OMC What do you think about

[Boatin Bob]

Re: OMC What do you think about

I think your initial post was very clear you were talking about sterndrives so I don't know how the outboards popped into the thread but as a Cobra owner now since 1991 I have had very good experience however if I was buying a used boat today given the area I live in I would favor Mercruiser and then Volvo simply for ease of buying parts and getting service. So far though (touch wood) I've not had any problems getting parts or service for my Cobra's, although I'm sure the day is coming!

 

[hitace]

Re: OMC What do you think about

ok ok im sorry i did jump the gun on that one my fault

 

[cbavier]

Re: OMC What do you think about

Don't sweat the petty stuff
and
Don't pet the sweaty stuff.

No harm done.

 

[Bondo]

Re: OMC What do you think about

OMC What do you think about them. I know someone looking at one.
Please respond with your opinions good or bad. Volvo or Mercruiser better?
What about the OMC, Bravo Drives verse Alpha 1. Lets do it as a Poll Yes or no.

OMC Yes or no

Volvo Yes or no

Mercruiser Yes or no

Alpha One Yes or no

Bravo Drives Yes or no

OMC,.......... Nope....

Volvo,......... Ayuh....

Mercruiser,... Ayuh....

Alpha One,... Ayuh....

Bravo Drives,. Ayuh....

 

[Rob454]

Re: OMC What do you think about

Only reason i woudl stay away from OMC is because they are no longer made.
The nice thing is if the drive ever goes bad you can swap out to a different drive and still be on your way. I had my Bayliner for about 1 year now and Im perfectly happy with the OMC set up it has. I havent had any problems and I installed a new shift cable and resealed the outdrive and its purring along just fine.
I woudl stay away from the OMC 400 and 800 series jsut because my buddy has one and he had nothign but problems until I tore it apart and we rebuilt it. hes been out a couple of times and hanst had any problems but I dont know how long that would last
ROb

 

[Lyndy]

Re: OMC What do you think about

Own a 1975 OMC Outdrive. Plenty of Parts are available on the The Internet. Maintaining this O/D is possible if you do the work yourself.

Having said that, when it comes the time to get another boat, it will not have an OMC Drive attached to it.

Advantages and Disadvantages to Merc and Volvo. It is a personal preference.

 

[sankanother1]

Re: OMC What do you think about

First off you need to know which outdrive it is.The old 400 and 800 drives with electric tilt and the big rubber boot to the transom are JUNK biggest design mistake in boating history..They are an electric shift mechanism that rarley works right,water in the lower unit problems,impeller slippeage,I dont even want to get into the rubber boot disinagration and HUGE hoseclamp that ataches to the drive which is next to impossible to get to.If you try to find someone to repair these units you won't.Oh you may find a guy that thinks he can but it won't work out.The only person I found to repair these is in Canada and very expensive,Oh and good luck finding new parts.On the other hand the Cobra drive is a decent drive and the parts and repair are available.Not as easily as Merc, or Volvo but it is doable.If you dont know which drive it is just look or ask if it has the two hydraulic rams on each side of the drive,If it is white with no rams and an electric motor to tilt it.Tell the guy he should be ashamed of himself for trying to pawn off this junk..RUN AWAY.and fast...Just look at my log on name it has alot to do with those drives and it is very true...And if someone else telss you they have not had any bad luck with these they aer either lying or one of the five in the world late got lucky...One more thing OMC made Some of the best outboard motors.Whole differnt world.

 

[Limited-Time]

Re: OMC What do you think about

Dude, this thread died 3 months ago. As Don would say: This is an old thread!!

 

[jontoronto27]

Re: OMC What do you think about

If an OMC is cheap enough, depending on what it is, I would go for it. I have an OMC myself and all the problems I have had with it were my own doing. GLM and Sierra make every single part you could ever think of for them, and just as everyone has bad stories about OMC, my dad had a volvo engine and outdrive in a Mako that was noisy and ran like a turd from day one, and a good chunk of the messages in this group are Gimbal bearing won't come out, gimbal bearing this and that, can't get drive off yada yada, plus you're less apt to get you outdrive stolen with OMC, thieves go for mercs and duoprop volvos... black market gravy. Not to mention alot of the marine engine makers are all the same and interchanged for many years.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: OMC What do you think about

......................................
......................................
Would someone please shoot this thread?

HONEY!!!.......Where's my 45?

