Labor Costs for Replacing Transom Assembly (Bravo 1)

T

tommyc_37

New Member
Feb 1, 2010
169
Liberty Harbor, Jersey City (in the shadow of Stat
Boat Info
268 Sundancer 1988
Engines
454 Mercruiser
Hey guys,

Launched the boat on Saturday only to notice within a few minutes that something was wrong; bilge pump was pumping out about 3-5 gallons of water every 20 minutes or so. Not good! My mechanic and I determined the water was coming in from the transom assembly - uh oh. Regardless, I decided to take it for a quick shakedown cruise with a friend, to see how she runs.

Boat ran great for about 10 minutes, then I experienced an IMMEDIATE loss of power, right under the Brooklyn Bridge (for you local guys, this was on an outgoing tide, and I was drifting south towards the Staten Island Ferry terminal). Boat wouldn't start, and we had the smell of burning rubber. We got towed back to my slip.

Turns out that the water coming in had corroded the gimbal bearing, coupling, etc, and was burning the rubber inside of the coupling (am I understanding it correctly?), which caused the motor to automatically shut off and not start (safety feature??).

We found a like-new reconditioned Bravo 1 transom assembly for $1,900 (this seems to be a good price...am I right?). Other parts total up to about $500. He is charging me $1,800 for labor (removing engine and drive, cleaning bilge, replacing transom assembly, and re-installing engine and drive).

Does $1,800 seem like a fair labor price in NYC/NJ area? I understand that it's a pretty major job.
 
That's in the ballpark I had my transom assy replaced over the winter, $5K however I decided on a new one instead of reconditioned unit I figured WTH in for a dime in for a dollar. You probably don't want to look for more ways to spend more money at this point but if you have a working relationship with your Marina while the motor is out would be the time to perform any other maintenance. Water pump impeller, plugs, oil change etc...
 
Did I miss something? why are you changing the whole housing? You said there was water coming in, that I assume is from the bellows and it took out the gimbal bearing... I can see the coupler even heating up and melting the rubber, but why change the whole housing? The bearing can be changed easy enough, and yes the motor has to come out to do the coupler. There has to be more to this if he wants to change the housing? Or is there? I just don't want to see you replacing the gimbal housing if it doesn't need it.
 
tommyc_37 said:
Hey guys,

Launched the boat on Saturday only to notice within a few minutes that something was wrong; bilge pump was pumping out about 3-5 gallons of water every 20 minutes or so. Not good! My mechanic and I determined the water was coming in from the transom assembly - uh oh. Regardless, I decided to take it for a quick shakedown cruise with a friend, to see how she runs. Boat ran great for about 10 minutes, then I experienced an IMMEDIATE loss of power, right under the Brooklyn Bridge
Click to expand...


can't help with your question about the cost of a transom assembly, but i gota say you are a much braver soul than me to take a boat out while knowing it was taking on water....my luck the engine would have lost power just like you experienced AND my bilge pump would have failed.....that would have been a real Oh Sh!T moment...
 
If Tommyc has the same issue that I did it is not a simple repair. The steering arm mechanism develops a small leak and if not corrected imediately it will corrode to the point that only replacement will stop the leak. I asked around to examine any alternatives to replacement and found that you may have some limited success by attempting to repair it but the engine would still need to be removed and there would be no guarantee. I bought the boat used last year and had a wet bilge from day one.
 
dicor said:
If Tommyc has the same issue that I did it is not a simple repair. The steering arm mechanism develops a small leak and if not corrected imediately it will corrode to the point that only replacement will stop the leak. I asked around to examine any alternatives to replacement and found that you may have some limited success by attempting to repair it but the engine would still need to be removed and there would be no guarantee. I bought the boat used last year and had a wet bilge from day one.
Click to expand...

I totally agree if it is from the steering and there is corosion, I would replace. He said the motor locked up at the bearing so I am assuming this water came through the bellows and seized the bearing??? It may need a hausing but I just want him to be sure the information he is getting is accurate.
 
Yeah I believe the problem started where the steering arm mechanism is; that's where we saw water dripping in. Who knows how long that has been happening - maybe since last season. When we pulled off the outdrive yesterday, and looked directly INTO the transom assembly (the big hole) the entire thing was corroded. Sorry, I don't know the technical term for "the big hole", LOL.

Does it seem like my mechanic is diagnosing it right? Can somebody explain why the transom assembly failed like it did?

Does $1,900 seem like a good price for the part? Can anybody else confirm that $1,800 for labor is in the ballpark? I appreciate the input.

CliffA, this is in NY Harbor, and if there was a problem I knew I'd be able to get assistance very quickly.
 
not sure about the price.

when i changed the 230 from alpha drive to B-3, i found a new bravo transom assembly for $1000 from a store in new jersey.

that was 3 or more years ago but still, might pay to shop around. labor dosn't sound to bad. make sure they do good drive-engine alinement. that can be time consuming when doing a new transom install.
 
