5.8L OMC Cobra, Mid 90s, outdrive issues. Prop shaft bent, is upper good?

[kaczman]

Hi all,

I have a boat with a mid 90s 5.8L OMC Cobra engine and outdrive on it. I hit some rocks this weekend, and bent up the prop.

I replaced the prop, and inspected it. The outdrive appeared to be good, and ran fine for nearly a 2 hour trip. On the way home, the prop shaft let go.

I had my marina inspect it, and they don't do alot with OMC's. They put it up on dry dock, drained the fluid and saw some metal shavings in it. Im assuming when the prop got bent it bent the whole shaft, and as I used it, it got progressively worse.

The marina is asking if there is a way to inspect the upper, to see if I can just swap the lower unit. Boy are these things expensive. Any suggestions from anyone on this forum? Thanks in advance!

 

[lionelz]

Have you got insurance if so that should cover it

 

[Spi D]

Be very, very careful before spending on anything OMC. Do not expect any return of investment - merely a black hole to put money into.

They went out of business for good reasons.

 

[kaczman]

Have you got insurance if so that should cover it

Be very, very careful before spending on anything OMC. Do not expect any return of investment - merely a black hole to put money into.

They went out of business for good reasons.

Thanks for the info guys, but I was wondering if there was a way to look at the upper part of the outdirve like on a merc.

 

[Spi D]

IMO it makes no sense to look at the upper/lower parts separately because you can't get (m)any spares anyway,

And if the drive is dead, you'll have a hard time getting a replacement. The transom plate is incompatible with everything as is the cutout in the transom.

Edit: One source might be http://sterndrive.info/

 

[kaczman]

IMO it makes no sense to look at the upper/lower parts separately because you can't get (m)any spares anyway,

And if the drive is dead, you'll have a hard time getting a replacement. The transom plate is incompatible with everything as is the cutout in the transom.

Edit: One source might be http://sterndrive.info/

I've already sourced two different matching lower drives for $500 shipped and one upper for nearly the same price. Just trying to figure out if its worth throwing on a $500 lower rather than go through my insurance with a $1k deductible as well as higher rates.

 

[scottie]

Is there not a family connection with Volvo SX being a variation on the cobra

 

[Spi D]

That would be no brainer to me: Let the insurance take the responsibility (and financial risk) of making it work.

 

[Spi D]

Is there not a family connection with Volvo SX being a variation on the cobra

Yep- Volvo took over the Cobra drive at OMC's bankcrupcy, redesigned it to something working by altering OMC flaws and marketed it as their own, with cone clutch.

Do not know if a conversion is feasible:
http://www.marinepartsexpress.com/conversionkits.html

 

[GrahamHR]

Post your question on iFourwinns.com. There is a guy there, LouC who is very knowledgeable about OMC drives and what is/ what is not interchangeable.