Just how allergic should I be to an OMC w Cobra?

[El Capitan]

I know they don’t manufacture these anymore but I’ve searched and there seems to be all kinds of parts available.

There are a good number of these still out on the water.

Should this take me off the boat?

Thank you.

 

[northern]

I had twin V6 3.8 with them drove it at 3,800 RPM for 5 years in salt water for total of 700 hours. Need to be serviced and legs painted every year. There are a few parts that you can not get and you need a mechanic that has vast experience working on them. I would not get them if you are in salt water

 

[Gofirstclass]

There are a few parts that you can not get and you need a mechanic that has vast experience working on them.

The mechanic with lots of experience might be more of a problem than getting the parts. The old mechanics with years of experience on them are retiring and there may not be many left.

 

[Golfman25]

Dude, I got a betamax I can sell you.

 

[Chip S]

If its a 1986 - 1992 Cobra I would pass. Finding a mechanic who knows how to work on it would be difficult. If its a 1993 or later Cobra its identical to the Volvo SX and any Volvo mechanic will know how to work on it.

 

[JVM225]

I know they don’t manufacture these anymore but I’ve searched and there seems to be all kinds of parts available.

There are a good number of these still out on the water.

Should this take me off the boat?

Thank you.

A friend of mine got a boat for free with that set up a few years back.
It wasn’t worth it.
Some parts for the drive were impossible to find.
He lucked out and found a drive he bought for parts.
He got the boat going, put it in the water with a sign on it, and took the first lowball offer that came along.
Over the nearly 4 decades he owned his auto repair business he came across a lot of cheap, sometimes free, boats from customers who gave up on them because they needed a motor or other expensive mechanical work. He would buy them, fix them, use them, sell them, etc..
He quickly decided he wouldn’t never take another boat with that drive again because of how long he had to search for parts and the used drive.
I can’t remember exactly what the part was that he had to buy another drive to get, but I think it was a shift bracket or something similar.

 

[Soulshine]

I had a ‘90 Chris Craft with a pair and I’d say yes to avoidance within the age range mentioned.

The shift mechanism is very sensitive to cable condition and adjustment at initial setup. As long as you’re fine with changing cables every 4th or 5th (5 is pushing it) year you’ll stay ahead of it. There are specific tools used to set up new cables. Many mechanics don’t have them or even know about them it seems. In fact many marinas refuse to work on them at all.

If you’re a DIY guy you’ll love the ease of doing bellows and raw water pump replacements.

If there’s anything more than the most superficial corrosion run for cover.

 

[Soulshine]

I should add that these issues are well known and have a solid impact on resale value among knowledgeable buyers.

 

[yobub]

I've owned one for 20 years. Our engine is a Ford V8 that was in the F150, so yeah, you can still get parts.

We do our recommended maintenance every year and we've only had only one out drive issue - we had to have the clutch cone replaced. Skipper buds didnt have the $400 part, so I bought it, new old stock, on ebay for $30. Plenty out there but I bought a spare just in case. I have never once had a problem finding parts.

The boat is a '95 and still starts with the first turn of the key.

 

[Soulshine]

I had no trouble finding parts either, both new and used.

460 Ford exhaust parts are like gold plated dodo birds though.

I had 5.7 Chevys and they ran great and always did. The drives could be challenging and the guy I sold the boat didn’t do the maintenance needed to avoid the troubles.