Max Machine Drive Oil Cooler Review ?

[relaxalot]

Well after I grenaded my last outdrive (Bravo xr) I went to the boys at MMM to rebuild my drive. They introduced me to their new gear oil cooler which consists of two lines into the upper through the transom. The lines are then connected to a heat exchanger that has lake water from an external pickup for cooling the oil. They told me that they had success with it keeping the gear oil cooler by 100 to 140 degrees. I still have the standard drive cooler installed as well as the new heat exchanger. The oil is pushed through the system by a 12 volt pump. The pump is activated by a manual toggle switch on the dash. I wish I had some real technical testing info for you but I don't. All I can say that my motor combined with my love for 5 blade props have a tendency to turn the amsoil severe gear black real quick. After 3 hours of run time this weekend oil looked like Sue Bee Honey. I felt the lines and the cooler several times during the day and I could feel that one line was hotter and one definately cooler. The water line that flows through the heat exchanger dumps overboard through a dump. Max Machine did a beautiful rigging job and used all high quality fittings and parts. All lines are braided SS and installation is super clean. One drawback is that you can hear when the pump is on . It is not stealth. When the hatch is closed and the motor is running the sound is not noticeable. Using my automotive knowledge when transmission oil starts to have that burnt smell it is not long before you are at the transmission shop. I believe that the guys at Max Machine may be on to something for all of the Bravo owners out there. I will keep everyone updated on my hopefully long drive life! Just wanted to pass on what may make my boating future less expensive!

 

[plaster dave]

Well after I grenaded my last outdrive (Bravo xr) I went to the boys at MMM to rebuild my drive. They introduced me to their new gear oil cooler which consists of two lines into the upper through the transom. The lines are then connected to a heat exchanger that has lake water from an external pickup for cooling the oil. They told me that they had success with it keeping the gear oil cooler by 100 to 140 degrees. I still have the standard drive cooler installed as well as the new heat exchanger. The oil is pushed through the system by a 12 volt pump. The pump is activated by a manual toggle switch on the dash. I wish I had some real technical testing info for you but I don't. All I can say that my motor combined with my love for 5 blade props have a tendency to turn the amsoil severe gear black real quick. After 3 hours of run time this weekend oil looked like Sue Bee Honey. I felt the lines and the cooler several times during the day and I could feel that one line was hotter and one definately cooler. The water line that flows through the heat exchanger dumps overboard through a dump. Max Machine did a beautiful rigging job and used all high quality fittings and parts. All lines are braided SS and installation is super clean. One drawback is that you can hear when the pump is on . It is not stealth. When the hatch is closed and the motor is running the sound is not noticeable. Using my automotive knowledge when transmission oil starts to have that burnt smell it is not long before you are at the transmission shop. I believe that the guys at Max Machine may be on to something for all of the Bravo owners out there. I will keep everyone updated on my hopefully long drive life! Just wanted to pass on what may make my boating future less expensive!

What boat, what motor do you have and when you get a chance can you post a pic? Thanks.

 

[Kylemenz1]

Sounds pretty cool

 

[IinsureU]

Pics, pics, pics, c'mon now rookie !! You going to be in town next weekend at all ??

 

[relaxalot]

I do have some rough pics but I will do a full survey when I am in there next weekend.

 

[IinsureU]

I do have some rough pics but I will do a full survey when I am in there next weekend.

c'mon on by, we'll keep a light on for ya'...
Saturday will be pool day for us, bless us with your presence please.

 

[Luvnlife]

When you post the pics don't forget to let us know about the $$$(how much)

 

[relaxalot]

I asked MMM what price they would be charging and they said that it would depend on the amount of work required on each boat. Different lengths of SS lines and fittings may require different billing times. It looks to me like a lot of work went into the install. Drilling and tapping the upper unit, drilling and installing a plate through the transom. Lines coming through the transom, water reroute through existing exit lines, overboard dump back to lake. Also 12 volt pump mounted and electrical ran to dash. My price installed was around 1275.00. I am hoping that my outdrive oil will stay over 100 degrees cooler and my outdrive will last many more hours. What really struck me is that when I dropped off my grenaded drive they said that the oil was smelling up their whole shop. My theory is that due to torque forces the drive oil is getting way to hot and causing a lubrication breakdown which caused more heat and then bnag! If I can keep the temperature down to 190 to 220 or so the oil will be able to do its job and not breakdown. This will in turn keep my gears alive and my wallet happier.