 

[Cuyose]

Re: OMC What do you think about

Haha! Keeping it Alive! I have a 76 OMC Stringer, and it hasn't given me any problems at all. Parts are readily available on ebay and some aftermarket websites. You don't need any special tools to work on them. Yes, there are a lot of seals, each of which are at risk to leak sooner or later, but this is also a benefit. When one seal leaks you don't get water intrusion throught the entire outdrive.

You don't need to worry about gimble berrings, u joints, alignment tools. You can yank the outdrive in 10 minutes and replace it in another 10, and not worry about having misaligned something that will destroy your entire drivetrain next time out. Having the drive bolted directly to the engine keeping it alligned is a huge plus in my book. My electric shift I can't even hear or feel when it engages, it just works.

 

[Don S]

Re: OMC What do you think about

Haha! Keeping it Alive!

And for what reason? Because you have something that hasn't been manufactured for over 20 years, or because the company that made them went out of buisness over 10 years ago......... That all has to say something about how great a stringer drive is.

You don't need any special tools to work on them.

Unless you do it correctly, then, it takes special tools.

You don't need to worry about gimble berrings, u joints, alignment tools.

Nope, you have to worry about ball joints with only water to lubricate them, and those bellows that go around the whole drive that otters and beavers, and other critters likes to eat and sink the boat.............

You can yank the outdrive in 10 minutes and replace it in another 10, and not worry about having misaligned something that will destroy your entire drivetrain next time out.

Same with OMC Cobra and Merc drives. 10 minutes.
You check the alignment (still in the 10 minute time period mind you) and just change it. No big deal.
Did you also notice, when the OMC Cobra came out, that OMC gave up on the stringer?

Having the drive bolted directly to the engine keeping it alligned is a huge plus in my book.

That bellows around the ouside the critters like... That is a BIG minus when your boat sinks.

My electric shift I can't even hear or feel when it engages, it just works.

They all work like that.......... Just before they go bad.

 

[whywhyzed]

Re: OMC What do you think about

It's an aftermarket company called SEI that is the reason Mercruiser is the best power choice for those buying an old budget scow. Mercruiser has very little to do with the choice.

Mercruiser doesn't make much effort to support their old drives- Merc has probably about as much interest as BRP has in the old OMC stuff....I don't understand why people think obsolete Merc drives are great because the company is still in business??? They have LOTS of NLA parts.

If SEI made OMC reproduction drives, I would have zero preference for Merc.

The 1982-1985 mechanical shift stringers were good drives - as good as any Merc.
The parts are available from GLM etc, but they cost big$$$, and that's where the choice for merc is made.

 

[Cuyose]

Re: OMC What do you think about

Don S. As being probably the most respected member of this community, I can't begin to challenge your knowledge in this area, however I can't help but disagree with some of your points.

1)Companies go out of business for multitudes of reasons, not necessarily some fundamental problem with thier products. There is a reason you see tons of these 30 yr powerplants still running fine. If Mercury became cheap tomorrow and was bought up by Detroit Diesel and sold off, would you declare all thier drives crap?

2)Whatever tool you use that gets the job done right, is the right tool. If you can pull a ball gear correctly with something you fabricated in your garage, you do not need the $300 special tool.

3)Ball gears are huge sturdy hunks of metal without need of special lubrication . I will yield to your point on the transom bellows. I trailer so it's not an issue, and I would probably go to outdrive if moored just so I could getthe entire drive out of the water.

4) I was unaware of the ease of pulling and reinstalling the other drives. From many of the threads this did not seem to be a no-brainer.

5)Electric shift going out, no different than mechanical shift going out in new drive.

There are definite downsides to the OMC Stringers as thier are with all drives, however the fact that so many are still on the water and are so easy to work on says a lot to me. this post isn't meant to be argumentative, it's just crappy out and I won't be out on the water today!

Seriously though, keep up the good work Don, many people including myself form a long time back count on you to get them rolling in the right directions!

 

[sea wolf]

Re: OMC What do you think about

Don't argue with Don. He knows everything.

 

[wire2]

Re: OMC What do you think about

There are a couple pros for the stringers I haven't seen mentioned yet;

They'll turn a boat 180? in its own length, and

The tilt is FAST.

As for critters eating the boot, OMC offered a hard plastic shield to cover it. I put one on in '84, boot is still in perfect condition today, (on someone else's boat, I sold the OMC parts, wanted something newer.) We have beaver, mink, muskrats and snapping turtles in the water here in Ontario.

 

[sankanother1]

Re: OMC What do you think about

I forgot to mention the good points....There is ONE good thing about the 400/800 drives..They painted them white so when the birds crap on them it's not so noticeable.