Ricardo, Master Mechanic, Hy &Boatin Bob, when I removed

my cobra outdrive from the 5.7 L engine I had 3 splines that were twisted or curved over and after looking with a flashlight we could not see any visible damage, even the boat mechanic who I asked again what he thought after he finally looked but he said considering the age of the boat (1988) and etc he would have to look it at it closer, his estimate for repair with a rebuilt drive is $ 5000.oo without a coupler if needed, would a alignment tool help to determine the condition of the coupler or is there another way, if the coupler was found to be okay I could put the drive on myself, but being 81 yrs old now it would be tougher to pull the engine or slide it back because of the coupler replacement, thank you guys for all your input

I'm not an OMC guy, but I'm questioning the three twisted splines. Can you explain this further?
IOW, if any splines have become twisted, it would involve all of them!

As for the drive and a $5k repair..... rediculous for an OMC Cobra drive.
For $5k you could do a Volvo Penta SX cond clutch conversion, or for that matter, an SEI conversion.

The Volvo Penta SX cone clutch gets you completely away from Dog Clutch engagement, and you eliminate the ESA system entirely.
The Volvo Penta SX conversion also opens the door for the DP-S lower unit.

The SEI conversion retains Dog Clutch style engagement, and retains the need for the ESA.


A good used SX drive will outperform either the Cobra or the SEI drive.
Food for thought!

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ricardo, My terminology is probably wrong, the u-joint shaft that goes into the coupler has 15 which I called (splines) anyway 3 of those ridges were not straight but curved the result of the outdrive locking,and that is why I wondered if the coupler is still okay?
What web site or info on volvo penta sx conversion is on the internet, I have looked at the SEI but did not know how difficult it would be to convert

Say the splines are shot on the shaft and the coupler went , lets just say that for argument sake, how does he figure 5 grand to pull the engine replace the coupler and replace the shaft ?
He wants to install a whole new drive ? Where will he get a new drive anyway ?
He wants to install a sei unit ?
What exactly does he want to do ?

Ricardo, His estimate was for a rebuilt cobra outdrive, gasket set, lube, a hydrofoil, all for 5 gramd, and no labor added to the estimate yet, the input shaft had 3 splines slightly twisted, as far as the coupler after talking with others they all said the coupler more than likely is fine, which he had not looked at.
I found a used outdrive going to look at it Friday and if it is good as the man says I will go that route, my boat is about 10 miles away at his shop and I am going to get our boat this morning and fix it ourselves, he has had the drive for over 3 weeks and little has been done, he does not speak highly of the SEI and other than a rebuilt which he has a very high asking price because I have seen prices half what he is quoting, thank you again for your input.

Well, let me say it now with more gummpy to it:
DO NOT waste your money on a Cobra drive over-haul..... especially anywhere near $5K.... or even $3k.

Instead, take that same money and do the SX conversion, and give yourself Cone Clutch gear engagement, rid yourself of the ESA system and the two shift cables......., and enjoy trouble-free boating.

If you go with the SEI drive conversion, at the end of the day, you'll still have a Dog Clutch drive that requires the ESA.

I know..... this may be more than you want to spend. But how much is it worth to you to have a trouble-free drive system????

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A trouble free anything on a boat is priceless.

I agree.
I'd not suggest the Volvo Penta if it was not for the fact that we just don't have these issues.

Do we have issues?
Yes, but no where near as frequently as we do with Dog Clutch drives and the inherant issues that come along with the Dog Clutch.

As many here know, I'm very much Pro-Volvo Penta.
To clarify that, I'm not Pro-Volvo simply because I own and work on them.
I'm Pro-Volvo from having owned, worked on and/or have seen the issues with other drives over the years.

Apples/Oranges!


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I've also changed from OMC cobra to a Volvo outdrive (my situation was a bit different to yours as I changed from petrol to diesel, but thats another story) and I can thoroughly recommend it, the gear shift in the OMC is no comparison to the VP its smooth as silk
As long as its maintained correctly its one less thing to worry about when your on the water, and thats priceless!