The boat is a Howard Deck with a Mercury racing 600 sci that has been bumped by whipple, water reroutes, pulley change and magic dust. It will run 95 -96 mph hitting the limiter. It pulls hard but I am very easy on the throttles. I know I could limit the torque load on the drive if I went to a 4 blade. This would also limit the fun factor which is the reason I have the boat. I am hoping the oil will be able to do its job and extend the life of my drive. Big thanks go out to the Max Machine guys. They have been very helpful and professional. A great resource to have in Havasu.

 

[relaxalot]

Here is a picture of the drive oil bottle after 3 hours of run time. It is the color of honey. The stainless plate below it is where the oil lines are plumbed through the transom to go to the cooler. There is a return line that feeds back in to the upper unit of the drive also.

 

[relaxalot]

Here is a pic of the cooler. The pump is off to the right of the cooler and is installed onto the back of the fender holder. You can see the plate off to the left coming through the transom. It has fittings on both sides of the transom. The water for the cooler is actually picked up from the intercooler exit. I have an offshore external clamshell pickup from the bottom of the boat that is forcefed when the boat is underway. That feeds a sea strainer to the intercooler and then through the oil cooler shown. The water then exits out under the swim step. I will get some more pics next weekend.

 

[River911]

Personally, at least for my application, I think this would be a waste of money. It would be interesting to know what the oil temps run based on HP, speed, and run time. But I can't imagine a cooler doing much but maybe extending the oil life by a few hours.

If you're running higher HP's, you're changing you oil constantly anyway. So unless you're trying to get a few more hours between changes I don't see a benefit.

But I could be 100% wrong.

 

[Outdrive1]

Personally, at least for my application, I think this would be a waste of money. It would be interesting to know what the oil temps run based on HP, speed, and run time. But I can't imagine a cooler doing much but maybe extending the oil life by a few hours.

If you're running higher HP's, you're changing you oil constantly anyway. So unless you're trying to get a few more hours between changes I don't see a benefit.

But I could be 100% wrong.

You know, I could see a pump and filter making a difference though. Instead of just a plain wet sump with no filters. Any contamination just keeps going through everything over and over creating more debri. Here's another thought. If you really could cool the drive a hundred degrees, what difference would that make with metal expansion? Less expansion, less wear IMO.

The question is whether or not it's going to stop a failure with big hp. If not than it doesn't matter. With mild hp, maybe it can prolong the drive?

 

[RiverDave]

Max machine works is definitely doing some cool and unique stuff! They have a new 2 speed coming out soon!

RD

 

[River911]

You know, I could see a pump and filter making a difference though. Instead of just a plain wet sump with no filters. Any contamination just keeps going through everything over and over creating more debri. Here's another thought. If you really could cool the drive a hundred degrees, what difference would that make with metal expansion? Less expansion, less wear IMO.

The question is whether or not it's going to stop a failure with big hp. If not than it doesn't matter. With mild hp, maybe it can prolong the drive?

Aren't broken teeth the cause of most failures? Root cause is pitting? And pitting typically caused by oil breakdown? Breakdown can be caused by many factors. Too much HP being at the top of the list.

I had our guys look at a couple gear sets. Mesh and thrust are critical. If i had the time and free cash, there are a couple things I'd like to try. The merc gears are fugly. They could use some tlc before slapping them in a drive.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[soupersonic]

Here is a pic of the cooler. The pump is off to the right of the cooler and is installed onto the back of the fender holder. You can see the plate off to the left coming through the transom. It has fittings on both sides of the transom. The water for the cooler is actually picked up from the intercooler exit. I have an offshore external clamshell pickup from the bottom of the boat that is forcefed when the boat is underway. That feeds a sea strainer to the intercooler and then through the oil cooler shown. The water then exits out under the swim step. I will get some more pics next weekend.

It seems to me that an alternative intake water source would be a little cooler to begin with, than heated water exiting the intercooler. But i dont know what temps we are talking about here .

