Drive shower-only for Mercruiser?

[Thad]

OK, curiostiy has finally got the better of me.

I have seen an Alpha drive with two steel rods on it. One on either side of the drive and they look to attach to the cavitation plate and go up to the top of the drive and then bend inward, toward the transom. I saw another one this past weekend. So now, I have to ask...what are they?
At first, I thought it was some new drive with an external drive cooler. I did not get a real close look at them, but now I think that maybe they are some type of aftermarket add-on. One was on a Crownline about two years old, the other one was on a Glasstron. I am sure the type of boat is not a factor, just what I saw them on.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Merc Alpha drive/steel tubes on it?

Re: Merc Alpha drive/steel tubes on it?

what are they?
At first, I thought it was some new drive with an external drive cooler.

i think your right. it's a drive shower... something like this..

http://www.cpperformance.com/products/Outdrives/drive-showers.htm

or this

http://www.driveshowers.com/index.html

 

[Thad]

Re: Merc Alpha drive/steel tubes on it?

Re: Merc Alpha drive/steel tubes on it?

Yep, that was what I saw.

Looks like they only make for Mercruiser. Anyone know if they have them for Volvo SX? Or are they really not needed?
I put a lot of hard running on my boat with pulling tubes/skis and what not. Looks like a good idea. I know at the end of season my oil is pretty thin.

Or, maybe it is just another thing to get me to spend $$ on something that "looks" like a good idea.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Drive shower-only for Mercruiser?

Or, maybe it is just another thing to get me to spend $$ on something that "looks" like a good idea.

don't know, might be a good idea. this is what happens to mine w/o one... i've considered getting one...

that white stuff is minerals best i know from the heat of my drive boiling off the water and leaving the minerals behind...

like i said, i've considered one myself... right now i just use lime away on it and it'll come clean. but it's obviously getting hot.. yes i need to lime away it right now...

 

[Thad]

Re: Drive shower-only for Mercruiser?

Yeah, Lime-a-way, the works, and CLR are all in my arsenal of cleaning supplies. I think I have one of the best looking outdrives on the river here.
Well, the hull is still pretty white too.

My father-in-law owned a plumbing business for 35yr. He is the one who originally told me to use those products. He told me the white discoloration is calcium and lime build up from the water (like you said) getting hot.
I often thought exhaust, but so little of my drive is in the water, I could not explain why the top and sides had it too. Makes a little more sense now.

 

[windsors03cobra]

Re: Drive shower-only for Mercruiser?

Seems like usually you see them when folks are pushing their drive to its horsepower limits.

My old drive looks just like Ziggy's and has that light discoloration, I figured thats what happened after 32 years, I'll have to test the side case temp after a longer run with the ole' 165.

 

[Thad]

Re: Drive shower-only for Mercruiser?

Seems like usually you see them when folks are pushing their drive to its horsepower limits.

My old drive looks just like Ziggy's and has that light discoloration, I figured thats what happened after 32 years, I'll have to test the side case temp after a longer run with the ole' 165.

Hit it with some Lime-a-way and it should clean right up. Might take a couple times and a light brush to really work it in.
I get it on mine every time out. Whether I am pushing her or just out for a cruise. It is heavier after a hard day of running though.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Drive shower-only for Mercruiser?

Hit it with some Lime-a-way and it should clean right up. Might take a couple times and a light brush to really work it in.

yep, cleans right up for me too. i just ran out of lime away is all and haven't made it to the store yet..

 

[Bondo]

Re: Drive shower-only for Mercruiser?

I am sure the type of boat is not a factor,
Looks like they only make for Mercruiser. Anyone know if they have them for Volvo SX? Or are they really not needed?

Ayuh,... It all Started with a type of Boat,... The Hot-Rodders,+ Racers,...
And of course,... All of the Racers,+ Most of the Hot-Rodders are runnin' Merc. drives,...
That's Why you see them for Merc's, but not Volvos...
It's not about whether it's Needed on a Volvo or not,... I'd say it's probably a Lack of a Market for the product,...

Anytime gears are thrashing around in a gearcase, there's a build up of Heat...
Any way you can get Rid of the Heat, Longevity is the usual Pay-Off...

Or, maybe it is just another thing to get me to spend $$ on something that "looks" like a good idea.

Bingo,.......
If it's used on Raceboats,... It's gotta be Great for My boat,.?.?.?.?

