Blown Alpha Drive

[Hardonzi]

Well it happened..Broke 4 teeth and now looking at 1600.00 repair cost. looking into Z Care to see were I stand..My quest. is can the guts be upgraded with out a Alpha to Bravo switch?..That switch can cost 5-7K. :mad: :eek:

[Bryan Tuvell 33ZX]

HARDONZI, I have had a few dealings with ZCare and their surveyors on outdrives, 3 this season on the old boat.
They can and will get a reconditioned one if one is available. They will not attempt to rebuild it, it would cost to much in labor. If the merc mechanic says he can't find an upper you will get a whole new unit.
You pay $100 deductable.
If you have any questions about my dealings let me know, I learned allot.

You have a 22ZX right?
Bryan

[Gearhead99]

Sam,

What???????

[Sam]

Sorry Gearhead, I posted a reply on the wrong subject or at least I think I did. It's sucks getting old.

Sam

[Digger]

Hardonzi, just curious- do you know how/when it failed? was the failure accompanied with a sudden stoppage? or was it something that took some time to develop? Which gear failed? good luck with the fix!

[Hardonzi]

Broke 3-4 teeth on the lower gear sending shrapnel into bearings..It happened when I noticed some vibration when I put load on it coming out of neutral.It also sounded different,that was the bearings grinding on the shavings that were ingested.It ran like a bat outa hell home some 20 miles at 66mph 4900rpm..U never woulda guessed this had happened..Just came back from marina and saw the gear with teeth gone,but thats it no other damage.He said I was lucky"When they go it can get ugly".It pays to listen to the sounds only u can distinguish from normal to anomolies..Others told me it was the water pickup,I said NOT! Bryan,My next will also be a 26ZX with a HP500EFI,Gotta get this F-250sd 4x4 payed for first..U guyz be safe!! :D

[marcdups]

If you get a reman be sure it is from mercruiser, they do not remanufacture lower units but are those that have not passed quality control ann or shimmed incorrectly, they are brand new with a REAL mechanic going through them, much better than new and has new part # on it, ie, an A part # instead of an R.

[Bryan Tuvell 33ZX]

marcups, I believe they do reman lowers. They are hard to find. If you buy a whole reman unit the lower is not new from Merc, or I would think it wasn't, that has been my experience with Gen II alphas. I cvould be wrong though but I just flipped through copies of my old paperwork for the 22ZX and the full unit ZCare got me from the AOTH failure was a reman. At an almost new price at that! It did last almost 30 hours though! 30 hours of boating is better than zero.

HARDONZI - 26ZX with a 500, that would be a MACHINE! I have never seen one for sale, I wonder if one has ever been built.

Sitting here waiting to hear from a friend who look at a 2000 leftover 33ZX Daytona, damn phone won't ring.... maybe he is towing!
LOL

Keep us posted on the repair.
Bryan

[marcdups]

Bryan, on the shipping carton the part # is normally a reman but on the lower unit itself the part # is brand new, actually tore one down just for the heck of it and not a single part was not brand new, got that hint from one of merc's old tech reps, cost difference is also substancial.
Donno about z care though, they may have a deal with some aftermarket people like PMC in florida, PMC in my book= poor machined c#*p!!

Marc :eek:

[Digger]

interesting...sure does help to pay attention to noises!