Gear Oil Cooler update

[relaxalot]

I changed the oil on my outdrive and it looked almost as good as when it was put in. The Max Machine oil cooler seems to be really helping me keep the oil doing its job. Prior to the oil cooler the oil was always very black after a couple of hours. Now the color change is almost non existent. No metal particles. Looking good and looking forward no problems with my outdrive. I am very pleased with this cooler.

 

[BMABITY]

I changed the oil on my outdrive and it looked almost as good as when it was put in. The Max Machine oil cooler seems to be really helping me keep the oil doing its job. Prior to the oil cooler the oil was always very black after a couple of hours. Now the color change is almost non existent. No metal particles. Looking good and looking forward no problems with my outdrive. I am very pleased with this cooler.

That's great news! How many hours do you have with the cooler now?

 

[RiverDave]

What oil were / are you using? Any changes outside the cooler?

RD

 

[relaxalot]

I have changed the oil every 15 hours. The drive has 30 hours on it. I know that is very conservative but I am trying to keep the drive alive. The first oil that I put in was Amsoil Severe Gear. It looked very good after 15 hours. There was no metal in the pan and it was not black. It was darker but not black. The next time I put oil in I used Allisyn oil. When MM drained the drive it was slightly darker, no metal at all. It looked almost like the new oil in the bottle. I went ahead and had them put it back in. I bought a new 31pitch 5 blade from Boomer on the boards and I will be replacing my 29pitch. MM Worx said I am not helping the situation. After a long fast run with full fuel and 6 people in the boat last weekend we stopped and jumped in the water to cool down. I felt the stainless hoses that feed the cooled gear oil to the drive and they felt warm but not hot. Not very scientific but the oil is warm but not 250 degrees hot. I also was thinking that on a cat hull like mine the drive lifts up higher out of the water than a vee. After a long fast run on the lake I would surmise that the temp would be higher on a cat hull than a vee hull. I think it should be standard equipment for any drive running over 500 hp cat or vee. But if you have a cat I would run over there and have one installed by Max Machine ! I will keep everyone updated. If I make it out this weekend you can check it out.

 

[Soldout]

That Aisyn oil is great stuff.

 

[plaster dave]

I have changed the oil every 15 hours. The drive has 30 hours on it. I know that is very conservative but I am trying to keep the drive alive. The first oil that I put in was Amsoil Severe Gear. It looked very good after 15 hours. There was no metal in the pan and it was not black. It was darker but not black. The next time I put oil in I used Allisyn oil. When MM drained the drive it was slightly darker, no metal at all. It looked almost like the new oil in the bottle. I went ahead and had them put it back in. I bought a new 31pitch 5 blade from Boomer on the boards and I will be replacing my 29pitch. MM Worx said I am not helping the situation. After a long fast run with full fuel and 6 people in the boat last weekend we stopped and jumped in the water to cool down. I felt the stainless hoses that feed the cooled gear oil to the drive and they felt warm but not hot. Not very scientific but the oil is warm but not 250 degrees hot. I also was thinking that on a cat hull like mine the drive lifts up higher out of the water than a vee. After a long fast run on the lake I would surmise that the temp would be higher on a cat hull than a vee hull. I think it should be standard equipment for any drive running over 500 hp cat or vee. But if you have a cat I would run over there and have one installed by Max Machine ! I will keep everyone updated. If I make it out this weekend you can check it out.

How much is is setup?

 

[WTMFA]

This is great news. The cooler is pretty expensive after the install but I think the savings in drive repair will far outweigh the cooler cost in the long run.
Jason and his brother are good people who are honest and do great work at Max Machine Worx :thumbsup

 

[hallett21]

Could someone explain how an oil cooler for a drive works? Do you increase the overall volume of oil that gets circulated through the drive?

 

[plaster dave]

I believe this is a external unit. They use a pump to transfer the oil from the drive to the cooler. The lower the oil temp the longer it will last.
I am very interested in this setup also.

 

[hallett21]

So do they drill a hole in the drive and then put some sort of fitting on it? Very cool setup especially to keep your drive alive. Would a setup like this help people who have a lot of power hooked up to a stock bravo?

 

[plaster dave]

So do they drill a hole in the drive and then put some sort of fitting on it? Very cool setup especially to keep your drive alive. Would a setup like this help people who have a lot of power hooked up to a stock bravo?

I would think they are using the oil res as the line.

 

[relaxalot]

There is a heat exchanger (oil cooler) installed on the inside of the transom and a 12v pump to push the gear oil into the drive and return it through the cooler. It is necessary to drill and tap two lines into the upper drive unit externally. These lines are braided stainless hoses one feeds the drive and one returns to the cooler. Water flows through the cooler (lake water) this cools the oil that is being forced by the 12v pump and returns the cool oil back to the upper gearset. If I remember correctly I think the cost was around 1200.00 including all parts and rigging. They did a first class job and it looks and works great.