Spare Stern Drive

[88 Capri (2022 SOTY)]

Out of curiosity, when looking for a spare stern drive, what one might look for?
I personally would avoid salt water units.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,.... One exactly like yer's, in the right gear ratio, 'n in good overall condition,.....

 

[88 Capri (2022 SOTY)]

Ayuh,.... One exactly like yer's, in the right gear ratio, 'n in good overall condition,.....

Lol, yes that would help!

 

[southkogs]

I think that's less of a joke than one might think. Lots of people try to cobble something together to save money. And I'm not sure I would avoid anything specifically beyond that: I have seen drives that live in salt that are well cared for and work right. I'll take that over a fresh water drive in crumby condition that hasn't been run in a while.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Out of curiosity, when looking for a spare stern drive, what one might look for?
I personally would avoid salt water units.

I personally look for deals and have cash ready

my spare drive is same year/vintage/model/ratio of my current drive. bought it off my bud's nephew. I am also the one that towed him in when his transmission grenaded. fast forward a few years after he gets a new drive, and sells his boat........ I got a good deal on a basket case drive, transom shield and a bunch of spare parts that needed a new transmission. waited until his wife said clean the garage....... and $400 later I had a drive minus a good transmission

so 2 years of looking on craigslist every weekend and I found a complete transmission for the drive for $200 shipped from the 1000 lakes area of New York. So now I have a 290DPA1 drive as a spare that I am in the middle of a re-seal and maybe throw in a bearing once I pull the lower apart and clean it. will be less than 1 boat unit into the spare drive when complete. not bad when rebuilt drives go for over $6500 with yours as a core

 

[88 Capri (2022 SOTY)]

I personally look for deals and have cash ready

my spare drive is same year/vintage/model/ratio of my current drive. bought it off my bud's nephew. I am also the one that towed him in when his transmission grenaded. fast forward a few years after he gets a new drive, and sells his boat........ I got a good deal on a basket case drive, transom shield and a bunch of spare parts that needed a new transmission. waited until his wife said clean the garage....... and $400 later I had a drive minus a good transmission

so 2 years of looking on craigslist every weekend and I found a complete transmission for the drive for $200 shipped from the 1000 lakes area of New York. So now I have a 290DPA1 drive as a spare that I am in the middle of a re-seal and maybe throw in a bearing once I pull the lower apart and clean it. will be less than 1 boat unit into the spare drive when complete. not bad when rebuilt drives go for over $6500 with yours as a core

I would love to fall into a situation like that. Where I live most of the ones I see for sale look roached on the outside and laying in the weeds, I know the inside is what counts but because of that who knows how it was cared for.
I'm not in a pinch for one, but it was a question that ran across my mind from time to time. I've never had a sterndrive apart, so maybe finding one cheap and using that as a learning experience might be an option also, albeit some factory tools would need to be located.
There is supposedly an NOS complete drive on eBay that looks sweet lol.

 

[salvageyard saviour]

I keep an eye on CL for free boats with trees growing out of the deck. Pull the top off the outdrive to check for rust or pitting on the gears before agreeing to take.

Then take any other parts from boat I want and the rest goes to landfill.
Worst part is pulling that rotting trailer around safely.

 

[88 Capri (2022 SOTY)]

I keep an eye on CL for free boats with trees growing out of the deck. Pull the top off the outdrive to check for rust or pitting on the gears before agreeing to take.

Then take any other parts from boat I want and the rest goes to landfill.
Worst part is pulling that rotting trailer around safely.

Unfortunately, here it's about 700 the last I checked, now that is bringing it whole (just the hull). I could chop it up but I don't need an additional project like that lol.
My drive doesn't have any rust that I can tell but I did see a little bronze in the pan probably from the clutch dog. I just like to have extras (possible hoarder) lol don't know
I had found a complete boat like mine for 250 and everything worked great but as I said above it just wasn't worth it for me with having a rebuild going on.

 

[salvageyard saviour]

Unfortunately, here it's about 700 the last I checked, now that is bringing it whole (just the hull). I could chop it up but I don't need an additional project like that lol.
My drive doesn't have any rust that I can tell but I did see a little bronze in the pan probably from the clutch dog. I just like to have extras (possible hoarder) lol don't know
I had found a complete boat like mine for 250 and everything worked great but as I said above it just wasn't worth it for me with having a rebuild going on.

Yep, hoarder. The Admiral always gives me what for when I bring another junk home
Landfills can be pricey. Finally found 2 that are reasonable, about 50 miles away. With questionable trailer, not best choice. And they want the oil and gas drained.

 

[88 Capri (2022 SOTY)]

Will a sterndrive from a 3.0 fit a 2.3?

 

[Lou C]

what I found on ebay

 

[88 Capri (2022 SOTY)]

Not to sound native, I'm assuming a 4.3 will fit also? The one I found about 2 hours away is 400 from a 3.0. It's just the drive with no transom.

 

[88 Capri (2022 SOTY)]

Can I get opinions on this, please? The motor was just sold

 

[Redrig]

Get the info from the model tag and check the final ratio to make sure it's close to what's your ratio is.

It took me probably 5 years of classifieds to find my drive. I converted from an electric shift to a mechanical shift on my stringer.

IIRC my electric ratio was 1.51 and the other was 1.49 so really close , which is why I pulled the trigger on it.

If the ratios are too far off, you will to change props to compensate

 

[88 Capri (2022 SOTY)]

If the info I found is correct, I have a 21:21 ratio. My next question is being a 1988 model. How crucial is it to find exact model and serial numbers? I've read about various opinions.
I took a screen shot on my phone, but it gives a security error, so I'll have to go on PC to get a pic to demonstrate.
I apologize for all of the rambling questions but just like my first noob fiberglass boat build I am learning about outdrives

 

[Lou C]

It’s most important to get the correct drive ratio for your engine and, from 86-89 the 4 cyl models used a smaller lower unit; the 90-90 all used the same V6/V8 lower unit. So you can use a 90-93 on an 88 boat as long as your overall gear ratio is right for your engine, and get a stronger lower unit at the same time.

 

[Lou C]

What engine do you have?

 

[Bondo]

Will a sterndrive from a 3.0 fit a 2.3?

Ayuh,..... I'm guessin' a 2.3l, Lou,...

 

[Lou C]

lol yep, missed that. Well the one in the pix is from a 3.0 seeing as how the engine is right there, and here are the gear ratios from my old OMC manuals:
2.3 liter Ford: 2:1 overall, upper 21:21, lower 13:26
3.0 liter GM: 1.71:1 overall, upper 21:18, lower 13:26
so the question really is, would you be able to compensate for the taller gear ratio of the 3.0 drive, by changing props to make it work with the 2.3? That, I can't say for sure.

 

[88 Capri (2022 SOTY)]

It’s most important to get the correct drive ratio for your engine and, from 86-89 the 4 cyl models used a smaller lower unit; the 90-90 all used the same V6/V8 lower unit. So you can use a 90-93 on an 88 boat as long as your overall gear ratio is right for your engine, and get a stronger lower unit at the same time.

Thank you. Because of this, I am going to keep an eye out for a V6 lower unit; I like things stronger!