OUTDRIVE reconditioning

[Madifonzo]

Anyone know of a good place that offers exterior reconditioning of outdrives? My Bravo 3 drives are mechanically sound...the corrosion damage is on the exterior. Want to have them stripped, resurfaced and painted back to proper finish. Will probably need news kegs welded on as well.

I have seem seem a few places online that sell reconditioned drives but I want to keep mine and just refinish.

 

[Jeremygavin]

Try Doug Russell marine out of Worcester. They reman lots of outdrives, maybe they would tackle your job during the slow winter months. They were very helpful and open to alternative solutions when I was looking for outdrives in a hurry. I didn't end up buying from them so I have no first hand knowledge but they are a big player in our area. http://www.dougrussell.com

 

[Dave S]

Just a few words of caution. Be sure to ask a lot of questions on how they "refinish" or you may not like the results. If they have a professional do the work, then your results stand a better chance of being acceptable. But if all they do is turn one of their Techs loose with sandpaper and a grinding wheel, you may not like the results. And if the drives have a lot of corrosion, you may want to change the bearing carriers as well.

As far as welding on new skegs , the welding creates a lot of heat and could result in the prop bearing seals being damaged. But again a professional will be aware of this whereas a guy who just does general welding for a living may not be.

 

[Madifonzo]

Got a quote today:
was told that the drives were pressure tested and tested fine.
Here is what I have been quoted: please feel free to interject comments regarding price and times. I am not sure why I need new bearing carriers as the OUTDRIVE seals were replaced 2 years ago...also he time on the carriers seems high to me.

PER OUTDRIVE
· Grind, sand, clean, prime and paint outdrive to remove all corrosion.
Labor 8hrs @ $80/hr $640.00
Materials $60.00
Total $700.00 per outdrive.
· Replace bearing carrier
Labor 4hrs @ $80/hr $320.00
Materials $250.00
Total $570.00 per outdrive.
· Remove and replace damaged prop on port outdrive
Labor 1 hr @ 80/hr $80.00
Recondition prop $240.00
Total $320.00



To be honest I am thinking of just sanding nod painting the drives and running them as is. Of course identifying why the corrosion is happening and correct. I am thinking the mercathodes may not be functioning but can't test until the boat is in water.

 

[Henry Boyd]

I'd recommend sanding and painting the bad spots and then using TriLux anti-fouling paint. I bought a quart a couple years ago, and just glop it on in the spring. It looks ugly, but your drives are under water the whole time, so the only people who are going to see them is in the boatyard during the winter. However, the biggest reason I can think of for not 're-finishing' the drives is that no matter who does it, it will never be as good as the factory paint.

I haven't had the lower bearing carrier replaced, however I did have it done to the driveshaft bearing carrier. I assume they are similar, with the big exception that the lower carrier is actually two, a clockwise and counter-clockwise set. The upper assembly is pretty complicated with bearings and spacers and takes quite a bit of adjustment to get the shaft run out spec'd properly. I also understand getting the bottom carrier off can be a real bear. It sounds reasonable to me.

A full hour per drive to R&R the props is over the top IF the props come off. The BIII props are a metal to metal connection, if they have never been off and are stuck on 1 hour for R&R is peanuts. Better choice buy the tools and DIY every fall and spring. This insures there will be new grease between the prop and the prop shafts. The socket tool for the inner prop nut will cost you $ 72 from Mercury. The deep socket for the outer nut will cost about $ 25.00 and given the size Napa is the best source for that. If you don't have ½" drive ratchet expect to spend another $ 40 at Sears. Get the tools and do it yourself. I pay $ 270.00 per prop at H&H in Salem. In fact I have two sitting on the bench in garage that need to be dropped off. They clean, check and correct the profile, weld and blend any dings, and balance.

If you decide to buy the tools let me know and I'll post the socket size needed for the outer nut.

Henry

 

[ZZ13]

I paid $1233 a few months ago to have the bearing carriers replaced on the 300DA. Mine was less labor and more toward retail for materials. So your estimate looks reasonable.