 

[relaxalot]

Personally, at least for my application, I think this would be a waste of money. It would be interesting to know what the oil temps run based on HP, speed, and run time. But I can't imagine a cooler doing much but maybe extending the oil life by a few hours.

If you're running higher HP's, you're changing you oil constantly anyway. So unless you're trying to get a few more hours between changes I don't see a benefit.

But I could be 100% wrong.

I am not sure either but if this was the logic why wouldn't we just remove all the transmission coolers from all autos? The oil would burn and the trans would fail within a very short time would be my guess. I know it is not scientific and I wish it was but let's say the drive oil cooks at 325 degrees and it reaches that temp after a 10 mile run down the lake at 5000 rpm. That could happen on oil that is only one hour old. If a cooler was properly cooling that same oil so it never could reach a terminal temperature maybe it would be able to maintain its lubrication properties for 50 hours. Even if you change oil at 15 hours it could be ruined the first hour. Once it is burned it can't lubricate properly. Then the outdrive could fail in the second hour. I wish I had more info or testing results. It is a shame that after thousands of Bravos there is not better testing. If you had twin bravos it would be an ideal test situation.

 

[Luvnlife]

I'm no rocket scientist, more like a paper airplane one. Any time you take heat out like this it's good. Like an engine oil cooler. To what extent it works I can see being per application. I have 720hp in front of an XR and if this would help prolong my drive I'm all over it. Quick look at the price and I say:headscratch: But I would have to do a parts breakdown and look at it closer before saying it's too much and if it worked for me then prob worth it.

 

[relaxalot]

It seems to me that an alternative intake water source would be a little cooler to begin with, than heated water exiting the intercooler. But i dont know what temps we are talking about here .

You are probably right on the water temp coming out of the intercooler exit. I dont' know what temp it is but alot flows through it. I did not want to effect the intake temperature charge. This will set a code and cause my motor to go into guardian mode. As long as it is really pushing a large volume of water it should still be helpful. With the added capacity and lines as well as the heat exchanger it should all be a positive. I don't know enough about drive oil to know what is the temperature we need to stay below. In the near future I am going to get the sending unit and dash guage. I also did not want to have another pickup installed on the bottom of the boat. I suppose I could "Y" off the sea strainer and run a separate line. Thanks for the feedback

 

[Luvnlife]

You are probably right on the water temp coming out of the intercooler exit. I dont' know what temp it is but alot flows through it. I did not want to effect the intake temperature charge. This will set a code and cause my motor to go into guardian mode. As long as it is really pushing a large volume of water it should still be helpful. With the added capacity and lines as well as the heat exchanger it should all be a positive. I don't know enough about drive oil to know what is the temperature we need to stay below. In the near future I am going to get the sending unit and dash guage. I also did not want to have another pickup installed on the bottom of the boat. I suppose I could "Y" off the sea strainer and run a separate line. Thanks for the feedback

I would think fresher as in cooler water the better:thumbsup

 

[relaxalot]

I'm no rocket scientist, more like a paper airplane one. Any time you take heat out like this it's good. Like an engine oil cooler. To what extent it works I can see being per application. I have 720hp in front of an XR and if this would help prolong my drive I'm all over it. Quick look at the price and I say:headscratch: But I would have to do a parts breakdown and look at it closer before saying it's too much and if it worked for me then prob worth it.

If the drive oil is broken down at let's say 300 and your drive and motor combo is causing oil to go over into the failure zone then logic says that keeping the oil below the failure level would help any drive/motor combo that is capable of taking it to this failure level. Big HP and torque would be helped even more by proper lubricant that is not "toasted" Unfortunately I am not a rocket scientist either but I am surprised at the lack of technology and poor design of the Bravo. I guess in fairness Merc rates them for 600 hp and a large segment of us keep pushing the Bravo beyond its intended use.

 

[Luvnlife]

If the drive oil is broken down at let's say 300 and your drive and motor combo is causing oil to go over into the failure zone then logic says that keeping the oil below the failure level would help any drive/motor combo that is capable of taking it to this failure level. Big HP and torque would be helped even more by proper lubricant that is not "toasted" Unfortunately I am not a rocket scientist either but I am surprised at the lack of technology and poor design of the Bravo. I guess in fairness Merc rates them for 600 hp and a large segment of us keep pushing the Bravo beyond its intended use.

