bravo 3 , who makes a stronger/better upper

[45calibur]

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i recently bought a boat with bravo 3 drives . one drive blew already , it is the upper that let go . i was told the bravo 3 uppers break often and i could replace it with either an imco upper or a bravo xr upper


what is the best upper ?

should i have a different upper bolted to my bravo 3 lower?

thanks in advance

the boat is a 45 wellcraft excalibur with 502 415 hp engines

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[mbam]

XR upper would be a good idea, Mercury actually offers a B3XR

 

[rschap1]

I always thought the upper were same only lowers differed...
If thats the case, any Bravo upper or upgrade would interchange

 

[Knot 4 Me]

Are your props turning out? If so, I imagine the port drive blew the upper? In addition to the stronger upper gears from either Imco or an XR, you might also want to upgrade the top bearing cap.

 

[45calibur]

Are your props turning out? .

bravo 3's are duo props so one prop spins one way and the other prop spins the other way


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[smittyseng]

bravo 3's are duo props so one prop spins one way and the other prop spins the other way


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Your props spin two different directions but your upper gears only turn one direction,I'm sure that your props probably spin opposite of each other on each drive though so one upper is using the reverse gear (top gear) and stressing the upper cap. Max machine worx can build your uppers with steel towers and extra thick caps,Smitty

 

[mbam]

Smitty, B3's are run in the normal forward direction only, the props only come in 1 flavor.

 

[Knot 4 Me]

bravo 3's are duo props so one prop spins one way and the other prop spins the other way


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Doh! Nevermind...Bravo I's on my mind...:blush5:

 

[Wrinkleface]

Drive showers can't hurt!!!!

 

[45calibur]

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thanks guy

so i guess my options are

imco uppers
xr uppers
or have custom stuff done to my drives


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[45calibur]

Drive showers can't hurt!!!!

i was thinking that too


who makes the best drive shower ?



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[Knot 4 Me]

The no-drill Simrek Halo showers work really well. www.driveshowers.com

 

[clayinaustin]

IMCO makes a strong upper gear. Good luck!

 

[45calibur]

The no-drill Simrek Halo showers work really well. www.driveshowers.com

thank you

 

[45calibur]

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i will put a drive shower on for shore

so i need to talk to someone at imco , someone at maxmachine , and aslo look into mercury xr uppers

i wonder which one of my 3 choices is best?


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[Wobble]

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i will put a drive shower on for shore

so i need to talk to someone at imco , someone at maxmachine , and aslo look into mercury xr uppers

i wonder which one of my 3 choices is best?


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Warranty is one consideration. Bam Marine often has the best price on new Merc drives http://www.mercruiserparts.com/Mercruiser_Sterndrives.asp

The XR upper should be plenty strong for your stock HP I would think.

 

[45calibur]

The XR upper should be plenty strong for your stock HP I would think.

yes my boat has very low hp , but the weight of the boat is what scares me , plus it can hold alot of people and gas so the drives are probably struggling when it is full of gas and 10 people



thanks for the feedback , keep it coming


if any of you guys are ever in NY come out on my slow boat for one of my boat parties :sifone:

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