That's the Debatable point of it,....
Is it Necessary,..?? Nope, Not really... We all know that....
Does it Help,..?? Donno,...

But I'm building me 1 for the up coming project boat,......'cause I know it won't Hurt....

 

[natemoore]

Re: Drive shower-only for Mercruiser?

These things are pricey!

I saw some stainless steel brake line at NAPA for pretty cheap. Think I'll reverse-engineer one of these for a few dollars.

 

[tbear1964]

Re: Drive shower-only for Mercruiser?

Mainly for boats that are plane for extended periods of time. Heat builds up and a good portion of the drive is exposed.


I know of a few that did the homemade version.....and they are satisfied.

 

[wca_tim]

Re: Drive shower-only for Mercruiser?

the general concensus from people i deal with is that they're really not necessary except in extreme situations. the vast majority of drives that fail due to "overheating" do so because they have old crappy lube in them or it's low. there's pretty much no circulation in a merc alpha drive in particular.

As long as you run high quality synthetic lube and change it often enough that it's not breaking down it should be fine - unless you really push it hard.

a well known local performance marine engine builder that built my last engine (and has built a bunch of really fast, some world class offshore engines and boats), told me that the drives run better and last longer hot so the lube will flow well. he says that they almost always remove drive showers from customer boats...

the other side of that is that a few week ago I burnt a set of upper gears up. Did i screw something up and the drive leak a little? I didn't think to check when I was draining the lube so no way to tell know for sure... Joey, the engine builder, told me that on older drives like the one I burnt up, the surface hardening eventually wears through on the gears and then they'll wear and burn up more easily if you're really pushing it...

I do know it's not a worthwhile expense unless you're pushing the gearbox past the point where the lube oil you're runing holds good film strength...

the heat from the exhaust is also a significant contributer to drive temp and is a very viable reason to switch to through hull exhaust if you're having heat problems.

ps. another thing to consider is that by using, especially making a drive shower, the uneven cooling created by cold water splashing on the drive, uneven cooling on different areas, etc... may be worse in the long run than letting it run a little hotter... if you're not burning it up...

 

[jtybt]

Re: Drive shower-only for Mercruiser?

Like tbear said, extended running exposes a greater portion of the drive.

all gears create quite a bit of heat. So much so that if fluid levels drop or water gets in the drive preventing adequate lubrication, The gears and bearings/races can blue. Bluing temperature are in excess of 450*.

http://www.unionmillwright.com/2888.pdf

The higher a temperature is reached, the softer the metal becomes.

Anything to cool the drive is good.


...and you can bet racing parts are cryo treated.

 

[bigskiohio]

Re: Drive shower-only for Mercruiser?

i am going to make on out of napa stainless brake line and a friend is a tig welder for the mounting tabs. mounted to top cap screw and back trim bolts.

 

[QC]

Re: Drive shower-only for Mercruiser?

The "stock" 1200 bhp Mercruiser setup doesn't use a drive shower, so I always figured that a 320 6.2 into a Bravo 1 might be OK without one too . . .

 

[bigskiohio]

Re: Drive shower-only for Mercruiser?

but that 1200 wasnt designed in te 60s and 70s.

 

[wca_tim]

Re: Drive shower-only for Mercruiser?

I ran a thermocouple in through the top port in an alpha drive last year and the lube enver got over 220 or so - even running over 5000 rpms for miles. (high 60s). no exhaust through the drive presumably helps a good bit with the temp, but I never ran it both ways to compare so don't have hard numbers there.

the more I think about it, I'm becoming convinced that when I last sealed the srive I must have had a leak somewhere - perhaps I didn't get the oring in just right between the two halves, whatever. I can see a couple of white streaks in the lube (water)... so if the lube gets low, the upper gears have a little too little oil on them, AND water will cause most gear lubes to have increased foaming. the air in foaming gear lube doesn't cool gear tooth faces nearly as well as liquid libe does...

run one if it makes you feel more comfortable... I'm going to put my thermocouple in the new drive and see what happens first.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Drive shower-only for Mercruiser?

i'm kinda with QC. if mercrusier thought a shower was so great, why didn't they put one on from the oem from square one.. or if they found out it was so great of an idea. why don't they incorperate it into there later productions after they found out it was cool..
still havn't got my new bottle of lime away yet... one of these days soon..

 

[wca_tim]

Re: Drive shower-only for Mercruiser?

the six drive on the beast pictured above has a dry sump lube set-up. makes cooling the outside of the drive a waste of time....