I agee, like I said cooler the better. I also agree that the Bavo one is one of the most abused pieces of equipment we as a whole use on the water

 

[RiverDave]

If the drive oil is broken down at let's say 300 and your drive and motor combo is causing oil to go over into the failure zone then logic says that keeping the oil below the failure level would help any drive/motor combo that is capable of taking it to this failure level. Big HP and torque would be helped even more by proper lubricant that is not "toasted" Unfortunately I am not a rocket scientist either but I am surprised at the lack of technology and poor design of the Bravo. I guess in fairness Merc rates them for 600 hp and a large segment of us keep pushing the Bravo beyond its intended use.

What temp does amsoil severe gear start breaking down? I think that would be my first question..

FYI (little plug for Lucas). I used to use merc exclusively in the drive and Everytime it was drained it was black and smelled terrible. Started using m8 and It comes out exactly as it went in..

RD

 

[relaxalot]

What temp does amsoil severe gear start breaking down? I think that would be my first question..

FYI (little plug for Lucas). I used to use merc exclusively in the drive and Everytime it was drained it was black and smelled terrible. Started using m8 and It comes out exactly as it went in..

RD

Good question. I wish I knew that. I think it breaks down at the temperature my former non cooled drive was taking it to.. Not very scientific. Do we have any knowledgeable peeps on here or all you just like me? ??

 

[Luvnlife]

Good question. I wish I knew that. I think it breaks down at the temperature my former non cooled drive was taking it to.. Not very scientific. Do we have any knowledgeable peeps on here or all you just like me? ??

Well I guess the only way to really know is if you would have had a temp guage installed before the cooler installation so we would know what temp you were running. Then we would contact Amsoil, or whatever you were running, and see at what temp it broke down. Then we would know if the cooler would have helped keep the oil from breaking down. Now all we know is that you installed a cooler for over a thousand dollars, I believe in one of your posts you said you didn't yet have a temp guage installed, so we don't know the temp you are running at now. Maybe all this could have been solved with a gear oil brand change, but we will never know. I may not be the smartest guy in the world, but I sure bring the average up All I said is I wasn't a rocket scientist

 

[relaxalot]

Well I guess the only way to really know is if you would have had a temp guage installed before the cooler installation so we would know what temp you were running. Then we would contact Amsoil, or whatever you were running, and see at what temp it broke down. Then we would know if the cooler would have helped keep the oil from breaking down. Now all we know is that you installed a cooler for over a thousand dollars, I believe in one of your posts you said you didn't yet have a temp guage installed, so we don't know the temp you are running at now. Maybe all this could have been solved with a gear oil brand change, but we will never know. I may not be the smartest guy in the world, but I sure bring the average up All I said is I wasn't a rocket scientist

As far as I know drive temp guages are not too common. I know that Livorsi makes one that screws into the drain plug opening. I will try and find out the info on the gear oil temperature maximums. I don't know of a better gear oil than Amsoil but I have been reading about all of the latest greatest ie. Neo, Alisyn, Lucas etc. I am certain that my drive oil is cooler now than it was before the install. Most of us run drive showers because it seems like it good common sense and logically the drive would be cooler with water running on top of the case. Using the same logic a heat exchanger with water flowing through it combined with an increased oil capacity added to the existing drive shower would naturally result in cooler drive temps than they were before. True, we have not scientifically measured the temps but I have no doubt they are lower. I have read that drive temps go up in the high 200's even into the 300's and that the heat exchangers can bring that down way over 100 degrees. That has to be good as long as the oil is more efficient in the 180 degree range. I agree that it is a little bit of money to spend on a little more than a hunch. I am guessing that it is better than betting 1200 on BLACK...(Past Mercury Bravo experiences)

 

[RiverDave]

Well I guess the only way to really know is if you would have had a temp guage installed before the cooler installation so we would know what temp you were running. Then we would contact Amsoil, or whatever you were running, and see at what temp it broke down. Then we would know if the cooler would have helped keep the oil from breaking down. Now all we know is that you installed a cooler for over a thousand dollars, I believe in one of your posts you said you didn't yet have a temp guage installed, so we don't know the temp you are running at now. Maybe all this could have been solved with a gear oil brand change, but we will never know. I may not be the smartest guy in the world, but I sure bring the average up All I said is I wasn't a rocket scientist

It's a lot less scientific then that in my mind.. If you drain it and it smells burnt.. It's burnt. If you drain it and it's not burnt then it's not burnt.. Lol. If the oil broke down then it loses it's lubrication qualities. Pretty simple?

