Bravo 3 Lower Gear case removal

[Racefan131]

Hi There,

I have a Bravo 3 with a cracked lower gear case 7.4 engine. I am planning on getting a remanufactured replacement. My question is how hard is it to pull just the lower gear case and replace without pulling whole outdrive. I have downloaded manuals but they are useless. Are there any tricks that I should know. I remember years ago when replacing the Impeller there were many tricks you had to know. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[dubs283]

Re: Bravo 3 Lower Gear case removal

a bravo 3 gearcase would be very difficult to remove from the upper while still attached to the bellhousing

you would be much better off, pulling the whole drive and installing the upper onto the lower off the boat - this way you can pressure test the whole drive assy before filling with lube and re-attaching

this gives you an opportunity to do some transom assy maintenance too

 

[joncrisler]

Re: Bravo 3 Lower Gear case removal

Just remember that the entire Bravo 3 outdrive weighs about 150 lbs or more, so this is a 2 person minimum job unless you have an outdrive jack, which most shops do.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Bravo 3 Lower Gear case removal

153 pounds with the props. I could remove mine by myself, but it is a BEAR.

Of course, there is NOT an impeller in the lower unit of a Bravo drive. Not sure why it would be difficult to remove just the lower, provided the boat sits high enough on your trailer. Why do you say it would be difficult, dubs? No harder than removing the lower of an Alpha, and people do that all the time.?

 

[45Auto]

Re: Bravo 3 Lower Gear case removal

I pulled my Bravo 3 lower by myself in about 10 minutes to repair the broken skeg in this thread. I'm a scrawny little guy and it was no problem at all, don't know why anyone would say it was difficult.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=282896&highlight=lucky+skeg

 

[joncrisler]

Re: Bravo 3 Lower Gear case removal

Its difficult if you are doing both upper and lower as a unit due to the size and weight. Its MORE difficult installing- not only do you have the size and weight issue but you have to get the driveshaft / ujoints aligned properly while guiding the drive onto the bellhouse. Taking off is not as hard as putting it back on.
That said, I always take my prop off first- no sense messing with the extra weight and possibly damaging the prop.