 

[dpmulvey]

From a fellow boater in Atlanta who did his B3's several years ago.

Painting Aluminum. It should be an oxymoron. But it
happens. Especially aluminum out drives. I recently pulled my Mercruiser Bravo
III. After 4 years of my paint job on it, not a single square inch of paint had
eroded or peeled from the unit. Here is how I did it and some rules to remember
when painting aluminum.

Number one. Aluminum will not take paint. Not
bare aluminum, not etched aluminum? Surprised at “etched aluminum”? You see a
lot of primers that say, “self etching”. Well etching is the process of using
acids or bases to remove aluminum oxide and other contaminants. Where do the
contaminants and oxides go in a “self etching” paint? That is correct, they are
contained in the paint job. How long and how durable is a paint job with “self
etching” paint after all those contaminants are contained therein?

Number
two. Alodine will adhere tenaciously to aluminum and paint tenaciously to
alodine. So alodine is our “negotiator” to paint aluminum. It provides the
intermediary between paint and aluminum.

Surface prep. A lot of options
here. If the paint job is original Mercruiser it comes off very easy because
Mercruiser has a poor process. You can sand it off for the most part. If you
want, you can get some “aircraft stripper” available at most automotive paint
stores or Aircraft Spruce. The main difference here is the amount of ammonia in
the stripper. What is critical in this process is to place several plastic bags
over the input shaft and bearings and the prop shaft and carrier bearings and
hold them in place with tape. If you have a nearby facility that does plastic
bead blast paint removal, like an aircraft paint shop, they can clean off your
drive as well. Just make sure to cover the pitot tube entrance on your drive. DO
NOT SODA BLAST. You will make the etching process a very difficult one. Get the
drive as best you can down to bare metal. DO NOT USE STEEL BRUSHES, STEEL WOOL,
STAINLESS STELL BRUSHES, etc anywhere, any time. Always use aluminum oxide
sandpaper and if you want a “brush” use Scotchbrite pad.

Etching. I use
AlumnaPrep 33 available at Aircraft Spruce. You dilute it 1 part to 3 parts
water. A quart bottle is more than enough for one drive. Follow the instructions
on the bottle. USE RUBBER GLOVES. Brush the solution on generously. If you see a
spot repel the solution it may have grease on it. Degrease it with acetone or
MEK and put on more Alumnaprep. Leave the Alumanprep on at least 3 minutes then
flush with fresh water. Use a hose. Flush like crazy. Your drive should have a
dull but bright look to it after etching. Allow drive to air
dry.

Alodine. Again available at Aircraft Spruce. Do not dilute. A quart
will do a drive. Brush it on your dried, etched drive. Again, if you areas that
are aluminum that repels the alodine, you go to de-grease. Clean and re-etch.
Then alodine. Do not flush the alodine, allow it to air dry on. Your drive
should have a nice “golden” tint to the bare metal.

Paint. Here is where
you have some choices. I personally prefer two part epoxy polyurethanes. They
are extremely durable, flexible (hard paints crack), and give an easy and very
shiny finish that remains that way. The only negative is, any corrosion
occurring beneath the paint surface will not be visible. The paint may bubble,
but the coating will remain intact. Make sure you have sanded and etched away
all previous corrosion before painting. I use Southern Polyurethanes. The other
negative to polyurethane is you want a very good respirator and face shield when
you paint. You can get one a Home Depot. Do not get the disposable kind. Get a
3M 4000 or 5000. Do not allow this stuff to get in your lungs. It does not come
out, ever. Make sure your mask seals tightly around your face. If you have a
beard, shave it.

Priming. I use Southern Polyurethanes Epoxy Primer. For
a Mercruiser use black. Follow the instructions for mixing the hardener with the
paint, (It is one to one). I use a small eight-ounce touch up gun. It just about
covers a drive. First spray a flash coat, and then come back with a wet coat.
After this when the wet coat is highly tacky and not subject to running, come
back again with a full second coat. If you feel rich and want to burn some paint
put on a third.

