Replacement Lower Advice

[jprovencher80]

2005 150 HP XR6 SN 1B070546. Has shaved heads, Carson reeds and bobs tuner. Running a 2004 Tracker Avalanche bass boat. My lower is pretty. beat. Skegs broken, I’m pretty certain the prop shaft is bent and the seals are shot. It seems out of balance when underway. Prop, while not perfect, is in much better condition than the lower. Will send the prop to get worked when I replace the lower.

My last lower oil change produced milky oil. Last changed about a month ago. I’m going to change the oil again and see how it looks.

thinking of just replacing vs rebuilding. Are there “performance” lowers that will help maintain water pressure if I raise the hydraulic jackplate to try to maximize RPMs or that have lower drag designs? Figured if I’m going to replace it I should consider all the possibilities. Also, any recommendations on where to buy?

thx for your thoughts.

[JOE54]

replace with same gearcase same ratio do not modify or use one with nose cone /low water pickups on that rig itll kill it , these folks on here that are MERCURY dealers that have helped countless others FREE of charge deserve your patronage help those that help you good luck sir JOE

[jprovencher80]

Thx. I’ll check some of the known dealers on here.

[pgs]

Mercury scoops helped me improve water pressure. But I have not tried raising the motor ve
ry much.

[jprovencher80]

Follow up.

I put a dial indicator on it to check prop shaft runout. I measured at 2 points on the shaft. Worst measurement was .019. From what I looked up it seems like I would need this to be less then .002 to be in spec? Also attached a photo of the lower unit oil. I last changed it about 2 months ago and have had the boat in the water about 3 or 4 times since then.

How do you decide on rebuilding vs replacing? The first lower change this year had very milky oil. Full disclosure, I never changed it last year. The skeg is broken and would need to be welded also.

[leonreno]

Cost and reliability is the biggest concern over how to fix the problem. Four options:
1. Fix fairly costly depending on what needs replacing
2. buy new one: most costly, best reliability
3. buy used one: least costly unknown reliability- what I would do if I needed one
4. buy aftermarket- cheaper than OEM but reliability is very suspect-don’t recommend

[pgs]

My shaft got bent. So I went the used route. Could not get reverse to stay engaged. Kept trying to adjust but no luck. So I tried to have it repaired and shop wanted $1000 + I paid $550 for the used lower. Would not return was passed 30 days. So
Had my bent shaft replaced.cost was not that bad. $300 I think.

[Alex from GA]

I bought a used prop shaft on ebay and replaced it myself with a seal kit for about $80 total. A skeg job was $60 a few years ago. A new SEI lower unit is less than $1000, take your choice.

[pgs]

I bought a used prop shaft on ebay and replaced it myself with a seal kit for about $80 total. A skeg job was $60 a few years ago. A new SEI lower unit is less than $1000, take your choice.

Replace the bent shaft.
Most likely best solution.