You may want to check this Ebay listing http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-OEM-Mer..._Accessories_Gear&hash=item2317ca6b6c&vxp=mtr
These people are selling new not reconditioned assemblies for $2k. If you can find a new assembly for less than that grab it. $1,800 is about what the Marina charged me for labor, it's a lot more work than may you think, disconnecting everything, removing the motor, installing and sealing the new assembly, aligning everything back up, reinstalling the motor, reconnecting it all. There are way too many mistakes waiting to happen it's worth every penny of $2k just to be able to say "It's not 100% right fix it".
 
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tommyc_37 said:
Yeah I believe the problem started where the steering arm mechanism is; that's where we saw water dripping in. Who knows how long that has been happening - maybe since last season. When we pulled off the outdrive yesterday, and looked directly INTO the transom assembly (the big hole) the entire thing was corroded. Sorry, I don't know the technical term for "the big hole", LOL.

Does it seem like my mechanic is diagnosing it right? Can somebody explain why the transom assembly failed like it did?

Does $1,900 seem like a good price for the part? Can anybody else confirm that $1,800 for labor is in the ballpark? I appreciate the input.

CliffA, this is in NY Harbor, and if there was a problem I knew I'd be able to get assistance very quickly.
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Sorry, looks like you are buying a transom assembly....:smt089

The price doesn't seem that bad, especially in this area.
 
Just had the same problem 1 week after buying the boat.

Fortunately the surveryor agreed to cover the repair since he missed it during the survey. Transom assembly was quoted at $2,095 for a new one and 16 hours of labor at $90/hr.
 
GrandMaster said:
Just had the same problem 1 week after buying the boat.

Fortunately the surveryor agreed to cover the repair since he missed it during the survey. Transom assembly was quoted at $2,095 for a new one and 16 hours of labor at $90/hr.
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Dang I wish I used your Surveyor!

tommyc I sent you a pm.
 
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Does a B3 bolt on in place of a Alpha? What all needs to be changed?

LK

garryowen said:
not sure about the price.

when i changed the 230 from alpha drive to B-3, i found a new bravo transom assembly for $1000 from a store in new jersey.

that was 3 or more years ago but still, might pay to shop around. labor dosn't sound to bad. make sure they do good drive-engine alinement. that can be time consuming when doing a new transom install.
Click to expand...
 
alwhite00 said:
Does a B3 bolt on in place of a Alpha? What all needs to be changed?

LK
Click to expand...

I found this write up on the internet:

[FONT=century gothic, Arial, Helvetica]Alpha To Bravo Conversion
After grenading two alpha's on my stock powered 18 Donzi I had enough. I wanted to regain the strength and smooth shifting I had with my original Volvo yet retain the modern power trim, power steering and parts availability of the Alpha. With everything on hand this is a long weekend project but yields great results. In this page I will outline the specific Alpha to Bravo conversion issues. This page will NOT cover mercruiser basics such as engine removal and alignment.
The first thing you need to do is remove the alpha one and then take out the engine. Then remove the intermediate housing. The alpha uses 6 bolts/studs that go through the transom. The bravo requires two more holes to be drilled in the transom. To locate these holes you need the mercruiser template or if you do not have this ( as I did not) it is easy enough to make your own cardboard template off the Bravo intermediate housing.
After drilling these holes the intermediate housing can be mounted. After bolting the inner plate to the intermediate you can re install the alpha steering ram. The ram from an Alpha application is the same ram as it is for a Bravo application.
The bravo, unlike some alpha's, has an inner drive oil bottle. This will need to be mounted on the transom or engine.
Also the Alpha has an internal raw water pump. The bravo does not have this pump and while then engine is out you are going to have to add either a crank driven or a belt driven one to the front of the engine. Also keep in mind that the inlet diameter of the Bravo water line is 1 1/4". That alpha is 1". the inlets on the raw water pump you just added are most likely 1 1/4". The only problem created is that if you engine has an oil or power steering cooler the inlet and outlet will be the 1" originally from the Alpha. You can either chose to reduce the raw water line into the cooler and then step up in size after but I personally do not think that is the correct way to do it. I would recommend after going to all this effort and expense to get the appropriate diameter cooler.
The wiring for the trim switches remains the same. The wires that go the the shift plate can now be disconnected as the Bravo does not need the shift interrupt to come out of gear. If you have added the drive oil bottle the two wires that come out of the bottom of it are a low level indicator. You can either chose to hook these up or go without the low level warning.
That should be the majority of it. It is a very simple swap with no custom fitting, grinding or machining needed. All that is needed to do the job is the most basic hand tools and a Mercruiser alignment tool.
I have been very pleased with the swap and so far the drive has been bulletproof. I am very pleased with it's overall performance and recommend it highly.
[/FONT]
 
OK guys, just an update on this. My mechanic is now telling me that because my Mercruiser 357 Mag is paired with an Alpha drive, that contributed to the burning out of the whole upper mechanism of the outdrive. He says it MUST be paired with the Bravo.

Flashback to 2 years ago ... a DIFFERENT mechanic repowered me with the 357 and a new Alpha. That mechanic had told me at the time that the Alpha is no problem when paired with the 357. This mechanic now is telling me it's a big problem.

Who's right and who's wrong? I'm really confused, and I really want to get the boat in the water.
 
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