Xb2003 merc 225 lower unit?

[big_o_tom]

I have a 1995 xb2003 with a 1995 merc 225 promax efi. The lower was I believe a standard case with a low water pick up on it and 1.87 to 1 gears. The pinion gear broke the other day and I have been reading up on some lower units the last few days when I have time.
I see pics of ally's with sportsmaster all the time and then I read that a stock sm won't work good on my boat. Then there's all these mods that can be done to a sm to make them work on my boat but then the skeg might crack and fall off.
I guess I'm wondering which case I need to try to find for my boat. I fish mostly but do enjoy a run up into the 80's.

[rdp823]

i have the same setup as you only with a Sporty, the sporty works fine its a mile or two an hour slower, ive had both on mine i prefer to run the coned case but im tired of having to deal with the body work, the coned case does handle better, by the way my sporty is stock other than a GeigerTec carrier, so if you do the mods might help but was told the only way to get a sporty to be like a coned 200 case is the thin it out

[big_o_tom]

So why are sports slower if mercury designed them to be a "fast" case?

[rdp823]

they are fatter more durable for extreme engine heights, would be my guess, thats why Drag racers like to run xr6 gear cases the are a little smaller than a stock 200 case,, Not many drag racers use sportmaster cases

[Ditch_Pickle]

Stock sporty is fine. Only need to work it if you're after the last mph or 2.

[big_o_tom]

I am basically a weekend angler that fishes a few tournaments a year. I like to go as fast as I can, good water permitting of course. I will never take the troller off to gain a mph but when I got the boat my goal was to to 90 mph. I have reached 85 one time and lower 80's quite often. My local lake has a lot of sticks, 4x4's, tree's, cow's, you name it floating down after a big rain, so the chance of hit something in the water is there. Here's the million dollar ? Which would be the best case for me...
A standard with a low water nose cone 1.87 gears. For $1500-$2500.
A sportmaster with 1.87 gears and a 24 trophy for $2500.
A highly modified sportmaster with 1.75 gears that was an allison test prop used on their boats at the plant. The nose has been blunted, skeg is trimmed, one water inlet welded up I don't know what else, for $3000.
I want the one for $3I, but I can see me running ove a small tree limb and ruining it.

[Ditch_Pickle]

#3 sounds attractive to me, but id want to see what was done to the skeg. If the trailing edge is notched over the torque tab, it could be prone to cracking. Other than that, nothing they've done to it will make it any less durable than option #2.

With option #3 you may need to drop back in pitch from where you're at today when you have a full load, to compensate for the highway gears. But those gears will also get you another mph on the big end.

[Gary Morgan]

Big o Tom, I have been having a few lower unit issues lately, and I have the same questions that you do. I have been running a 200 LWP lower, and it has cracked a skeg and chattered the carrier and mating surface in the housing. Both problems have been repaired. After the skeg was welded, I just couldn’t get comfortable with it, no peace of mind, so I talked to Glen Reynolds and he said the 200 case just won’t hold up to fishing daily and running fast ever once in a while, maybe drag racing since it is only a short
distance. He said get a Sporty and leave it alone. If you thin the Sporty you will be
back to breaking things again. I have a Sporty, and when it was stock, it drive fine up to around 90-92 mph, and then it felt like there were marbles under the rearend of the boat. So I would say you will be fine with a Sporty into the upper 80s, and much more durable than with a 200 case.

[silverbullet02]

Sporty is the only way to go. Not to say they don't have issues, but they're pretty dependable overall. Biggest thing is watch out for the ones with rusty shafts, those can be trouble.