Bravo II drive locking up engine!

[jerryb1]

I have a 1994 25' Searay Express witha 5.7L Mercruiser with Bravo II drive. Everything worked fine until this weekend when I took it out drove about 10 miles shut the engine off. When I tried to start it, it would crank about 1/4 turn or less and jam up with a loud clang. It's not a weak battery or cable problem. I also noticed I couldn't get it into forward gear easily. I worked the shift back and forth, and then I was able to get it into drive, but then it wouldn't go into reverse. Note all this shifting is while engine is off as the drive(or something else) is locking up the engine. With the engine off, I was able to verify that the prop turned both ways in nuetral, one way in forward and opposite in reverse as it should.
The drive has about 600 hrs on it and I'm assuming it's shot, but can someone tell me what it is that most likely failed? The clutch assembly? I havn't taken the boat out of the water yet, to see if there's water in the oil. A few other questions- How many hours is a typical Bravo II drive expected to last? Also, If I replace it, do I need to buy a Brovo II?

Thanks,
Jerry

 

[zbnutcase]

Re: Bravo II drive locking up engine!

Bravos were not designed to be shifted with the engine off. Hard to say what might have failed, and it can be replaced with a Bravo I II, or III, in the right ratio, of course

 

[jerryb1]

Re: Bravo II drive locking up engine!

Thanks- i was thinking maybe that was the case.
Also,I just realized that it's possible that the engine is hydro-locked. The manifolds and risers are only 2-3 yrs old, but maybe a gasket blew out? I'm about two hours away from the boat, but I'll try to get to it in a day or so to see what the emgine oil looks like.

 

[jerryb1]

Re: Bravo II drive locking up engine!

The boat ran fine until I shut it off, then it locked up. If it was a water in cylinder problem, wouldn't it have run poorly prior to shutting it off?

 

[Philster]

Re: Bravo II drive locking up engine!

Not necessarily.