OMC Cobra vs. Mercruiser
Steve Danaher
rec.boats:
I am in the process of buying a boat which needs repowering, and would
like to ask the newsgroup about the general reputations and
recomendations of OMC Cobra vs Mercruiser.
I have an opportunity to buy a lightly used OMC Cobra with a 4.3
engine. I know that the Cobra is much better than the earlier OMC
drives, but wonder how much better it is. Is it nearly as good as the
Mercruiser? Also, how is the corrosion resistance of the OMC units
when left in salt water for a month or so at a time?
I have been told that OMC never was able to build a really good drive,
and so is now using Volvo built drive parts in an OMC housing. If so,
that would seem to say that those drives were not quite "good enough"
Any comments or suggestions are apprreciated.
Sincerely,
Steve in CA
Dave Brown
Steve Danaher wrote:
> I have an opportunity to buy a lightly used OMC Cobra with a 4.3
> engine. I know that the Cobra is much better than the earlier OMC
> drives, but wonder how much better it is. Is it nearly as good as the
> Mercruiser? Also, how is the corrosion resistance of the OMC units
> when left in salt water for a month or so at a time?
> I have been told that OMC never was able to build a really good drive,
> and so is now using Volvo built drive parts in an OMC housing. If so,
> that would seem to say that those drives were not quite "good enough"
> Any comments or suggestions are apprreciated.
OMC made 'stringer mount' stern drives up until 1985, then introduced
'Cobra' stern drives to compete directly with Merc in 1986. While
stringer mount stern drives had their problems, they performed
exceptionally well when it came to high tilt and tight steering.
Unfortunately, they were less than reliable in high horsepower
sitiuations. When Cobra was introduced, they borrowed on Merc's gimbal
housing and u-joint design and incorporated their own technology
developed through outboard r&d and produced a pretty good product with
one notable exception -- a bad batch of shift cables (ironically from
the same supplier as Merc). OMC recalled all cables up until 1989 and
also covered any gear damage as a result of the cable failure. When
properly updated by a competent dealer, these drives are as good or
better than the Merc of the same era. By 1993, OMC was still unable to
garner a significant market share from Merc and since Volvo was equally
having the same difficulty, they formed a joint venture company to
combine the best of both their drives to produce the 'SX Cobra'. In a
nutshell, it uses Volvo's bullet proof upper unit (with the cone clutch
system) with OMC's bottom end and gimbal housing (and uses the same
american made engines Merc does). The result is an extremely durable
drive system that, IMHO, is a superior product to any other on the
market. That being said, Merc makes a fine product too and neither will
let you down.
Bottom line, buy the product that can be easily serviced in your area by
people you can trust.
regards,
Dave Brown
Brown's Marina
SolarFry
>Subject: Re: OMC Cobra vs. Mercruiser
>From: Dave Brown <dave....@sympatico.ca>
>Date: Thu, Feb 26, 1998 10:25 EST
>Message-id: <34F589...@sympatico.ca>
at mercruiser. its used in all 4.3 apps. output ranges from 155 to 250 HP. it
has a steel timing belt versus the rubber band used in smaller motors.