Bravo One OD

[FreeBeeTony]

Going to be looking at a boat w/ a Bravo One OD.
I have a pretty good understanding of the Alpha Drive, can get a good feel of the condition of the clutch dogs by turning the prop CW while in Fwd and making a note of the "ratcheting" and doing the opposite for Rev.. I would do this while the drive is installed.
Is there a similar test I can perform on the Bravo drive?
Need a good diagram of the internal workings of the Bravo....

 

[tank1949]

Different animal altogether. Prop has to stop spinning in water to go from fwd to reverse. No grinding, at least for mine. I think B1 are 600 HP ratings compared to 300 for Alphas. Foots are much heavier too!

 

[thumpar]

The bravo uses a cone clutch to engage gear. They don't make noise like the alpha when shifting. There is no need for a shift interrupt switch in the linkage. Bravo's don't have an impeller in the drive like the Alpha. The impeller is on the engine and driven by a belt. The water pickup comes through the drive or through hull or transom. They are bigger and heavier. They use more lube.

I went from an alpha to a bravo. I am very happy with it.

 

[tpenfield]

Bravo drives are pretty much bullet proof. Beefy bearing and gears. Not sure you can do any sort of static testing that you mentioned though . . .

 

[FreeBeeTony]

TBravo's don't have an impeller in the drive like the Alpha. The impeller is on the engine and driven by a belt. The water pickup comes through the drive or through hull or transom.

So no need for "muffs" if I get water to the engine mounted raw water pump?

 

[FreeBeeTony]

Prop has to stop spinning in water to go from fwd to reverse.

Does this mean I can't shift if the boat is not in the water w/ the engine running?

 

[alldodge]

So no need for "muffs" if I get water to the engine mounted raw water pump?

The impeller must have water when running, and this can be done with muffs, or if drive is removed, connect hose to intake hose going to the pump.

Does this mean I can't shift if the boat is not in the water w/ the engine running?

Yes you can shift with motor running, just count to 5 (prop will stop spinning) before shifting into the other direction.
FWD then neutral (5 count) then REV

 

[FreeBeeTony]

The impeller must have water when running, and this can be done with muffs, or if drive is removed, connect hose to intake hose going to the pump.

If I read correctly in post #3, there is no impeller in the OD. If the raw water intake is provided by a thru hull and I supply water at that point, do I still need muffs on the OD?

 

[Lou C]

I have heard of people converting these over to the thru hull because of the issue of the raw water hose connection in the transom mount necking down due to corrosion which causes overheating. There are a couple of fixes for it (Bravoitis) both from Merc and aftermarket, but some go the thru hull route.

 

[thumpar]

If I read correctly in post #3, there is no impeller in the OD. If the raw water intake is provided by a thru hull and I supply water at that point, do I still need muffs on the OD?

You wouldn't need muffs but they make things like fake-a-lake and some have a hose hookup to feed it water. It still has the impeller and an engine circ pump. The impeller is just moved to the side of the engine and belt driven. Most still use through drive water pickup until you get into the more expensive boats or if someone converted it over. Mine is through drive so I use muffs.

 

[FreeBeeTony]

You wouldn't need muffs but they make things like fake-a-lake and some have a hose hookup to feed it water. It still has the impeller and an engine circ pump. The impeller is just moved to the side of the engine and belt driven. Most still use through drive water pickup until you get into the more expensive boats or if someone converted it over. Mine is through drive so I use muffs.

Got it..........so if it doesn't have the thru hull intake.......I need muffs!

Another question: Is there a dipstick for the OD gear oil? Thought I saw that on an exploded view somewhere.

 

[thumpar]

Got it..........so if it doesn't have the thru hull intake.......I need muffs!

Another question: Is there a dipstick for the OD gear oil? Thought I saw that on an exploded view somewhere.

They have a reservoir in the boat like a Alpha Gen II.

 

[FreeBeeTony]

Not sure you can do any sort of static testing that you mentioned though . . .

So aside from shifting and removing the drain screw to check for water......I can't really check anything else.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Pull the props checking for severe corrosion of the carrier

 

[FreeBeeTony]

Pull the props checking for severe corrosion of the carrier

OK......I think it's only (1) prop on a Bravo one?

Also, I have heard of this so called "Bravoitis". Can someone expand on tis please?

 

[tpenfield]

Bravoistis is a dreaded disease that affects the water intake of the outdrive. Where the water inlet house from the outdrive meets the transom assembly, corrosion can often build up over the years creating a 'strangling' effect on the hose and related fitting. The inside diameter gets smaller and smaller as the corrosion around the outside of the hose continues. At some point there is not enough water able to flow past the restriction in the hose and the engine starts to run hotter than normal. If left unresolved the engine will get to a point of overheating.

My 20 year old Bravo outdrives were starting to show signs of Bravoitis. . . . I fixed them with the hose/fitting kit.

 

[alldodge]

Agree and will add, it hardly ever happens to a fresh water boat

 

[FreeBeeTony]

So it sound like the symptoms of this disease are not visible externally..........sounds like clogged arteries!

 

[alldodge]

So it sound like the symptoms of this disease are not visible externally..........sounds like clogged arteries!

Correct, it happens just behind the intake water hose where it attaches to the transom assembly. Not a hard fix, and is usually done when replacing bellows. My 95 Rinker had no signs of it by installed the new design anyway when replacing bellows

 

[Lou C]

arteriosclerotic hose disease!