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Bravo 3 sounds lound when I turn it by hand!

Thread starter DeepBlue2010
Start date Jan 28, 2014

DeepBlue2010

Lieutenant

Thread starter

Jan 28, 2014

#1

This is how my Bravo 3 sounds when I turn it by hand. I compared it to another Bravo 3 next to me - as you can see in the video - and the latter one did not make this noise. It was turning much smoother. Any insights on what the issue could be?

Last edited: Jan 28, 2014

A

agallant80

Commander

Jan 28, 2014

#2

Re: Bravo 3 sounds lound when I turn it by hand!

Hmm wondering. Mine makes a bit of noise like yours. Mine is new with only about 70 hours on it. With that said mine does not make as much noise as yours. Are both the drives the same generation Bravo3?

A

agallant80

Commander

Jan 28, 2014

#3

Re: Bravo 3 sounds lound when I turn it by hand!

How many hours on the drive do you have?

DeepBlue2010

Lieutenant

Thread starter

Jan 28, 2014

#4

Re: Bravo 3 sounds lound when I turn it by hand!

Not sure about that. I can check. I actually compared it to more than one Bravo 3 happend to be docking next to me and mine was obviously louder.

The boat has about 900 hours on it.

A

agallant80

Commander

Jan 28, 2014

#5

Re: Bravo 3 sounds lound when I turn it by hand!

I don;t know if it would make a difference but in the video your drive is down and the other boats drive is up.

alldodge

Moderator

Staff member

Jan 28, 2014

#6

Re: Bravo 3 sounds lound when I turn it by hand!

DeepBlue2010 said:
Not sure about that. I can check. I actually compared it to more than one Bravo 3 happend to be docking next to me and mine was obviously louder.

The boat has about 900 hours on it.

While mine is not that loud this rings to daja vu. I have two B3 and old one and fairly new one. The new one makes more noise then the old one, and the older makes next to no noise. I noticed a slight bit of gray mixed with the drive lube when I pulled the plug to check for water. The drive is currently in the shop being looked at, and the tech doing the work indicated he is thinking incorrect shimming in my case.

Since yours just started it could be wore gears, or needs re-shimming. If you haven't pull the lower drain plug just a little to get a look at the color. Don't need to pull the plug all the way, just checking for water and discoloration.

From the look of the corrosion on the housing next to the props, I would pull the props off and have a look at the carrier. With the twin stainless props the B3 has issues with galvanic corrosion. I managed to get my corrosion stopped only after adding a second Mercathode and another set of anodes.

H

HT32BSX115

Supreme Mariner

Jan 28, 2014

#7

Re: Bravo 3 sounds lound when I turn it by hand!

DeepBlue2010 said:
This is how my Bravo 3 sounds when I turn it by hand. I compared it to another Bravo 3 next to me - as you can see in the video - and the latter one did not make this noise. It was turning much smoother. Any insights on what the issue could be?

Did you drain the oil before making this video?

DeepBlue2010

Lieutenant

Thread starter

Jan 28, 2014

#8

Re: Bravo 3 sounds lound when I turn it by hand!

AllDodge said:
Since yours just started it could be wore gears, or needs re-shimming. If you haven't pull the lower drain plug just a little to get a look at the color. Don't need to pull the plug all the way, just checking for water and discoloration.

From the look of the corrosion on the housing next to the props, I would pull the props off and have a look at the carrier. With the twin stainless props the B3 has issues with galvanic corrosion. I managed to get my corrosion stopped only after adding a second Mercathode and another set of anodes.

I am not clear on the "shimming" part. I took out this outdrive for service multiple times and never installed any shimms on it?!

I changed the gear oil last November and there was no trace of water on it. I agree with you that the corrosion is a problem that I have to deal with but I want to determine if the unit needs rebuild before I start the corrosion treatment

DeepBlue2010

Lieutenant

Thread starter

Jan 28, 2014

#9

Re: Bravo 3 sounds lound when I turn it by hand!

HT32BSX115 said:
Did you drain the oil before making this video?

No. The oil was changed but the unit has new oil if this is what you are asking

Fun Times

Moderator

Staff member

Jan 28, 2014

#10

Re: Bravo 3 sounds lound when I turn it by hand!

Hum, though it's been a while now, I've heard some sounds like that before too. Some bravo drives are louder than others if you're really listening for it. Yours does seem excessive though.

You'll want to start with checking the condition of the drive gear oil. Is it clean? Is the lube Mercury High Performance gear lube? It should be a bluish green color if it is Mercury's oil. Is there any metal in the oil? if so what color? When was the last gear lube change.

Unfortunately it seems like something is not quite right inside. And it could be anything from worn gears, shimming process, bearings. Yours really does not sound so good. Let us know your findings, good luck.

Fun Times

Moderator

Staff member

Jan 28, 2014

#11

Re: Bravo 3 sounds lound when I turn it by hand!

DeepBlue2010 said:
I am not clear on the "shimming" part. I took out this outdrive for service multiple times and never installed any shimms on it?!

Define service.... oil changes and R&R drive for engine alignment or rebuild drive. The shimming process would be needed if the drive was taken apart then put back together.

alldodge

Moderator

Staff member

Jan 28, 2014

#12

Re: Bravo 3 sounds lound when I turn it by hand!

I would recommend having the drive disassembled and checked. Mine got worst and I started seeing very fine gray material in the drive lube. Mine is having a complete tear down and reassemble, which will involve shimming, preload, backlash, and re-torqueing

H

HT32BSX115

Supreme Mariner

Jan 28, 2014

#13

Re: Bravo 3 sounds lound when I turn it by hand!

DeepBlue2010 said:
No. The oil was changed but the unit has new oil if this is what you are asking

I was trying to determine if you were turning the prop with NO oil inside.

Just went out and turned mine and it was considerably quieter. I have about 150 hrs on it. If the oil was drained, it might be a little noisier I would think.

The Bravo III is much noisier than a Bravo I/II because it's got a LOT more gears in there........Yours does sound like something IS amiss. With oil in it, it shouldn't be that noisy.

DeepBlue2010

Lieutenant

Thread starter

Jan 28, 2014

#14

Re: Bravo 3 sounds lound when I turn it by hand!

Well, I will ask the mechanic to stop by and take a look. Thanks all.

M

MarkSee

Lieutenant Junior Grade

Jan 28, 2014

#15

Re: Bravo 3 sounds lound when I turn it by hand!

Mine makes no sounds like yours at all. The only sound mine makes when turning the props while on the trailer is maybe like a very light scraping kind of sound that I figure is the prop housing turning against each other of the front prop against the case.

Hope it works out for you as a brand new complete drive is around $6k.

Mark

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