Stringer 400 & 800 Hydro and Full mechanical friends group

[Nivekt]

Re: Stringer 400 & 800 Hydro and Full mechanical friends group

1980 Century 190 here w/ 3.0L OMC 140 & Stringer 400 drive.

Oh wow. Very nice job on the restoration. Beautiful. I hope to do this one day for my boat. She needs a new floor, paint and new upholstery.

 

[Blujay96]

Re: Stringer 400 & 800 Hydro and Full mechanical friends group

Superbenk how do the smart tabs help. I need to paint my boat. What did you use for paint

 

[superbenk]

Re: Stringer 400 & 800 Hydro and Full mechanical friends group

Superbenk how do the smart tabs help. I need to paint my boat. What did you use for paint

The Smart Tabs made a HUGE difference for the better. I would absolutely recommend them for anything under 20'.

I'm not sure what paint you're referring to. I didn't paint my boat, just cleaned it up really well.

 

[F14CRAZY]

Re: Stringer 400 & 800 Hydro and Full mechanical friends group

'85 Bayliner Capri cuddy 19' with an OMC 3.0L Series 400

Replaced ball gears, impeller, all seals, and shift cable myself. Also removed and reinstalled while restoring vessel. Damn thing still takes water in everything except the lower unit; seems I need to redo it with speedi-sleeves

 

[Nivekt]

Re: Stringer 400 & 800 Hydro and Full mechanical friends group

'85 Bayliner Capri cuddy 19' with an OMC 3.0L Series 400


Replaced ball gears, impeller, all seals, and shift cable myself. Also removed and reinstalled while restoring vessel. Damn thing still takes water in everything except the lower unit; seems I need to redo it with speedi-sleeves

Very nice boat and welcome! Sorry to hear about the water intrusion. So its taking on water in the upper gear case and the intermediate? When you resealed the upper did you use Permatex gasket sealer on all the required areas?

How about some pictures of your drive unit? I would like to see the paint job.

 

[F14CRAZY]

Re: Stringer 400 & 800 Hydro and Full mechanical friends group

I did use Permatex number 2 and used this BRP red stuff on the seals (if I remember right). I went to reseal it again but it didn't help, making it quite frustrating. The shafts have grooves worn from the seals so I figure they're tearing up the new ones or just not sealing. Upper gearcase, intermediate, and the tilt gear housing are taking in water. I leave it in a slip for the boating season, which isn't exactly good, but I figure it would have seized up by now. When I replaced my impeller at the end of this season the gears and bearings in the upper gearcase still seemed to be in good shape regardless. If I trailered it I would just keep changing the oil.

When I bought my boat the drive had a nasty spray job of silver and black (not like a silver upper and black lower, think more like camo). When I had it apart I stripped it and primed and painted it with rust o leum white. Then the season after that I decided it would be slip kept and I neglected to put bottom paint on it. That was 2 seasons ago lol. Now the white is bubbling and peeling off here and there.

I love my boat but honestly I'm a bit fed up with this drive. If it sealed fine I wouldn't have anything against it...I actually think it's smart not having a U-joint, gimbal bearings, and bellows that tend to leak in water. I don't have any prejudice against the OMC Series 400 as most people do, for from what I know, it isn't like these things eat gears, randomly blow up, have very difficult to find parts, etc. If I could find a Volvo Penta boat on the cheap I'd redo my transom and swap everything.

I replaced the ball gears, seals, and O rings when I did the intermediate housing so I'm confused as to why it's leaking in water.

Been trying to get my money out of the thing though. On summer weekends we usually sleep on board

And the misses

 

[Nivekt]

Re: Stringer 400 & 800 Hydro and Full mechanical friends group

Man, I feel for you. Thats a tough thing to deal with. Replacing those shafts isnt cheap when you consider the special tools needed and access to a press to do it properly. All I can say is if you decide to keep her, keep an eye out on Ebay. Lots of rebuilt Stringer drive sections come available for decent prices.

There's an old boat yard near me. The mechanic who works it no longer works on OMC's but he's got a couple boats in his yard with Stringer 400(I think) drives that look to be in decent shape. I was going to try to negotiate a deal with him to pull them so I could part them out on Ebay but I havent heard back from him. If Im able to get them for a great price and they are in good shape, Ill pass on the savings to you if you feel like keeping your boat alive.