So in short if it smells like poo.. Change oils. If your hell bent on sticking with an inferior oil, then change it more often.

RD

 

[Uncle Dave]

You know, I could see a pump and filter making a difference though. Instead of just a plain wet sump with no filters. Any contamination just keeps going through everything over and over creating more debri. Here's another thought. If you really could cool the drive a hundred degrees, what difference would that make with metal expansion? Less expansion, less wear IMO.

The question is whether or not it's going to stop a failure with big hp. If not than it doesn't matter. With mild hp, maybe it can prolong the drive?

My Ilmor makes power at higher RPM than the blower guys so Im typically spinning a bit faster than many - and I take loooooong trips.

At 20 hours the smell of the oil will clear a room and if you get any on you its like plutonium contamination impossible to "get off". Its clearly getting hot.

Pulling down temps is a good first step.

An overall increase in volume is a nice byproduct of plumbing.

Agreed on the filter which to me would complete the package.

Theoretically the magnets are pulling out contaminants- but I dont know if all the moving components are magnetic or not.

Gotta be a way of putting a 1 micron bypass in here to keep it all gold.

At minimum one could put a lesser effective high volume filter and help out the little magnets with a filtermag.

If such a systems were to leak in anyway it would instantly be catastrophic.

Interested.....

UD

 

[relaxalot]

Would the thicker viscosity of gear oil filter require different media to filter through than motor oil? It seems like it may not flow through an oil filter like typical motor oil. I will probably be out on Memorial weekend. You are welcome to come by and have a look at the system if you like.

 

[RiverDave]

Would the thicker viscosity of gear oil filter require different media to filter through than motor oil? It seems like it may not flow through an oil filter like typical motor oil. I will probably be out on Memorial weekend. You are welcome to come by and have a look at the system if you like.

Gear oils are thinner then motor oils.. 90wt gear oil is like 20-30wt motor oil. Full syn drive oils are like water..

 

[Scott E]

Great seeing you on Friday Dan.

Interesting read. Glad to see this may be working out for you.

 

[Hugh Jascaulk]

My buddy with the same boat/motor as Rexalot broke a tooth on the upper drive gear and in turn snapped the drive shaft to the motor his last trip out. I'll be sure to mention this upgrade to him.

 

[relaxalot]

Thanks Scott, Always good to see you guys too.

 

[Phebus]

Funny how people are questioning the validity of this upgrade. I can guarantee you that Max Machine has researched the issue measuring oil temps before they would offer this upgrade.

 

[Uncle Dave]

Funny how people are questioning the validity of this upgrade. I can guarantee you that Max Machine has researched the issue measuring oil temps before they would offer this upgrade.

If they published their research more of us might be buying instead of theorizing.

Sounds like the number is a roughly 100 degree delta is - great for anything starting at 250.



UD

 

[WTMFA]

Funny how people are questioning the validity of this upgrade. I can guarantee you that Max Machine has researched the issue measuring oil temps before they would offer this upgrade.

X2
I know Jason personally. He is honest and would not sell something he didn't believe in :thumbsup

 

[Kylemenz1]

It seems very logical to me. If there was no benefit to keeping your drive oil as cold as possible...why does everyone put drive coolers on? I'd buy one, and just might in the next few months.

 

[relaxalot]

They told me in their testing the results were 100 to 140 degree drop in oil temp. My theory is that if I can stay below the cooking temp where the oil fails I should be good. They told me that they will try and set me up with a sending unit and guage also. I was in a hurry to get this drive done and back on the water. Even if the temp only drops 75 degrees my guess is that I am in the money. I can't imagine this setup not effectively dropping oil temps.

 

[WTMFA]

Jason and his brother have a Blown big block 25ft Daytona. Whatever they do, they test on a boat that has enough HP to break drives

 

[Demoman]

Sounds like a pretty cool set up. I haven't talked to Aaron or Jason since switching to the toon. They could not have treated me better when I had one of their drives on the Ultra. Real stand up guys that go out of their way to take care of their clients.

