Alpha 1 Gen II lower half - Repair or Replace?

[rpdwyer]

Hello all.

A couple of questions:

This season I damaged 1 of my 2 lower unit on a submerged rock at low tide (a lesson has been learned about paying attention to charts and chart plotters while underway). The skeg itself needs to have a new one welded on and the shaft for the prop is bent as it shows it's out of line when you spin it free hand.

So, roughly what are costs associated with the two repairs? Lower units (used) can be found from $400 on up so just trying to understand the economics behind repairing or replacing.

Finally, my out drives have no stickers on them as I removed them when painting years ago... how do I determine the correct lower unit to purchase as I believe the gears can be different between them?

The engines are 1997 Merc 5.7 with a 2 Barrel Carb (HP is 210-220 I believe).

Thanks for any input.

--Rick

 

[grewvin1]

Re: Alpha 1 Gen II lower half - Repair or Replace?

You can always e-mail the maker of the boat give them the HIN and they will respond with the specs for the out drives you have. I've done this with several boats and makes. When I've cleaned off the skeg and bent shafts I just replace with a rebuilt unit and take advantage of the core refund.

 

[alldodge]

Re: Alpha 1 Gen II lower half - Repair or Replace?

Hello all.

A couple of questions:

This season I damaged 1 of my 2 lower unit on a submerged rock at low tide (a lesson has been learned about paying attention to charts and chart plotters while underway). The skeg itself needs to have a new one welded on and the shaft for the prop is bent as it shows it's out of line when you spin it free hand.

So, roughly what are costs associated with the two repairs? Lower units (used) can be found from $400 on up so just trying to understand the economics behind repairing or replacing.

Finally, my out drives have no stickers on them as I removed them when painting years ago... how do I determine the correct lower unit to purchase as I believe the gears can be different between them?

The engines are 1997 Merc 5.7 with a 2 Barrel Carb (HP is 210-220 I believe).

Thanks for any input.

--Rick

Howdy Rick

Have a look here
http://forums.iboats.com/mercruiser...ower-unit-differences-471939.html#post3196951

BTW - Don't tell the prop guys that you were going slow and bent the shaft, many are adamant that this couldn't happen

Edit: BTW I would suggest getting a new SEI lower for 850.00
http://www.sterndrive.cc/Mercruiser-Alpha-One-Gen-II-Lower-Only.html

 

[tazrig]

Re: Alpha 1 Gen II lower half - Repair or Replace?

+1 on the new SEI lower unit.

 

[Fun Times]

Re: Alpha 1 Gen II lower half - Repair or Replace?

Finally, my out drives have no stickers on them as I removed them when painting years ago...k

This is a 50/50 chance but sometimes the dealer may have put a sticker on top of the flame arrestor cover containing your stern drive serial number. If so, posting the serial number may help find the exact gear ratio of the drive your boat came with when new.

 

[rpdwyer]

Re: Alpha 1 Gen II lower half - Repair or Replace?

This is a 50/50 chance but sometimes the dealer may have put a sticker on top of the flame arrestor cover containing your stern drive serial number. If so, posting the serial number may help find the exact gear ratio of the drive your boat came with when new.

Thanks for mentioning this... I now recall I did record my stern drive serials on the manual that came with the boat. Totally forgotten I had done so. Will look up the serial number on mercruiserparts and see what it says. If for some reason that doesn't resolve the issue, I will post it here.

Re, the SEI lower... a fellow at my marina said to stay away from any brand other than true Merc as he said he's heard of a lot of problems with them. Not sure where this is coming from... but I would have to imagine a new SEI is likely to have less problems than a used Merc. Anyone hear of problems with SEI lowers?

Thanks again to all.

--Rick

 

[alldodge]

Re: Alpha 1 Gen II lower half - Repair or Replace?

Thanks for mentioning this... I now recall I did record my stern drive serials on the manual that came with the boat. Totally forgotten I had done so. Will look up the serial number on mercruiserparts and see what it says. If for some reason that doesn't resolve the issue, I will post it here.

Re, the SEI lower... a fellow at my marina said to stay away from any brand other than true Merc as he said he's heard of a lot of problems with them. Not sure where this is coming from... but I would have to imagine a new SEI is likely to have less problems than a used Merc. Anyone hear of problems with SEI lowers?

Thanks again to all.

--Rick

You will hear all good news here about the SEI drives. Work just as good, have a longer no questions asked warranty then Merc. If the marina sells Merc this may be the reason to put them down

 

[tazrig]

Re: Alpha 1 Gen II lower half - Repair or Replace?

You will hear all good news here about the SEI drives. Work just as good, have a longer no questions asked warranty then Merc. If the marina sells Merc this may be the reason to put them down

When you get a patent from the U.S. patent office it is good for 20 years. Merc has had their alpha 1 gen 2 drives since 1991. Their patents on them have now run out. The SEI's are an exact copy of the alpha's with triple the warranty.

 

[thumpar]

Re: Alpha 1 Gen II lower half - Repair or Replace?

Another vote for SEI. There are only 2 different lowers. Since you have a V8 I doubt you have anything close to a 2.00 ratio so go for the regular version.