Zinc-Chromate Primer. A lot of people swear by this
stuff. It is very good coating on etched aluminum, but not under water! It
contains zinc! Think about that for a moment? There is one place to use
zinc-chromate. On your bearing carrier after repainting the drive.

Color
Coat. I use Southern Polyurethanes Universal Black, 4000 series. Again just like
the primer, activate it one to one. Spray a flash coat then a wet coat. I do two
applications. You’ll like this step because you’ll be amazed at how bright and
shiny your drive is.

Clear Coat. You can (optional) clear coat your drive
with Southern Polyurethanes Clear 4000 series. Do it just like the color coat.
You can buff it if you want. Alternatively you can put on clear anti-fouling.
You have to be prepared that clear anti fouling will “degloss” your finish and
after a few weeks in the water, it looks like your drive is “cloudy”. Your
underlying polyurethane finish is intact and is fine.


Refinishing. As
I said, I recently removed my drive and the paint was intact, but I wanted to
“clean her up”. I removed the clear anti fouling with #60 sandpaper. I roughed
up the polyurethane finish coat with #60. In the process, I broke through to
bare metal in a couple of spots. No problem. Etch those spots with AlumnaPrep,
then alodine them. I sprayed two coats of Epoxy Primer, two Coats of 4000 black,
then two Coats of Clear. Here are the results. Note the sheen near the bottom of
the drive.Sources of materials

http://www.southernpolyurethanes.com/Product%20lines.htm

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/index.html

 

[Madifonzo]

Still weighing my options but I am leaning towards a touch up and running them for the season. At around $1500 per drive I can buy empty lower unit cases from Mercury for around that cost. Since the corrosion is limited to the lower units and they were pressure tested and passed, to me it makes more sense to run them. I could get a few more years out of them. But I will be sure to keep the gear housing in good shape so I am not replacing those as well. I agree the labor on the prop seems excessive and will remove myself.

 

[techmitch]

From a fellow boater in Atlanta who did his B3's several years ago.

Painting Aluminum. It should be an oxymoron. But it
happens. Especially aluminum out drives. I recently pulled my Mercruiser Bravo
III. After 4 years of my paint job on it, not a single square inch of paint had
eroded or peeled from the unit. Here is how I did it and some rules to remember
when painting aluminum.

Number one. Aluminum will not take paint. Not
bare aluminum, not etched aluminum? Surprised at “etched aluminum”? You see a
lot of primers that say, “self etching”. Well etching is the process of using
acids or bases to remove aluminum oxide and other contaminants. Where do the
contaminants and oxides go in a “self etching” paint? That is correct, they are
contained in the paint job. How long and how durable is a paint job with “self
etching” paint after all those contaminants are contained therein?

Number
two. Alodine will adhere tenaciously to aluminum and paint tenaciously to
alodine. So alodine is our “negotiator” to paint aluminum. It provides the
intermediary between paint and aluminum.

Surface prep. A lot of options
here. If the paint job is original Mercruiser it comes off very easy because
Mercruiser has a poor process. You can sand it off for the most part. If you
want, you can get some “aircraft stripper” available at most automotive paint
stores or Aircraft Spruce. The main difference here is the amount of ammonia in
the stripper. What is critical in this process is to place several plastic bags
over the input shaft and bearings and the prop shaft and carrier bearings and
hold them in place with tape. If you have a nearby facility that does plastic
bead blast paint removal, like an aircraft paint shop, they can clean off your
drive as well. Just make sure to cover the pitot tube entrance on your drive. DO
NOT SODA BLAST. You will make the etching process a very difficult one. Get the
drive as best you can down to bare metal. DO NOT USE STEEL BRUSHES, STEEL WOOL,
STAINLESS STELL BRUSHES, etc anywhere, any time. Always use aluminum oxide
sandpaper and if you want a “brush” use Scotchbrite pad.

