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Thread: Well At Least I Got 4 Years Out Of The XR.. :)

  1. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by RickSE View Post
    That sucks. I have over 240-hours on a regular Bravo-1 behind my 500EFI and have never had a problem and we've run our boat pretty hard and agressive.
    I boat mostly on the Great Lakes and connecting waters and with the shorty the boat gets lots of air and it's not easy getting the throttle right every time. Pretty sure it's the air time that beat it up. Do you have a shorty and do you get air? I thought this drive would go the distance but we all know that any style Bravo drive is the weak link in a performance boat.
    Lake St. Clair, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, Lake Oakland

  2. #17
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    Carl, have you ever considered a foot throttle? Much quicker response which increases the safety factor.

    Only owned two 18's for the past 40 yrs and installed foot pedal in both. Saved my butt numerous times.

  3. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Carl C View Post
    I boat mostly on the Great Lakes and connecting waters and with the shorty the boat gets lots of air and it's not easy getting the throttle right every time. Pretty sure it's the air time that beat it up. Do you have a shorty and do you get air? I thought this drive would go the distance but we all know that any style Bravo drive is the weak link in a performance boat.
    No, standard length leg with a raised X-Dim of 1.5". We'll get air with the boat but maybe not as much with the prop.
    RickS-E

  4. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by tmdog View Post
    Carl, have you ever considered a foot throttle? Much quicker response which increases the safety factor.

    Only owned two 18's for the past 40 yrs and installed foot pedal in both. Saved my butt numerous times.
    Not on this boat. I had one in my Hydrostream but there are plenty of times that I just like to set the throttle and cruise with the Donzi.
    Lake St. Clair, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, Lake Oakland

  5. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Carl C View Post
    Not on this boat. I had one in my Hydrostream but there are plenty of times that I just like to set the throttle and cruise with the Donzi.


    Amen Brother
    machinist ,bore it deeper,ream it bigger, and lap it to a fine finish



    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v...=2&theater

  6. #21
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    I have been vindicated! It was not my driving or throttling skills that took out my drive. When I talked to Brian Orlandi about this on the phone he told me that the input shaft nut probably backed off. I thought he meant the big spanner nut on the front. That was still fully in and I told Brian that the nut had not come loose. When I took my lower in to Brian today to get checked out and cleaned up I also took my upper input shaft to show him. It seems that there is a design/assembly defect with both old and new style XRs. The nut in these pictures adjusts bearing preload and does not fully tighten. It's like an old style wheel bearing nut except that there is no positive lock on the nut. They rely on the nylock to hold it in place. Newer uppers are put together with loc-tite on there also. A lot of the older style uppers lacked the loc-tite and the nuts back off which screws up the gear meshing and lets the input shaft wobble around until something breaks. Brian had it nailed! Now I will probably have to take my new upper to Brian and have him loc-tite this nut. I think a small tack weld would be good insurance too. These pics show the play if you look closely. There is a good 1/8 inch play from the nut backing off that far!
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Lake St. Clair, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, Lake Oakland

  7. #22
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    Instead of a nylock nut, would a stover lock nut work better?

    Ken

  8. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by CHACHI View Post
    Instead of a nylock nut, would a stover lock nut work better?

    Ken
    IDK. The factory fix is loc-tite but now I will always be wondering if that nut is moving. How about a stover nut with a tack weld? The small weld could be ground off if service were ever needed. Brian puts three extra indentations on the nylock nut plus the loc-tite.
    Lake St. Clair, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, Lake Oakland

  9. #24
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    I'm surprised by this. As much engineering goes into the design of an outdrive, and the closeness of tolerances required for proper gear lash, etc., I find it hard to believe that the best solution they could come up with was to rely on a nylock to hold the nut in place once the proper tightening was achieved.

    And then to know about the problem, put out lock-tite as a solution, and not at least inform owners of the need to have this procedure performed seems sketchy to me. Especially when the result of NOT doing it is catastrophic (and expensive) drive failure.
    “Oh right, because you walked into strippers discount warehouse and said ‘Help me showcase my intellect.’” - Archer

    Bill
    Grand Rapids, Michigan
    1985 Donzi Criterion SS
    1967 Donzi 16 Ski Sporter, C16-409, Has a new home!
    38' Carver Aft Cabin
    1968 Sea Ray SRV 180 w/1975 70 hp Evinrude
    10" RIB w/15 hp 1984 Evinrude

  10. #25
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    Next upgrade?

