive itself? My buddy said he broke something off right by one of the drive nuts. I assumed he tried to get off the grounding washer.Charlie
 

Scott06

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Thanks,is there anything related on the drive itself? My buddy said he broke something off right by one of the drive nuts. I assumed he tried to get off the grounding washer.Charlie
BY related to the drive itself what do you mean?

They are different drives and not bolt in replacements of each other if that’s what you mean. There are some parts commonality but shift mechanism is different where drive and bellhousing shift shaft meet

Did you friend break off the poppet valve in the circle on RH side of the gasket ? The poppet valve just Keeps gear lube from leaking out when drive is removed
 

Scott06

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Thanks,is there anything related on the drive itself? My buddy said he broke something off right by one of the drive nuts. I assumed he tried to get off the grounding washer.Charlie
I think I caught your drift by related you mean to the drive lube poppet. It is a male fitting on the bellhousing and female on the drive so can’t imagine that broke but possible

What he probably broke off is the speedometer tube fitting. It’s down by the shift shaft/ lever in lower. You push a button on the fitting to pop it off before removing the drive. It’s just a plastic tube that sends water pressure up to speedometer. Whole thing is pretty lightweight so easy to break but won’t bother any thing except Speedo won’t work
 
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