 

[New to boating]

Well after I grenaded my last outdrive (Bravo xr) I went to the boys at MMM to rebuild my drive. They introduced me to their new gear oil cooler which consists of two lines into the upper through the transom. The lines are then connected to a heat exchanger that has lake water from an external pickup for cooling the oil. They told me that they had success with it keeping the gear oil cooler by 100 to 140 degrees. I still have the standard drive cooler installed as well as the new heat exchanger. The oil is pushed through the system by a 12 volt pump. The pump is activated by a manual toggle switch on the dash. I wish I had some real technical testing info for you but I don't. All I can say that my motor combined with my love for 5 blade props have a tendency to turn the amsoil severe gear black real quick. After 3 hours of run time this weekend oil looked like Sue Bee Honey. I felt the lines and the cooler several times during the day and I could feel that one line was hotter and one definately cooler. The water line that flows through the heat exchanger dumps overboard through a dump. Max Machine did a beautiful rigging job and used all high quality fittings and parts. All lines are braided SS and installation is super clean. One drawback is that you can hear when the pump is on . It is not stealth. When the hatch is closed and the motor is running the sound is not noticeable. Using my automotive knowledge when transmission oil starts to have that burnt smell it is not long before you are at the transmission shop. I believe that the guys at Max Machine may be on to something for all of the Bravo owners out there. I will keep everyone updated on my hopefully long drive life! Just wanted to pass on what may make my boating future less expensive!

Heat has always been an issue with trying to make a BRAVO live with too much horsepower or trying to move too much weight. Gear size is a bigger issue. That is why Merc Racing made the NXT and IMCO started making physically larger drives with larger gears - changing component materials, "cooling" the drive and all of the other products everyone tried were more band-aids than any type of solution and never really solved the problem. Reailty is that marine horsepower technology progressed faster than the drive technology. There is a reason Merc Racing stops coupling the BRAVO to its engines at a certain horsepower rating. Price of poker goes up for NXT or the #6 but by the time you add up all the rebuild costs, towing bills and down time probably money ahead

 

[JBS]

Heat has always been an issue with trying to make a BRAVO live with too much horsepower or trying to move too much weight. Gear size is a bigger issue. That is why Merc Racing made the NXT and IMCO started making physically larger drives with larger gears - changing component materials, "cooling" the drive and all of the other products everyone tried were more band-aids than any type of solution and never really solved the problem. Reailty is that marine horsepower technology progressed faster than the drive technology. There is a reason Merc Racing stops coupling the BRAVO to its engines at a certain horsepower rating. Price of poker goes up for NXT or the #6 but by the time you add up all the rebuild costs, towing bills and down time probably money ahead

Well close the thread

The anonymous Final Word has posted


Sent from my iPhone

 

[Paul65k]

Sounds reasonable to me...I "Grenaded" 2 "XZ" drives with a 500HP pushing a very heavy (28' PartyCat) boat in 3 years. I finally broke down and upgraded to an "XR" even though the "XZ" should have easily handled the power.

An oil cooler would make all the sense in the world to me....I wonder why they don;t simply install a "Temperature" switch, or even a temperature sensor (like the one on airplane engines) that would automatically engage the system when needed and not rely on the user to turn it on (and off BTW). This would allow the installation of a gauge very easily into the system and would allow you to monitor the health of your oil/outdrive temperature.

my .02

 

[River911]

Heat has always been an issue with trying to make a BRAVO live with too much horsepower or trying to move too much weight. Gear size is a bigger issue. That is why Merc Racing made the NXT and IMCO started making physically larger drives with larger gears - changing component materials, "cooling" the drive and all of the other products everyone tried were more band-aids than any type of solution and never really solved the problem. Reailty is that marine horsepower technology progressed faster than the drive technology. There is a reason Merc Racing stops coupling the BRAVO to its engines at a certain horsepower rating. Price of poker goes up for NXT or the #6 but by the time you add up all the rebuild costs, towing bills and down time probably money ahead

How profound.

 

[Weekend Therapy]

How profound.