Etching. I use
AlumnaPrep 33 available at Aircraft Spruce. You dilute it 1 part to 3 parts
water. A quart bottle is more than enough for one drive. Follow the instructions
on the bottle. USE RUBBER GLOVES. Brush the solution on generously. If you see a
spot repel the solution it may have grease on it. Degrease it with acetone or
MEK and put on more Alumnaprep. Leave the Alumanprep on at least 3 minutes then
flush with fresh water. Use a hose. Flush like crazy. Your drive should have a
dull but bright look to it after etching. Allow drive to air
dry.

Alodine. Again available at Aircraft Spruce. Do not dilute. A quart
will do a drive. Brush it on your dried, etched drive. Again, if you areas that
are aluminum that repels the alodine, you go to de-grease. Clean and re-etch.
Then alodine. Do not flush the alodine, allow it to air dry on. Your drive
should have a nice “golden” tint to the bare metal.

Paint. Here is where
you have some choices. I personally prefer two part epoxy polyurethanes. They
are extremely durable, flexible (hard paints crack), and give an easy and very
shiny finish that remains that way. The only negative is, any corrosion
occurring beneath the paint surface will not be visible. The paint may bubble,
but the coating will remain intact. Make sure you have sanded and etched away
all previous corrosion before painting. I use Southern Polyurethanes. The other
negative to polyurethane is you want a very good respirator and face shield when
you paint. You can get one a Home Depot. Do not get the disposable kind. Get a
3M 4000 or 5000. Do not allow this stuff to get in your lungs. It does not come
out, ever. Make sure your mask seals tightly around your face. If you have a
beard, shave it.

Priming. I use Southern Polyurethanes Epoxy Primer. For
a Mercruiser use black. Follow the instructions for mixing the hardener with the
paint, (It is one to one). I use a small eight-ounce touch up gun. It just about
covers a drive. First spray a flash coat, and then come back with a wet coat.
After this when the wet coat is highly tacky and not subject to running, come
back again with a full second coat. If you feel rich and want to burn some paint
put on a third.

Zinc-Chromate Primer. A lot of people swear by this
stuff. It is very good coating on etched aluminum, but not under water! It
contains zinc! Think about that for a moment? There is one place to use
zinc-chromate. On your bearing carrier after repainting the drive.

Color
Coat. I use Southern Polyurethanes Universal Black, 4000 series. Again just like
the primer, activate it one to one. Spray a flash coat then a wet coat. I do two
applications. You’ll like this step because you’ll be amazed at how bright and
shiny your drive is.

Clear Coat. You can (optional) clear coat your drive
with Southern Polyurethanes Clear 4000 series. Do it just like the color coat.
You can buff it if you want. Alternatively you can put on clear anti-fouling.
You have to be prepared that clear anti fouling will “degloss” your finish and
after a few weeks in the water, it looks like your drive is “cloudy”. Your
underlying polyurethane finish is intact and is fine.


Refinishing. As
I said, I recently removed my drive and the paint was intact, but I wanted to
“clean her up”. I removed the clear anti fouling with #60 sandpaper. I roughed
up the polyurethane finish coat with #60. In the process, I broke through to
bare metal in a couple of spots. No problem. Etch those spots with AlumnaPrep,
then alodine them. I sprayed two coats of Epoxy Primer, two Coats of 4000 black,
then two Coats of Clear. Here are the results. Note the sheen near the bottom of
the drive.Sources of materials

http://www.southernpolyurethanes.com/Product%20lines.htm

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/index.html

Great post !!!

 

[jason78]

The parts price for your carriers seem a bit off. As far as the bearing carriers go, you should make sure they are spec'ing the Mercury Bearing carriers. I did one carrier on my boat DIY about a year ago and I think the cheapest I could find the replacement carrier was around $440.00. There are generic parts available cheaper but I wanted to go with Merc for something like this. As a first timer, with great steps from a fellow CSR guy, it took me about a 1.5 hours to replace the carrier not including removal of the props which I had done ahead of time. (that takes about 5-10 minutes). This time included having to heat the lower unit with a torch for a few minutes, which from what I understand after talking to a number of marine mechanics, is almost always required when removing one with any corrosion. A mechanic friend of mine showed me how to heat it. I will be doing a DIY write up for CSR at some point but have not had time yet.

