Bravo 3 problems

[george154302]

I own a fairly new 26 foot boat with a 6.2 with bravo 3. The problem I have is when I bring the drive all the way up it hits the drive against the part that turns the drive. How can I prevent this from happening? Also I have a problem with the trim guage always reading incorrectly. Im constantly readjusting the sender. Do you have a fix?
I think this is kind of an expensive fix. I was talking to some one down at the club and they said to check to make sure the hinge pins didn,t come loose. What are hinge pins? And as to my other question, I was also told to put limit blocks in the rams is this an expensive fix?
[This message was edited by george154302 on December 05, 2002 at 01:33 PM.]

[This message was edited by george154302 on December 05, 2002 at 01:41 PM.]

[BayviewRick]

Hi George,
I see your from Green Bay, if it's possible give us a call at 920-430-7303 to talk about whats hitting. The transom plate is bolted to the transom of the boat, then the gimble ring, then the driveshaft housing. Your actual drive is bolted to that housing.It'd be easiest for us to look at whats hitting or see a pictute of whats exactly hitting. also, most stock gauges don't work well, the best for a trim gauge is an aftermarket mechanical gauge (cable operated). Feel free to call or stop in at Southbay Marina to discuss the hitting problem. Rick

www.Bayviewmarinecenter.com (http://www.Bayviewmarinecenter.com)

[Chris]

Kewl /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

[george154302]

I think this is kind of an expensive fix. I was talking to some one down at the club and they said to check to make sure the hinge pins didn,t come loose. What are hinge pins? And as to my other question, I was also told to put limit blocks in the rams is this an expensive fix?
[This message was edited by george154302 on December 05, 2002 at 01:33 PM.]

[BayviewRick]

Hi George,

Without looking it's pretty tough to see whats hitting. You have two sets of hinge pins, is it possible they backed out? Yes, it's possible, not very common but can happen. I wouldn't bother with the limit blocks if you don't have to. Since your in Green Bay, the best bet is to have us take a look to determine the problem. Our estimates are free! Rick

www.Bayviewmarinecenter.com (http://www.Bayviewmarinecenter.com)

[george154302]

I have 5 yr extended warranty and has to be repaired by a certified mercruiser dealer. Does your dealership have certified mercruiser mechanics or can you suggest where I can take it because I will be taking it to Florida for New Years and need it repaired as soon as possible? Also being that it will be run in salt water is there anything I should do to it to protect it?

[Bill]

South bound,
Your best bet is not to run it in salt water, if that is not an option and your primary use will be salt water is to put a closed cooling system on. The next best thing is to sell the boat when you are ready to leave the salt water and come back to the frozen tundra! Prepping your boat to run in the stuff will be expensive ans you will lose a great deal of value on the boat! I used to in in Seattle and it was pretty standard to add closed cooling to every boat that it was not installed at the factory. Your best bet is to have on istalled by people who them everyday.

[Bill]

George, I just read your post again and noticed it will be going for new years, soory, I read it first to be it is going for years. I still do not recommend it going into salt water unless you have to, you will still hurt the value of your boat. If you are bring it back home right away, first make sure it is flushed completely and going through its cycles of the thormostat opening and closing. Remember, you will have to have the motor winterized again. It may be hard to find a place in Florida that will winterize it correctly to bring back to the cold. Remember, just pulling plugs and hoses does not remove all of the water from the motor. Also, be sure to leave the drive in the down position for a day or so to make sure the water is drained completely out.

[george154302]

Is closed cooling easy to install or do I need a Mercruiser person to put it on and how much does it cost? And you said it has to be winterized. How hard is that to do because it's in my heated garage?

[Chris]

Don't you typically run antifreeze through an inboard as part of the winterization process?

[george154302]

Don't know this is the first boat of this type I have ever owned. But this doesn't answer my question about closed cooling and can I install it myself

[Bill]

George
Closed cooling system cvan run you in the thousands of dollars and I would only have someone do it who has done it before. That would be tough in your neck of the woods. I highly recommend the you run a 50/50 mix through your motor, just like your car, to much anti-freeze causes corrosion and not enough, well... cracked block. Theoretically you can just drain the block and hoses, but, I have seen cracked blocks and or manifolds because all of the water is not drained out. When I lived out west, freezing was rare, but alot of smaller boats were put away for the winter because it was still too cool to use them. The dealership I worked at just drained blocks and hoses, we got a cold snap and it dropped to the mid 20's for two nights and we had a Sh** load of motors to replace. No, insurance does not cover this, it is considered maintenance and if not done properly, the insurance company calls it neglect!! I do not recommend flushing it yourself because you need to keep a constant eye on the mixture because as the motor is running, the raw water is coming out the exhaust into the solution and diluting it. Best advice, leave it to the pro's.