    Sorry to here about your upper Carl. I agree with you that the one thing that´s really hard on the drive must be air time on and off with lots of rpm. Like repeated dragracing starts almost. What would be the next upgrade from the XR (and are the latest version XR tronger than the one you have?)

  11. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by fysis View Post
    Sorry to here about your upper Carl. I agree with you that the one thing that´s really hard on the drive must be air time on and off with lots of rpm. Like repeated dragracing starts almost. What would be the next upgrade from the XR (and are the latest version XR tronger than the one you have?)
    I don't do drag racing starts and I think this drive would have gone the distance had that nut not backed off.
    Lake St. Clair, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, Lake Oakland

  12. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by Carl C View Post
    IDK. The factory fix is loc-tite but now I will always be wondering if that nut is moving. How about a stover nut with a tack weld? The small weld could be ground off if service were ever needed. Brian puts three extra indentations on the nylock nut plus the loc-tite.
    Ask Brian if it happens to the left hand drives and if they change the direction of the nut . Meaning a left hand nut and a right hand nut .
    machinist ,bore it deeper,ream it bigger, and lap it to a fine finish



    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v...=2&theater

  13. #28
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    Carl~~~
    Since Mercruiser had been well aware of this nylock nut related failuure issue~~and issued a service update to their dealers to use Locktite thread locker in addition to that factory nylock nut to prevent it from backing off .
    Is there any chance that Mercruiser would stand behind their product and issue you some sort of full or partial refund of your total repair parts & labor costs on this known Mercruriser factory design flaw ?
    I would try to contact Mercruiser about this known issue~~to see what, if anything, they would be willing to do for you.
    It never hurts to complain & ask for a refund ?

    Nylock nuts are good in some applications~~~but obviously not in this one.
    I suspect the constant fairly high drive temp swings, (drives do get very hot at times of high speed operation as we all know) along with the extreme rotational forces & vibration caused this nylock nut to loosen-up on the gear's proper mesh backlash resulting in the gears & ultimate drive failure.
    Nylock nuts are not good around very much heat and not around lube oil.
    After all the nylon ring on the nylock nut is plastic and melts at very low temps loosening it's grip..
    I would use Locktite #271 Red High Strength threadlocker, instead of #242 Blue Medium strength. take your new unit , mark one flat on the nut & side of the shaft and count the exact number of turns needed to remove it.
    clean off all lube inside that nut & the shaft's threads. Apply #271 thread locker to the threads as well as putting a drop inside the nut and re-install counting the exact number of turns it took to take it off.
    Setting the proper gear backlash would be much more accurate however~~~it you have the proper equipment to do this job properly yourself.
    "BENCHSEAT 18" ~~YellowJacket~~ project owner~
    1929 Chris~Craft 28' Tripple Cockpit Mahogany Speedboat / A-120-A 845 Cu.In. 375 H.P. Chris~Craft V-8 racing engine.
    24' American Skier
    Super Eagle 454 HO Skiboat
    1991 454 SS Chevy Super Sport Pick-up for towing my "Toys".

    There is no such thing as going too fast ~ ~~
    OR~ Being too old~ for a new "Toy"!

    Brad Hunter
    Huntingdon Valley Pa (Just outside Philly)~
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  14. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by Carl C View Post
    Not on this boat. I had one in my Hydrostream but there are plenty of times that I just like to set the throttle and cruise with the Donzi.
    Nice that you figured out the problem. You might consider a "dual use" throttle. You get the benefit of the foot throttle which helps with the drive when faced with rough conditions and a lot of air, and you can just set the cruise at the hand end when you want autopilot. Best of both worlds.
    1972 16 OB - C16B-63 - "Surface Tension" Resto Project
    1974 16 OB - DMR16106017-B - "The Mule"

  15. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by tmdog View Post
    Carl, have you ever considered a foot throttle? Much quicker response which increases the safety factor. Only owned two 18's for the past 40 yrs and installed foot pedal in both. Saved my butt numerous times.
    I'm with ya on that dog. I have one and would never go back.
    1972 16 OB - C16B-63 - "Surface Tension" Resto Project
    1974 16 OB - DMR16106017-B - "The Mule"

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