 

[Henry Boyd]

From a fellow boater in Atlanta who did his B3's several years ago.

Painting Aluminum. It should be an oxymoron. But it
happens. Especially aluminum out drives. I recently pulled my Mercruiser Bravo
III. After 4 years of my paint job on it, not a single square inch of paint had
eroded or peeled from the unit. Here is how I did it and some rules to remember
when painting aluminum.

Number one. Aluminum will not take paint. Not
bare aluminum, not etched aluminum? Surprised at “etched aluminum”? You see a
lot of primers that say, “self etching”. Well etching is the process of using
acids or bases to remove aluminum oxide and other contaminants. Where do the
contaminants and oxides go in a “self etching” paint? That is correct, they are
contained in the paint job. How long and how durable is a paint job with “self
etching” paint after all those contaminants are contained therein?

Number
two. Alodine will adhere tenaciously to aluminum and paint tenaciously to
alodine. So alodine is our “negotiator” to paint aluminum. It provides the
intermediary between paint and aluminum.

Surface prep. A lot of options
here. If the paint job is original Mercruiser it comes off very easy because
Mercruiser has a poor process. You can sand it off for the most part. If you
want, you can get some “aircraft stripper” available at most automotive paint
stores or Aircraft Spruce. The main difference here is the amount of ammonia in
the stripper. What is critical in this process is to place several plastic bags
over the input shaft and bearings and the prop shaft and carrier bearings and
hold them in place with tape. If you have a nearby facility that does plastic
bead blast paint removal, like an aircraft paint shop, they can clean off your
drive as well. Just make sure to cover the pitot tube entrance on your drive. DO
NOT SODA BLAST. You will make the etching process a very difficult one. Get the
drive as best you can down to bare metal. DO NOT USE STEEL BRUSHES, STEEL WOOL,
STAINLESS STELL BRUSHES, etc anywhere, any time. Always use aluminum oxide
sandpaper and if you want a “brush” use Scotchbrite pad.

Etching. I use
AlumnaPrep 33 available at Aircraft Spruce. You dilute it 1 part to 3 parts
water. A quart bottle is more than enough for one drive. Follow the instructions
on the bottle. USE RUBBER GLOVES. Brush the solution on generously. If you see a
spot repel the solution it may have grease on it. Degrease it with acetone or
MEK and put on more Alumnaprep. Leave the Alumanprep on at least 3 minutes then
flush with fresh water. Use a hose. Flush like crazy. Your drive should have a
dull but bright look to it after etching. Allow drive to air
dry.

Alodine. Again available at Aircraft Spruce. Do not dilute. A quart
will do a drive. Brush it on your dried, etched drive. Again, if you areas that
are aluminum that repels the alodine, you go to de-grease. Clean and re-etch.
Then alodine. Do not flush the alodine, allow it to air dry on. Your drive
should have a nice “golden” tint to the bare metal.

Paint. Here is where
you have some choices. I personally prefer two part epoxy polyurethanes. They
are extremely durable, flexible (hard paints crack), and give an easy and very
shiny finish that remains that way. The only negative is, any corrosion
occurring beneath the paint surface will not be visible. The paint may bubble,
but the coating will remain intact. Make sure you have sanded and etched away
all previous corrosion before painting. I use Southern Polyurethanes. The other
negative to polyurethane is you want a very good respirator and face shield when
you paint. You can get one a Home Depot. Do not get the disposable kind. Get a
3M 4000 or 5000. Do not allow this stuff to get in your lungs. It does not come
out, ever. Make sure your mask seals tightly around your face. If you have a
beard, shave it.

Priming. I use Southern Polyurethanes Epoxy Primer. For
a Mercruiser use black. Follow the instructions for mixing the hardener with the
paint, (It is one to one). I use a small eight-ounce touch up gun. It just about
covers a drive. First spray a flash coat, and then come back with a wet coat.
After this when the wet coat is highly tacky and not subject to running, come
back again with a full second coat. If you feel rich and want to burn some paint
put on a third.

