Anyone with Zeus Pods?

Andrew,
Is the ceramic coating something mercury recommended/did for you?

No. Actually our local dealer, Union Marine (formerly Lake Union Sea Ray) came up with it. The problem we found were the seals that Mercury used on the pods. They would cut grooves into the shafts and that is where the water intrusion came from.
 
I have had zero issues with the pods since doing the ceramic coating. Annual maintenance is done annually (shockingly to some i know - LOL) and there is no intrusion. Highly recommend it!
Do you have the name of the ceramic product and how it is installed? Is this something they do prior to lubricating the shaft or instead of?
 
Do you have the name of the ceramic product and how it is installed? Is this something they do prior to lubricating the shaft or instead of?

Just called the dealer to get some more information. They sent them out to a company here in Seattle called "Flame Spray" (sp?).

They have done this on all the boats that show issues with the seals and they have not seen any come back with same issue after it was done. As far as what hey put on or use for ceramic i do not know. ALso, not sure who turns them down after they are coated. Sorry i couldnt be of more help.
 
Just called the dealer to get some more information. They sent them out to a company here in Seattle called "Flame Spray" (sp?).

They have done this on all the boats that show issues with the seals and they have not seen any come back with same issue after it was done. As far as what hey put on or use for ceramic i do not know. ALso, not sure who turns them down after they are coated. Sorry i couldnt be of more help.

Thanks @andrewfoley
I'll have to inquire with my zeus guy.
 
I have had zero issues with the pods since doing the ceramic coating. Annual maintenance is done annually (shockingly to some i know - LOL) and there is no intrusion. Highly recommend it!
Many thanks! I was hoping to hear that. I replaced shafts and seals at 340 hrs and now have water again at 550 hrs. Looks like I will be pulling and coating the shafts in the near future.

If we can get Mercury to produce a more heat resistant steering actuator seal, we might have some pretty reliable units!
 
Many thanks! I was hoping to hear that. I replaced shafts and seals at 340 hrs and now have water again at 550 hrs. Looks like I will be pulling and coating the shafts in the near future.

If we can get Mercury to produce a more heat resistant steering actuator seal, we might have some pretty reliable units!
did your second set of pods have the metal or new rubber seals? i have new rubber seals on my pods 2020 vintage and my mechanic advised i should not have the same problem. wondering if i should go ahead and coat mine with ceramic anyhow.
 
Andrew,
Is the ceramic coating something mercury recommended/did for you?
Mercury has no position on ceramic coating the shafts. In fact, they are still 'looking into' this solution. I know this because I speak to their support team often. That said, they are interested/curious about the results and success of this solution.
 
did your second set of pods have the metal or new rubber seals? i have new rubber seals on my pods 2020 vintage and my mechanic advised i should not have the same problem. wondering if i should go ahead and coat mine with ceramic anyhow.
The new seals installed at 340 hours were the ones Mercury supplied at the time of the work (3/19). Part numbers were: 8M0033407 and 861694. I am not aware of any improvements to the gear shaft seals and have spoken to Mercury at length on this issue. Hope this helps.
 
How do you tell what generation Zeus pods a boat is equipped with?
I called Mercury and gave them my Serial # from my pods. on My 2012 450 Sundancer with 480Hp they said my pods were Generation 3. And that they were current with the new pods coming off the off the assembly line. Mercury has told me there no plans to stop production of the the Zeus pods and that all parts will continue to be available. With that said though now with Covid that are a lot of parts from Mercury that are not available at this time. I'm dealing with the props being unavailable. When I talk to Mercury the problem is the the raw material is not available to make the props. They expect the stainless steel around the end of September 2021.
 
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i have a 2013 54 Sundancer with 400 hours on it. i have full service on the engines, generators and change the pod oil annually. marine max has been changing the oil from the top of the pods (ie not our of the water). last year i had the boat pulled and we drained the oil from the bottom of the pods which is the correct method so that no debris stays in the pods. a good mechanic can probably get by with changing from the top every year for a few years but i'd recommend every time you have a bottom job or pull the boat for any reason out of water to pull the pod oil from the bottom. it is cheap to do and takes no time.
last year i had a pod go out at 400 hours. while the boat was out of warranty mercruiser still gave me a big break on the new pod at a price of $10,000. i decided to change both pods, annodes and such while the boat was out of the water and the entire bill for two new pods installed was $35,000. not a deal killer at all on a 7 year old boat of this caliber. my long time marine max mechanic told me they changed the seals on the new pods and "these pods should last forever." the old style seals eventually permit water leaking into the pods which equals failure.

i'm an old school 40 year shaft boat driver. however, i love these pods and would not be afraid to own a boat with pods. if i bought an older boat i'd just negotiate down $40-50,000 so make sure i had room to replace a pod or two when the time came.

happy pod boat owner.

Did Mercury give you a price on what the replacement cost would have been with out the deal they offered you. I am currently replacing most of the part on one of my Zeus pods. Marinemax is doing the job. We are currently up to $21,000 and counting on my 2012 450 Sundancer. We had a prop break and the vibrations from the out of balance props wrecked havoc inside of the pod.
 
Did Mercury give you a price on what the replacement cost would have been with out the deal they offered you. I am currently replacing most of the part on one of my Zeus pods. Marinemax is doing the job. We are currently up to $21,000 and counting on my 2012 450 Sundancer. We had a prop break and the vibrations from the out of balance props wrecked havoc inside of the pod.

Not that it will make you feel any better but i have spent over $17,000 in the past 6 weeks replacing all the hydraulic lines and both power steering actuator seals on my 2010 450.
 
Last year, if you needed new pods they were 35-40k apiece.
Steering actuators were approximately 12k.
 
Last year, if you needed new pods they were 35-40k apiece.
Steering actuators were approximately 12k.
thank god i held out untill this year to get a pod boat, lol. But in all seriousness only the actuator seal was a major failure. It was me that decided to replace both and the hydraulic lines were more of a nuisance item because they were leaking.
 
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Which manufacturers are still building boats with Zeus pods? Obviously Syspro is out. I'd assume other Brunswick owned builders?
 
Which manufacturers are still building boats with Zeus pods? Obviously Syspro is out. I'd assume other Brunswick owned builders?
I don't believe there are any oems that use Zeus pods. Indeed I am almost positive searay and perhaps sabre we're the last to use them ending multiple years ago. It's all Volvo ips at this point.
 

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