[george154302]

I thaught this was suppose to be ask the experts? No one has answered my questions yet, just ran around them. Are there not any professionals who can answer these questions? So far I am not impressed! Looks like Iam going to have to take it back to Oskosh to have it repaired correctly before I go to Fla.

[Chris]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by george154302:
I thaught this was suppose to be ask the experts? No one has answered my questions yet, just ran around them. Are there not any professionals who can answer these questions? So far I am not impressed! Looks like Iam going to have to take it back to Oskosh to have it repaired correctly before I go to Fla.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Well, good morning to you too George.

Ummmm....George this is a community of people chatting not a service center.

Having said that, Rick has already offered to look at your boat free of charge and tell you what is going on with your drive unit.

Could you really ask for anything more?

Your other question was regarding installing a closed cooling system, and whether you are capable of installing it yourself.

Well, you already answered your own question previously yourself. Your boat has to be serviced by a certified technician or you risk voiding your warranty. As to your your own skill level and whether you are cabable of installing the system yourself, properly, without voiding your warranty and/or doing it wrong and causing damage.

How are we supposed to know the answer to this question? /infopop/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif

[This message was edited by Chris on December 18, 2002 at 10:23 AM.]

[george154302]

I thought this was ask the experts? Obviously they are not trained techs yet they can build you a high horse power bomb and inject it on nos. For that 4 sec blast of speed are you willing to take the chance of having the crank end up in your bilge? Obviously that $30,000 hole in the water doesn't really mean that much to some people. When you open a site that says ask the experts, be prepaired because there are going to be a lot of people looking for help instead of paying the dealer to do it. The questions I asked were obviously hard because I called the dealer and told him what was happening and he told me what to look for and behold he was correct. Even faxed me the service bulletin. Now that I consider an expert!

[Chris]

You're right George.

You were right all along....

You were right and we were wrong...

/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

[BayviewRick]

George,

In one of my previous messages I stated to bring the boat here or call. I can't repair or diagnose correctly something I can't see. It could be the pins, it could be something as crazy as the drive hitting a swim platform, we've seen it all. Until we have the technology to log on, down load a repair kit, and the boats fixed, you need to bring it in and have it looked at. Either call us, bring the boat over, or bring it to the dealer you bought it from in Oshkosh, if it's under warranty, it's a non issue. Rick

www.Bayviewmarinecenter.com (http://www.Bayviewmarinecenter.com)

[Chris]

I guess I should refund George's Checkmate-Boats.com membership fee, eh? /infopop/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

[175checkmate]

A picture is worth a 1000 words. Sorry we where unabe to help. But some things are better seen to be able to provide help in the correct way.
Alot like saying you have a noise in the engine compartment. When asked where, reply "at the stern.

Advice is given on this and fourms all over the internet. What the person does with that information is up to the person.
Just beacuse one person offers help or advice does not make it law, Its up to the Person with the problem to weigh all the pro's and con's before heeding said advice.

http://www.checkmate-boats.com/6/ws/,s,8626072361/avatars/rooster_3.jpg

1975 Checkmate Tri-mate 2, 2.4 200+

[Bill]

George,
What more do you want? I told the the right answer to what we discussed! No you can not put on a closed cooling! how is that. You need to realize that many people are sue happy now a days and we can't tell you how to winterize your boat or install a closed cooling system or how to fix your drive because when you scre up the job, you can hold us liable. Basically you answered your own questions your self. Did you not buy an extended warranty for a dealer to fix problems? Then why are you wanting to know how to fix something on a forum? Did you say this was your first boat? If so, you might want to ask the dealer your purchased the boat from why they did not teach you about the boat and general maintenance.Your boat should be winterized period! Heated garage or not! Have you ever heard of a power outage? Last time I checked, it gets colder than hell up there.

No one can fix your boat over the internet!!!

[Bill]

By the way George...
Ever think of telling anyone what tye of boat you may have. YOU need to give info in order to get it, Ther is more than just an engine awnd drive!

[Chris]

It would seem George's problems extend beyond marine in nature. /infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif And, since he has solved the marine aspect of his problems himself, I'll close this thread out.

Closing...