Bravo 3 outdrive painting / Installing top section then leg?

W

William Miller

Member
Mar 16, 2007
327
Darnestown, Maryland
Boat Info
290 AJ
Engines
Twin Mercruiser 300 hp Bravo III
I just replaced my prop shaft seals.
Doing the Bellows and Gimbal Bearing work tomarrow.

This will (hopefully) be the first season its in the water, not on a lift.

I have a can of Trilux 33?

Since its going to be all apart, what should I be painting.
What should I leave?
Drives are in really good shape because its been on a lift.

Since the outdrive is so heavy i was thinking of installing the top gear housing first by itself, then the bottom.

The only thing i think could be a problem is not being able to turn the prop shaft to get the drive shaft to align into the coupler?
Maybe i could find something to work on the verticle shaft coupler?
outdrive.jpg
 
I love never worked on bravos so I can’t comment on the split install but what about a friend to help and a floor jack to raise the drive up?

I’ve seen guys do that before in a pinch, tough to hoist a b3 solo
 
The boat is at the marina on a gravel lot.
Hard to get help when your 6' apart.
Done it alone before but not fun.
I figure split the weight.
The bottom is way heavier than the top.
 
When I had a Bravo III, I’ve always pulled/replaced it solo.
Just put a few shorter pieces of 2X4’s under the fin.
It’s hard to get another person in position to try to help anyway..
 
It's alot easier to install the two halves if you have the outdrive completely off the boat and lower the top onto the bottom. It is also easier to cleanup the outdrive and prep it for painting if you have it on a stand away from the boat.
 
William Miller said:
The boat is at the marina on a gravel lot.
Hard to get help when your 6' apart.
Done it alone before but not fun.
I figure split the weight.
The bottom is way heavier than the top.
Click to expand...
Sound like you’re in a rough spot. Is it at least on a trailer?
If so adjusting the tongue height can make the install easier.

For the gravel issue, lay down plywood and move the drive around in that instead of letting it drag through the gravel.

I’ve never tried to install it like your asking, but I agree, it would be lighter that way.
Be careful of your gear oil and raw water O-rings, if they fall out into the gravel, you may never find them.
 
Save yourself the trouble, lay down some plywood, install as a unit using a sissor jack and wood plate
 
Bt Doctur said:
Save yourself the trouble, lay down some plywood, install as a unit using a sissor jack and wood plate
Click to expand...

This made me think....
I have a motorcycle jack which is really stable.
I'll modify one of those stands I made to go on it.
Bring a sheet of plywood with me.

Unfortunately, I live about an hour and a half from the boat.
Painted the bilge yesterday. Plumbing and wires go back in next. Then the Generator, Engines then finally the drives.


Back to my question.... What on the drives gets painted with the Trylux 33?
Should I paint all inside the transom housing, gimbal, gear housing and lower unit, trim cylinders? Is that overkill or paint everything I can reach?
 
I paint everything that I can reach, but not the pistons on the trim rams.

Trilux makes the outdrive look butt ugly but that stuff works great!

Of course we’d all like unpainted bottoms and gloss black drives with rack storage or a nice lift, but the reality is quite the opposite for me and many others.
 
Last edited:
Thanks.
The boat was on a lift since new. That's why the drives are in great shape.
It will be in a slip for at least a few seasons once this work is finished.
Thanks again.
 
I just put mine on today, lifted it up by myself and slid it in. Its a Bravo one so it has less weight due to having 1 prop
 
Paint everything except:
- Trim ram pistons
- Anodes
- MerCathode
- Stainless Prop - well, that's up to you

Of course don't use copper based paint on aluminum. Trilux 33 is ok. I use Hydrocoat ECO.

Also, I have a similar stand as you. Last year I tried to wedge pieces under each corner to get the angle right and install using the stand. It was a disaster. You end up fighting the stand. I realized you need to have the skeg on a rolling floor jack so you can lift the entire outdrive, and have a single pivot point and be able to tilt in any direction.
 
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