I dont belief it

 

[JMC]

MM has shipped me several rebuilt drives over the years. Good guys to work with and Im sure there is some substance to the oil cooler they are working on. Having said that, sending gobs of torque in one direction and immediately sending it 90 degrees in another will always have issues with the given design. When you factor in small aluminum and pot metal housings, undersized gear sets, etc the end is imminent. I have never had one gear failure, but I had plenty of upper shafts twisted in two.

1000 lbs of torque, 1.24 gears and a 30 or 32 pitch prop...hehe, yeah, the oil cooler isnt going to save you.

 

[relaxalot]

I realize that drives will continue to fail because they are being ran out of their range of design. I am hoping that cooler oil will be able to lubricate and increase the life of the drive. Makes sense to me that it would. How long would a car transmission last with 325 degree oil? One day? Two days? Yet with 180 degree oil it can last 100,000 miles, ten years. That is a big differnence. This is the logic I am using. Naturally larger stronger gears are another answer and a proven one. I was trying to stay away from the parasitic drag and probably the slower mph speed I would have as a result of going with the larger gearset. I have heard that this is somewhere around 4-6 mph. I know if will vary boat to boat. I hope that just keeping my oil at a much lower temperature I will be able to keep those gears happier. I hope this will result in doubling the life of my drive. If someone could use a stronger alloy gearset and keep the oil cool so it could lubricate maybe we could bring new life to the thousands of Bravos out there. If my idea does not work I will put the larger gearset in my shopping cart.

 

[JBS]

I realize that drives will continue to fail because they are being ran out of their range of design. I am hoping that cooler oil will be able to lubricate and increase the life of the drive. Makes sense to me that it would. How long would a car transmission last with 325 degree oil? One day? Two days? Yet with 180 degree oil it can last 100,000 miles, ten years. That is a big differnence. This is the logic I am using. Naturally larger stronger gears are another answer and a proven one. I was trying to stay away from the parasitic drag and probably the slower mph speed I would have as a result of going with the larger gearset. I have heard that this is somewhere around 4-6 mph. I know if will vary boat to boat. I hope that just keeping my oil at a much lower temperature I will be able to keep those gears happier. I hope this will result in doubling the life of my drive. If someone could use a stronger alloy gearset and keep the oil cool so it could lubricate maybe we could bring new life to the thousands of Bravos out there. If my idea does not work I will put the larger gearset in my shopping cart.

No such thing ALL the XR gears come from Merc

 

[relaxalot]

I meant I would go with the Imco scx. At least the upper. I have heard they are almost indestructible. If you use the lower also I don't think my motor would break the drive. I would probably choose to use the upper only based on experiences from different people. I also was hoping that someone could make a replacement gearset that is the same as the Mercury set except with better bearing quality alloys. With all of the technology out there you would think this would not be all that hard. Just like I cannot believe that stock Merc XR do not even come with as much as a drive shower let alone a heat exchanger. A good test of this cooler will be coming up in June when I will be loading up the boat more than I like with a bunch of my Son's friends and cruising the waters of Havasu. I know that weight creates more of a load and load creates more heat. Heat means failure. Let hope I can load up his friends and cruise the lake with cool efficient oil with no problems with the drive.

 

[River911]

I meant I would go with the Imco scx. At least the upper. I have heard they are almost indestructible. If you use the lower also I don't think my motor would break the drive. I would probably choose to use the upper only based on experiences from different people. I also was hoping that someone could make a replacement gearset that is the same as the Mercury set except with better bearing quality alloys. With all of the technology out there you would think this would not be all that hard. Just like I cannot believe that stock Merc XR do not even come with as much as a drive shower let alone a heat exchanger. A good test of this cooler will be coming up in June when I will be loading up the boat more than I like with a bunch of my Son's friends and cruising the waters of Havasu. I know that weight creates more of a load and load creates more heat. Heat means failure. Let hope I can load up his friends and cruise the lake with cool efficient oil with no problems with the drive.

I've run my MMW drive for 1/2hr at 100mph. Pulled the boat out of the water and the drive was as cool a cucumber. No steam coming off it whatsoever It wouldnt even melt my goose and tonic ice :skull

I wonder if being submerged in 50d water had anything to do with it??

 

[River911]

I've also tried a SCX on my boat. Spent the dough. Tried it out.

Lets just say I couldn't wait to rip the fucker off my boat.