Just went thru the same thing on my 240 sundeck in florida. I opted for new new transom assm. as well as a new starter and bilge pump (had the engine out anyway) new raw water pump, and elbows. My engine is full closed cooled and I flush it after every trip so I figure I good for a while now.

 

Yes I've changed all the pumps, starter, elbows so that is all good. I'm just trying to avoid the new transom assy if the through hull will serve the purpose. Thanks for reply!

 

I did a lot of research on this as I was going to due this on my boat, goggle capping off water intake in drive.
The main problem that I see is the water cools the drive as it goes though it, if it is capped off will the drive overheat.
They say if you do this to install shower drives on the lower unit, When you plain off the drive comes out of the water and the shower drives spray water on top of the drives to cool it (10 degrees ).
My boat came with the shower drives from the factory so I never did it.

 

you are actually way less likely to suck up sand usung a thru hull and you use a strainer too- i converted my boat over - no need for a drive shower if you remove or cut a section out of the hose in question (from the drive to the transom assy) this way it still gets flow thru cooling - my boat has been like this for 10 yrs - kept my boat at harbortown on the barge canal for a couple years and polished the props plenty trying to get closer to ski island.....just make sure you dont let anyone flush the boat thru the drives (just put a hose in the strainer)

 

Thanks man I'm at Harbortown as well...shallow water even in all the channels! Definitely shallow around Ski Island and the island in Indian River. Also channels around 520 bridge are shallow. Great info

 

I went with thru hulls as well. Same issue - Bravo-itis. Also installed drive showers. My marina put T,s in my intake line so that some water would still come thru drives. Much better cooling and now going thru the strainer catching all the junk that normally would go right thru the pump and clog up the heat ex changers. Had it this way for 2 seasons - very satisfied. Moor on a creek with water a shallow as 3.5 to 4 feet. Drives up and slow speed, no mud etc in strainer.

 

Did they put in valves on either side of intakes ( drives or thru hulls ) so you can regulate the water flow as the water is going to flow from the easiest point. So if the drives are restricted the water will flow through the 1 1/4 thru hull and not though the drives. Is there any burning or overheating of the drive oil. There is a lot on the web about this.
One of my friends did this with shower drives and 1 year later his cone clutches went, Not sure if it is related to overheating the oil .
I would love to due this as there is not enough water flow from the 5/8 hose in the drive. I don't get how the go from 5/8 hose in the drive to 1 1/4 hose to the pump in the boat.

 

I believe it was mentioned above, but you are MORE likely to suck up sand through the drive than via a thru-hull. Just think about it... the drive's pickup is lower than a thru-hull. And there is zero filtration for sand and small debris coming through the drive.

Yes, install the thru-hull. It's a better solution all around and even has extra advantages when it comes to flushing the engine. Just call your guy and say "do it".

 

It should go without saying that you would install a strainer after the through hull fitting and ball cock valve.

 

I cut the hose at the drive and capped the end that goes to the motor. My drives ran noticeably cooler after this mod.

 

I do not have valves in mine. I do plan to put the upgraded hard plastic pipe in the drives if I have them torn down to that point. The hose going thru the drive has very little cooling effect on the drive. It is a closed system from the intake holes to the transom connection. I believe 95% of my raw water comes thru the thru hull. I also have drive showers, had them on a previous Br 3 and they cool the drive well. For 2 seasons now, my drive fluid is still blueish in color when it was changed. Doesn't look burnt at all. Also, engine temps at constant 165 degrees no matter what rpms and able to collect the trash and junk @ the strainer rather than at the heat ex-changer inlet.

 

Did you notice any difference in speed as they say the thru hulls will reduce the speed 3 to 5 MPH depending on which ones you have.

 

Check this out... No affiliation, but I've purchased their water pump rebuild kits with great success. The company seems to have some good solutions to stock issues.

http://store8666.americommerce.com/store/p/29-Bravoitis-through-transom-plate-repair-kit.aspx

http://www.amarket.com/BRTHULL.htm

http://amarket.com/im654.htm

 

My 270 AJ 350 Mag Horizon and BIII came from the factory with a thru hull raw water intake and a grocco strainer. It doesn’t and never did take any water through the outdrive. My mechanic loves the setup and wishes all boats were so equipped. I’d say go for the change.

By the way, my father in-law has a 98 270 DA. His transom assembly is leaking and is being replaced.

 

Lazy Daze I am always willing to learn that why I always do research before I do anything.
I just want to make sure I understand this before I do it.
If I add two 1 1/4" thru hull with scoop strainers ( I boat Great south bay ) that protrude down about 2" from the bottom of the boat I am not going to lose any performance or speed.
This was one of my concerns before doing it.
Maybe I am looking in to this to much.

 

Lazy Daze I am always willing to learn that why I always do research before I do anything.
I just want to make sure I understand this before I do it.
If I add two 1 1/4" thru hull with scoop strainers ( I boat Great south bay ) that protrude down about 2" from the bottom of the boat I am not going to lose any performance or speed.
This was one of my concerns before doing it.
Maybe I am looking in to this to much.

You’re not going to loose speed. There’s a reason they are also known as South Bay strainers.

Do yourself a favor and get the rectangular type that screw on and have an access door. Makes it much easier to clean out any growth an apply antifouljbg paint to the intake.

 

So if I remove my B3 outdrive, I can expect to gain 22 mph on my top speed? It hangs down pretty low and causes a lot of drag.

I know I read that somewhere, once, so it’s gotta be true!

 

Your joking but in reality the second prop is slowing you down. B1 for speed.

 

I did this on my 87 230 when I installed the new EFI motor. Solved a lot of cooling problems, if you trailer you need to plunger flush the through-hull.

 

My 270 AJ 350 Mag Horizon and BIII came from the factory with a thru hull raw water intake and a grocco strainer. It doesn’t and never did take any water through the outdrive. My mechanic loves the setup and wishes all boats were so equipped. I’d say go for the change.

By the way, my father in-law has a 98 270 DA. His transom assembly is leaking and is being replaced.

I would recommend going with an 1-1/4" thru hull assembly vs replacing transom assy. The 5/8" intake on the 5.7 is not adequate. Bad engineering

 

The transom assembly is being replaced because it’s leaking and was falling apart. Replacement was not optionalto keep the boat operational. We’re addressing that this year, and perhaps in the future will install a through hull intake. The transom and other engine repairs are about all we’re prepared to deal with on his boat this year. You can check out the repairs in this thread.

 

Take the plastic gooseneck off and evaluate the corrosion on the transom assembly. Even if you use a thru-hull your going to have to seal that spot with a block-off plate. If the surface is good you can just replace the water hose with the new and approved version which is mostly plastic

 

Damn it…. 2 yr old thread. Read first page even “liked” posts. So if you’re still getting likes 2 years later it’s because I can’t read dates

 

I don't think we can talk about "Bravoitis" enough. this pic was sent to me just now by my mechanic. he had already installed a thru hull for me because we suspected Bravoitis but on my 260 da it's near impossible to get at it with the engine in the boat well my motor blew up for other reasons so I told him since we have it out to be rebuilt let's check on the bravoitis situation and repair it through the transom as well since that is supposed to also help cool the drive. This boat only had 410 hours of use and at least half of that use was freshwater so it doesn't take much to corrode that .

 

Similar to mine this summer, mechanic said you couldn’t get a pencil thru mine.