V-drives Rule!!


F

Formula Tenn

New member
one of the mods should re-name this section of the forum "Formula TN's inboard blog" or something to that effect. there are a relative few who probably even look at this section because thay have the "i love the performance of my outdrive and the excessive maintenance that goes along with it times two if i have dual engines" disease. J/K, i don't wanna start a war. i like my v-drives way better than the outdrives i used to own because they fit well with my type of boating. to each his own. :)

i posted a few merc part numbers that i'm looking for in the General Discussion forum yesterday. those parts are the banjo fitting, washers and bolt for the oil pan drain plug/dip stick fitting. i have a leak there and i'm going down tonight to try to get the fitting out. it's gonna be tough. just in case any one is interested i'll keep you posted on how it goes. my engines are set up with a dipstick on each side of each engine. i'm hoping to remove one dipstick and install some kind of fitting with a hose so that i can easily drain the oil from the bottom of the pan. for some reason i just feel like it makes for a better job doing it like this instead of sucking it out thru the dipstick tube. hope it works out and i can get it done before the weekend gets here. oh and i almost forgot, i also pulled out all of my heat exchangers/oil coolers on the port engine to have them checked/cleaned/pressure tested. i feel like i'm losing a small amount of antifreeze thru the heat exchanger so maybe i'll be able to get that figured out too. are those things supposed to be cleaned or changed out every so often? they've seen quite a bit of salt water use but i don't know if they've ever been changed out or not. and they're pretty expensive so i'd say preventive maintenance is the way to go on these things.

ok, i feel like i've done my due diligence by not letting this section of the forum die a slow painful death. i know there are a few of you out there with the inboards so speak up! if it pertains to inboards i wanna learn about it. i will try to do the same in return ;)
 
I have V drives and yes they are extremely low maintenance. When I had my 98 34pc I hooked up hoses to the bottom of the oil pan. A little tough to install but doable. Oil chance time I would just hook up my pump to it and pump it out. Now I have a whole system for engines, gen,and trans. Pump it out then pump fresh in.
 
gwazoo, do you have one of those reverso pumps? those things are pretty neat, you can get them with as many manifolds as you need so you can change both engines both trannys and the genset. i got the banjo fitting out of the bottom of the oil pan last night and have the new parts on order. just hoping they come in before the weekend (cinco de mayo party on the river i don't wanna miss). i gotta say i was really suprised at how much oil came out the bottom of the pan once the fitting was removed. it really wasn't that much. sucking it out the dipstick actually does a pretty good job. i'm still gonna add a hose, i just think it will be easier when it comes oil change time again. checked on my oil coolers and heat exchanger yesterday too. they aren't done yet but i expect they'll be ready today. hopefully there won't be any issues with them. so does anybody have any opinions on the coolers/heat exchangers? i've never really heard of a set schedule to clean or replace them. will these things last indefinitely in salt water? i'm in fresh water but the boat had extensive salt water use before i bought it.

one other question too. forward of my port v-drive there are 2 fitting in the floor of the bilge. kinda looks like one might be a seawater temp sensor and the other maybe a depth x-ducer. anybody know what i'm talking about? the temp sender thingy has a cable that goes somewhere and i guess i need to trace it down. the x-ducer thing looks like a piece of thickwalled tubing may 3 inches long installed vertically on a fairing block. there is a pin that looks like it might be some kind of retainer to keep the x-ducer from coming out, but the piece of tubing is empty. any ideas?
 
FORMULA TENN,
THOSE REVERSO PUMPS ARE NICE, BUT REMEMBER, YOU CANNOT MIX FLUIDS. IF THE TRANNY'S TAKE THE SAME LUBE AS ENGINES DO, YOU WILL BE OK. IF DIFFERENT, THAN YOU CAN ONLY USE THE PUMP TO DRAIN THE FLUIDS, NOT FILL.
I USE THE COMPETITORS BRAND, THE XACT R CHANGER SYSTEM. FORMULA STARTED PUTTING THEM ON THE 48 YACHTS A FEW YEARS BACK, SO I INSTALLED ONE ON MY BOAT. SAME PRINCIPLE AS REVERSO, JUST A LITTLE SMALLER IN SIZE.
I USE IT TO DRAIN AND FILL THE TWO ENGINES AND GENERATOR.
 
Yup I have the reverso pump with 5 manifolds. Like Gary said I drain trans first then engines and gen. Fill engines (5 gallons each) and gen with the reverso. Trans fill by hand.
 
i don't have one of those but i wasn't aware of the mixing fluids no-no. it would be nice to add one, maybe that will be a next winter project. gwazoo, your theory is to drain trans first then engines and genset to pretty much remove any residual trans fluid? pretty good set up if ya ask me ;) i haven't heard of that brand you mentioned Gary but i'll check it out too. Hey Gary ain't you one of those Formula owners with the outdrive sickness i mentioned?? you must be over here thinkin 'bout changing the name of this section ;D :D ;D sometime i crack myself up :)
 
YEAH, I GUESS I CAN COME OVER TO THE DARK SIDE ONCE IN A WHILE.
JUST HAD A CRUISERS INC. AT OUR MARINA THAT TRANNY WAS MAKING NOISE. LONG STORY SHORT, BOTH SHAFTS BENT, CUTLASS BEARING WORN OUT, BEARING IN TRANNY SHOT, COUPLING WORN, AND TOTAL BILL WAS JUST OVER 7 GRAND. INSURANCE CO. SAID SINCE THERE WAS NO SIGNS OF HITTING ANYTHING, ITS NOT COVERED.
BOAT IS A 2009, WITH 270 HOURS. IMAGINE THAT.
I GUESS THERE IS NO PERFECT SOLUTION. THINKING THAT ALIGNMENT FROM THE START MAY NOT HAVE BEEN RIGHT.
 
agreed, it really doesn't matter what you prefer you've still got to pay attention to signs of a problem. i've virtually never seen a vibration repair itself. $10 per foot for a haul out every two years looks pretty cheap compared to that bill! i'm gonna be due this winter so even though everything feels fine i still wanna be proactive and keep an eye on things. did the guy contact Cruisers? i've always heard that they are really good about helping with any issues related to newer boats like that.
 
gsent
The bent shafts you would think they point to a cause.
Had to feel the vibes you would think anyway. ???
 
ONE SHAFT WAS BENT TWO DIFFERENT WAYS, AND ONE WAS BENT RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE STRUT. HE MUST HAVE HIT SOMETHING LIKE A LOG. NO PROP DAMAGE. COULD HAVE BEEN DONE BY ORIGINAL OWNER. NO ONE KNOWS. IF PROPS WERE BENT, INSURANCE COMPANY WOULD HAVE PAID. I THINK INSURANCE CO. IS FULL OF B.S.
 
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