Cost of gear ratio change?

[Bigjohn1]

Any techs out there familiar with gearcase repairs, I would appreciate some technical feedback. Let?s say I wanted to change the gear ratio of my 115efi 4-stroke from its stock ratio of 2:07-1 to the 2:33-1. I know this requires a new forward gear with a price tag of about $350. My question is, what would be the approximate additional cost (both labor and additional materials) for a Merc dealer to do this swap-out?

If you?re wondering why I would want to do such a thing, here goes. Due to the 2:07-1 gearing, this outboard can?t take advantage of many performance props out there on the market. With this outboard, your choices are basically aluminum and ss props up to a pitch of around 15-17. If I had lower gearing, I could take advantage of props in the 18-22 pitch range. When you think about it, there are lots of nice props in that pitch range that aren?t offered in numbers lower than around 17-18.

Thoughts?

 

[diaric]

Re: Cost of gear ratio change?

just to change a bearing costs about 500-700$. i think you have to change all the gears, pinion, forward, reverse. its way easier and cheaper to find a used lower unit in the ratio you want

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: Cost of gear ratio change?

Yeah, definately not just the forward gear. All of them. Then there's shimming, and as long as the gearcase is off, a new water pump impeller. Probably about 4Hrs labor.

 

[Bigjohn1]

Re: Cost of gear ratio change?

Thanks guys,

After doing a bit of research, a replacement lower unit is a very expensive proposition. More or less $1,500 plus shipping and that is for a used one.

I estimate the value of my used 115 4-stroke with 500 hours to be around $4,000. I really have no hard data to back this valuation up - I figure since it was $8,600 brand new, $4K ought to be close if not over a bit. So, we are talking a modification which will cost roughly half the value of the entire outboard - not a smart plan in my eyes.

I guess a low-pitch ss prop for $300-$400 is a much cheaper option.