 

[F14CRAZY]

Re: Stringer 400 & 800 Hydro and Full mechanical friends group

Yeah I had to come up with some of my own tools, such as a puller for the prop shaft and ground down the ends of one of those huge needle nose pliers from HF to act as a snap ring tool for the lower end. I was able to buy the little puller for the shafts in the shift cable converter thing (with the pinion) from BRP though.

I figured the shafts could be put in a lathe if you could get seals to match up with the material taken off

 

[Nivekt]

Re: Stringer 400 & 800 Hydro and Full mechanical friends group

Yeah I had to come up with some of my own tools, such as a puller for the prop shaft and ground down the ends of one of those huge needle nose pliers from HF to act as a snap ring tool for the lower end. I was able to buy the little puller for the shafts in the shift cable converter thing (with the pinion) from BRP though.

I figured the shafts could be put in a lathe if you could get seals to match up with the material taken off

Nice to see you have those tools available. I picked up a spare near complete Stringer 800 from a local guy for $250 about 2 months ago. The upper and intermediate are perfect, but the lower needs some work. The guy cut the shift cable so I'll have to replace that eventually. Can you post up a picture of the shift converter puller? Ive been unable to find a picture of what they look like and I will most likely need to make one when I go to replace the cable.

If you feel confident in replacing the upper driveshaft, you can get a new one for $75 on Ebay.

 

[F14CRAZY]

Re: Stringer 400 & 800 Hydro and Full mechanical friends group

The tool's at my shop in Lansing but I'll try to get a shot of it tomorrow.

 

[Nivekt]

Re: Stringer 400 & 800 Hydro and Full mechanical friends group

The tool's at my shop in Lansing but I'll try to get a shot of it tomorrow.

Have you had a chance to take those pictures?

 

[Crusoe]

Re: Stringer 400 & 800 Hydro and Full mechanical friends group

look above the propeller, just next to the idle relief holes in the lower unit.
A pocket with a rectangular zinc anode there means you have a full mechanical shift lower, no pocket/anode means you have a hydromechanical shift lower

Nivekt, Correction: as per this criterion, I have full mechanical shift. Got to inspect her after Sandy and she does have the rectangular zinc...

It runs really well. I am dismayed to see all the OMC/Stringer bashing on here. It was love at first sight and I owned it before I learned all of this...oh well, I enjoy turning wrenches anyway!

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: Stringer 400 & 800 Hydro and Full mechanical friends group

I am dismayed to see all the OMC/Stringer bashing on here.

I don't think there's a lot of bashing going on anymore. Some parts are no longer avail., and a few of the available parts are 10 times the cost of the same thing for a Mercruiser drive. That's just the truth. People warning others of that is usually well intentioned in my experience.

I like them, but not the cost of fixing them.

In your first post you mention the boat is an '87. The last year of the 400/800 stringers was 1985. You may have a Cobra drive on your boat.

 

[southkogs]

Re: Stringer 400 & 800 Hydro and Full mechanical friends group

I don't think there's a lot of bashing going on anymore...

Yeah, I haven't heard "white boat anchor" in over a year!

 

[Crusoe]

Re: Stringer 400 & 800 Hydro and Full mechanical friends group

In your first post you mention the boat is an '87. The last year of the 400/800 stringers was 1985. You may have a Cobra drive on your boat.[/QUOTE]

I thought it would be Cobra til I looked at a few pics on here... It has rack/pinion tilt and engine(5.7) rocks up and down in bilge...Then I read either here or on THT that Stringers continued to come out into 86 and part of 87 from some mfrs.

If I knew then what I know now I still would have wanted it but I would've offered less $$$.

 

[F14CRAZY]

Re: Stringer 400 & 800 Hydro and Full mechanical friends group

deh...I kind of forgot about that puller...

 

[Nivekt]

Re: Stringer 400 & 800 Hydro and Full mechanical friends group

I don't think there's a lot of bashing going on anymore. Some parts are no longer avail., and a few of the available parts are 10 times the cost of the same thing for a Mercruiser drive. That's just the truth. People warning others of that is usually well intentioned in my experience.

