Are Jasper Outdrives Any Good?

[Kay Lee]

The '99 270DA that I recently purchased had a Jasper Bravo 3 put on it right before I bought it because the original Merc Bravo 3 had a failure. I was told by the owner that the drive fluid reservoir alarm sounded and he found outdrive oil all over the engine compartment. I just took this boat out for the first extended trip since the sea trial and the alarm sounded numerous times. I added oil to the resevoir every time. It was about a 150 mile trip over 4 days. When I loaded the boat back onto the trailer, there's outdrive oil in the bilge when there wasn't any before! I'm calling Jasper Monday, but I was wondering if anyone has had any good or bad experiences with Jasper rebuilt outdrives.

Thanks,
Larry

 

[JediJD]

Can't speak specifically to that specific application or incident, but in my area, Jasper is considered to be a "name brand" remanufacturer. I have actually been to one of their plants and it is pretty impressive.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Did you check the rubber line going from the reservoir to the drive for cracks/leaks? Can you tell where the leak is coming from? Before you go down the road of dealing with the drive, see if you can track down where the oil is dripping from.

 

[Kay Lee]

Did you check the rubber line going from the reservoir to the drive for cracks/leaks? Can you tell where the leak is coming from? Before you go down the road of dealing with the drive, see if you can track down where the oil is dripping from.

I checked today. The rubber line looks fine. The oil in the bilge is coming from the drive. The area directly below the coupling and outdrive input shaft is covered with oil. I believe it's the input shaft seal for the drive. I believe the oil showed up in the bilge after I put the drive in the trailer position. I also have oil coming from around the props so I suspect I have a bad prop shaft seal or two as well.

Larry

 

[Lazy Daze]

I checked today. The rubber line looks fine. The oil in the bilge is coming from the drive. The area directly below the coupling and outdrive input shaft is covered with oil. I believe it's the input shaft seal for the drive. I believe the oil showed up in the bilge after I put the drive in the trailer position. I also have oil coming from around the props so I suspect I have a bad prop shaft seal or two as well.

Larry

OK, sounds you like you're on top of things. I just hate seeing someone take on a big project when the solution is sometimes simple.

I don't have experience with Jasper, myself. But, I've never really heard anything bad about them.

 

[Kay Lee]

Thanks for the confirmation. Not a big job for me... it's still under warranty!

Larry

 

[Lazy Daze]

it's still under warranty!

That's always a good thing! :grin:

Good luck, I hope Jasper makes good for you. If you think of it, please report back once it's done - it'd be good to know how Jasper handled it.

 

[Kay Lee]

Update: Shop pulled the outdrive and confirmed that the yoke shaft seal is leaking. They drained the outdrive oil and said that there was metal on the drain plug magnet. They contacted Jasper and Jasper has agreed to send a fresh upper and lower unit! :smt038 Hopefully, this one will be better than the last one.

The only downside so far is that Jasper's labor reimbursement rate is a little low at only $57/hour.:smt089

Larry