Zinc-Chromate Primer. A lot of people swear by this
stuff. It is very good coating on etched aluminum, but not under water! It
contains zinc! Think about that for a moment? There is one place to use
zinc-chromate. On your bearing carrier after repainting the drive.

Color
Coat. I use Southern Polyurethanes Universal Black, 4000 series. Again just like
the primer, activate it one to one. Spray a flash coat then a wet coat. I do two
applications. You’ll like this step because you’ll be amazed at how bright and
shiny your drive is.

Clear Coat. You can (optional) clear coat your drive
with Southern Polyurethanes Clear 4000 series. Do it just like the color coat.
You can buff it if you want. Alternatively you can put on clear anti-fouling.
You have to be prepared that clear anti fouling will “degloss” your finish and
after a few weeks in the water, it looks like your drive is “cloudy”. Your
underlying polyurethane finish is intact and is fine.


Refinishing. As
I said, I recently removed my drive and the paint was intact, but I wanted to
“clean her up”. I removed the clear anti fouling with #60 sandpaper. I roughed
up the polyurethane finish coat with #60. In the process, I broke through to
bare metal in a couple of spots. No problem. Etch those spots with AlumnaPrep,
then alodine them. I sprayed two coats of Epoxy Primer, two Coats of 4000 black,
then two Coats of Clear. Here are the results. Note the sheen near the bottom of
the drive.Sources of materials

http://www.southernpolyurethanes.com/Product%20lines.htm

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/index.html

Interesting. A couple of comments:

Not using a zinc primer in a marine environment is simply wrong. If one reads the coating system specs from Hempel Coatings, the largest supplier of hull paint in the world, they would discover that nearly all of their underwater hull anti-corrosion primers contain zinc. I guess the entire maritime industry must be mistaken.

Mentioning protecting the bearing seals is a good point, but what did the author do to protect the raw water pickup hose, bellows, trim sensors and trim wires, trim piston bushings, and flexible hydraulic lines from the harsh chemicals he wants to bath the drive in?

Since Merc does a poor job of painting, why wasn't the drive stripped down to all of the component parts and then all of the paint removed? Since the drive was intact, how good is the paint going to be at the edges where new paint meets old paint? In a word, terrible, and a constant source of future corrosion

Re-finishing with 60 grit abrasive? Really? 60 grit is equivalent to taking a hand full of beach sand and rubbing the paint with it. It will take off paint, as well deeply gouging the aluminum.

With all due respect to David, his friend in Atlanta is four parts right and six parts bad advice. Despite having propellers, sterndrives are not aircraft components. Good aircraft practices do not translate to good marine practices.

Henry

 

[Madifonzo]

Update:
after picking up my drives from the marina I decided to do the paint removal and stripping myself. I found the job to be too tedious and wasn't even sure if I was taking of too much aluminum or just paint. Decided to scratch that idea and have them media blasted. At a coat of $50 per drive it is well worth the cost. After that I will start the painting process. Interlux tech support offers a good process for this, so if will follow their lead. Hopefully soon the drives will be back to full corrosion protection.

As as far as the bearing cArriers, there was no guarantee that the old ones could be removed without damagingly he lower unit. So I am not going to do that. My hopes is that the OUTDRIVE seals and other components get a few more seasons of use and the. I will rebuild the lower units with new housings.

in order to replace out drive seals do the carriers need to be removed?

 

[Madifonzo]

Update to my update: Gave up on stripping...way too much work. Had the drives media blasted which removed all the corrosion. Now filling in the pitting JB Kwick. Spoke at length with the technicians at Interlux. Their process is as follows: scuff drives with 100-150 grit sandpaper (mainly because I am not priming right after blasting). Clean with solvent. Spray 3-4 coats of Primacon. Scuff paint with 150 grit between coats. The apply 3-4 coats of Trilux33. According to Interlux this process is appropriate and will last a long time. All in all the project is going well. So far the worst part is squeezing little tubes of JB KWICK.