I like them, but not the cost of fixing them.

In your first post you mention the boat is an '87. The last year of the 400/800 stringers was 1985. You may have a Cobra drive on your boat.

No doubt about the cost of parts, but if you luck out and come across a setup that someone is willing to dump for cheap, you can set yourself up for many years of cheap replacement parts. I have a lot of fun digging through local classifieds to find those diamonds in the rough. A few months ago I picked up a near complete '85 full mechanical drive to include the intermediate and all the power steering parts for $250. The P/S, upper and intermediate were all in excellent shape. The lower needs some work and the shift cable was cut, but still a hell of a deal.

Yeah, I haven't heard "white boat anchor" in over a year!

I wear that term like a badge of honor! Its like owning a classic car that very few people can work on. There is a sense of pride with it. If properly maintained, Stringer drives work very well. All of the issues I have ever had during my steep 4 year learning curve have been directly caused by me and my lack of experience.

deh...I kind of forgot about that puller...

Its all good. If you can find the time to snap a couple cell phone pics or whatever, I would appreciate it.

Nivekt, Correction: as per this criterion, I have full mechanical shift. Got to inspect her after Sandy and she does have the rectangular zinc...

It runs really well. I am dismayed to see all the OMC/Stringer bashing on here. It was love at first sight and I owned it before I learned all of this...oh well, I enjoy turning wrenches anyway!

I dont see too much bashing these days. Maybe if you search through the older archives you'll find some, but most folks these days just want to help others who are "stuck" with these drives. There's no denying it though, I will absolutely not recommend one of these setups to someone getting into boating.

If I knew then what I know now I still would have wanted it but I would've offered less $$$.

I feel the same way. I bought my boat 4 years or so ago. I had no idea of boat drive specifics or anything. Completely green. I didnt know of iboats back then and didnt do my due diligence. I bought my boat based upon how it looked and the fact that it ran well. I paid $3200 for it, which, in hindsight, was about twice what I should have paid for it considering it was an OMC Stringer setup. Nevertheless, I love it and will maintain it as a Stringer since I have enough spare parts to keep it so. Hull is mostly in good shape. Transom is solid, but might need new stringers and definitely needs a new deck/upholstery. Im a tinkerer at heart and always need a project to keep me sane on my days off. I love the fact that I have a long term one.

 

[doneast]

Re: Stringer 400 & 800 Hydro and Full mechanical friends group

Just bought a 1985 Bayliner Ciera 5.0 OMC engine with stringer 800 outdrive. Please add me to your list.

In the meantime questions are : when lifting (tilting) motor it comes up hard and hits my swim platform - is there an adjusument to the height I can tilt outdrive?
it only tllts up or down when in neutral - is this normal??
Happy to be here ( sorry no pics yet)

 

[southkogs]

Re: Stringer 400 & 800 Hydro and Full mechanical friends group

...when lifting (tilting) motor it comes up hard and hits my swim platform - is there an adjusument to the height I can tilt outdrive?

LOL generally the problem with most Stringers is they WON'T tilt up!

Is your swim platform and after market add-on? The Stringer tilts up much higher than newer sterndrives. There's no adjustment, you kinda' have to get used to it and know where to stop. Most of us "bump" the tilt button rather than "click and hold" because of how the motor works. If someone added a swim platform to your boat, then you might have to get creative or learn to live with it (my platform is an add-on and the middle section was cut out and put on piano type hinges so I can open it to tilt the drive all the way to the top).

Welcome aboard!

 

[F14CRAZY]

Re: Stringer 400 & 800 Hydro and Full mechanical friends group

Alright...no one has given me a straight answer on this, but why have the Series 400 and 800 systems acquired this awful stigma? WHile I've been frustrated with sealing my unit I haven't had any serious problems with it. I like having ball gears instead of bellows and a universal joint and gimbal bearing that let in water and go bad anyway.

Sure OMC has been "out of business" but BRP Evinrude dealers still seem to be able to get parts and stock the basics like tune up parts and carb rebuild kits (though I source parts online due to cost which carries over to all brands of marine powertrain systems).