Just out of curiosity, out of all the marine high performance shops out there; howcome only does Teague Marine have the secret to building "Alphas" that will stay together? I have called many shops and the same answer. U go over like 377hp 350 torque and your days are pretty well numbered. Answering another question, yes Sea Ray did infact make the 377 scorpion some of the Pachanga's had them. Remember (I am not saying this to trash anybody, or call them a lier or anything of the sort!!! What people say and real world are 2 diffrent things) how come people break them with small mouse motors. Yet they stay together with 600HP, it doesn't make sense. If I am missing anything,PLEASE let me know!! If u go big, either go Bravo or go home.:devil: :devil:
Like I said before, if I am missing something please let me know
:devil: Hot Rod:devil:
There are not too many marine shops that deal with Alpha's as there is only so much you can do to strengthen them. The case is only so big and this restricts gear, bearing and shaft size. They're simply not cost effective when you can pick up a used Bravo.
There are many factors that contribute to busting up an Alpha. The heavier the boat the more the risk especially with a beefed up SBC. It's all in the way the boat is driven. If you WOT out of the hole your going to bust it with a beefed up motor. If you come out of the water and back in under load your going to bust it.
I've ran 3 400hp SBC's thru a stock 1992 Alpha 1 with never a single problem. My solid lifter motor pulled to 6500rpms. It's all in how it's driven. A gear lube resevoir, synthetic oil and drive shower are essentials for long life as they keep the drive cooler.
I just finished beefing up my primary Alpha with HD gears for the new motor. I also have my original as a spare. I might need it and might not.
I have been running an Alpha for 4 summers now with a nasty 600+ HP 410 CID blown smallblock in a Carlson Intimidator at 100 MPH plus with no drive failure yet. I have had to replace the gimble ring and pins once, but nothing else other than normal checks and maint.
I've been running a 406 in front of mine for years. I've posted on this before. No idea what numbers but it has Dart heads a Comp Cams 270 magnum, Victor Jr intake with a really good working Q-jet. Idles down low for proper shifting. The clutch dogs won't tolerate high idle speeds so be careful on cam selection. A 400 will idle better with the same cam than a 350. The extra cubes and stroke make the cam act smaller. It is a Alpha SS but I'm pretty sure the inerds are the same. 23 Lazer"" 69MPH@5000RPM. As others have mentioned, maintenence and driveing style probably contribute to it's longevity. I was haveing problems blowing the lower unit gears on the original and was told my motor was too big. I contacted Mercuiser Tech and the guy said that was BS. He said this (at the time) was the most hotrodded drive out there and should handle anything a smallblock could throw at it. He said, sounds like the unit isn't shimmed correctly. He was right! I turned in an ins claim but used the money towards the new SS drive and the shimming tools from Merc. After reconstructing the original LU I found that the gears were shimmed .015 too tight. They would have failed even with the stock 200HP motor!! Proper setup, Clean HP gear lube, keep the water out of it...GO
took a brand new out of the box 2nd gen. drive with 1.50 ratio and bolted it on a 2300lb open bow boat with a brand new bone stock zz4 G.M crate motor and i blew the drive up not ounce not twice not three times. easy out of hole on plane gradually layed into it a bang ripped top gears out of it, second one broke input shaft, third one blew the carrier and prop shaft out of it. I was turning a old 14.5x23 old dumbo ear merc. prop. went to the bravo 3 years later still no problems
Perhaps, like a lot of things these days, the newer the junkier they are? ? Mine was bought new from Mercruiser around 90-91. I don't think they even sell the SS drive anymore. Mines a 19ft Celebrity Cuddy which is kinda a heavy built tub, lots of teak trim ect. I'd estimate it to be close to 3000lbs. As I've stated before, A Bravo setup would cost what the boats worth. Sorry to hear about your experiance. Sounds to me like you got a lemon and I'd be talking to someone from Mercruiser about it.
Hey thanks guys for the info Im hopin to put switch the out drives and put in to stroker kit to my 350 to have a litter more fun on the water
Put a 340 in it while you're changing the drive!
Depends on the gear ratio.
We had a twin turbo small block making about 400 HP in a 23' Sleekcraft with 1.5 gears in the alpha outdrive and we went thru 4 outdrives in one year!!! Actually, it was in one month, but we were on the water for a month straight. Every week, it would shear a shaft.
Changed the gears to 1.35 and took it easier in powering thru corners and got quite a bit of life out of it. Lost a little on the top end and you have to spin smaller props....but great for skiing.
Ultimately got rid of it and put in a Volvo dua prop with a 454 (380 HP). Quicker out of the hole and better top end.
Just an update.
I have had 100 hours on my Alpha/MR drive with the 350 Chevy, bored 0.030 over, flat top pistons, Crower cam, Roller Rockers, Torker II Manifold (1 Inch Spacer), Holley 650.
I now do 4800 to 4900rpm Max and 60mph on GPS.
I do take-off from a standing start with only half throttle (running on the primaries) only.
I run the boat on salt water only, and run Omega 690 gear oil in the drive.
Just picked up a 1988 Cobia 197srv, still has the original Magnum 350 outdrive, new long block was installed in 1994. This boat got a Whipple Charger with an 850 Holley and IMCO headers in '95 and the previous owner never had a problem.
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