OMC versus MERC

[gjohns6896]

I have a boat in mind. It has a Ford 460 with the Cobra Drive. Anyone have anything bad to say? I also have a 1988 Cobalt 21' bow-rider with the same drive, but with a 5.7L 350. Still, with that set-up, I have had no problems, and bought that boat new.

If the OMC ever failed, would I be better off replacing it or fixing it? I am only thinking of the future here.

George :rolleyes:

[Murphy]

Hey Geroge,

I just ran a search using the search tab above. Entered the word "Cobra". On page 2 there is a huge string of past comments on this engine/drive combo from an 89 boat. Might be worth looking at.

Murph

[Murphy]

One more time... sorry about butchering your name... anyway, I mean the search tab right under Donzi Registry, not the one on your browser.

Best,

Murph

[HELLERBOY]

I have the 460 King Cobra w/OMC drive. all good here(and it play's in the salt). :cool:

[gjohns6896]

OKAY, ROB! It's not that difficult of a name to spell. GEEZ! It's cool, just messin' with ya!

Anyhow, I looked for that post, and only found a small one. It really didn't say much. I will keep looking.

Thanks for your input, Hellerboy! I have nothing against OMC, just everyone else does. I think they are great...and very well built! Glad yours has stayed together in the salt.

Cheers,
George

[AVickers]

There are two series of OMC Cobras -- basically early and late. The earlier units use dogs to engage forward and reverse (just like the Alphas). They work well, but if they are out of adjustment, they can damage the lower end dogs. "Two fingers" is all that should be required to shift it.

The later units used the Volvo-style cone clutches in the upper to engage reverse and forward and were very good drives -- some would say better than the Bravo.

The easiest way to tell them apart is that the early drive has a flat top and the raw water pump is in the rear of the drive under a service plate (really easy to replace impellers...) The later drive has a big bearing in the top of the drive so there's a kind of dome on top. These drive use an engine-mounted raw water pump.

I think the year cut was somewhere between '89 and '91, but I'm not at all sure...

[Cuda]

I had a King Cobra drive on a heavy 26 foot aft cabin, and had no troubles with is. It shifted at lot smoother and more positive detents than any of the three alphas I have. I have read they are a bit stronger than Bravo drives.