synack

My Bravo one pitot tube is blocked and I tried the .09 drill bit in a dowel thingy and it doesn't seem to be doing much of anything. There's an obstruction in there where I can only insert the bit about 1/2 an inch before I hit something solid.

Are there any tricks to clearing this thing out?

If I want to pull the whole 3.5" tube out, how do I go about doing that with the 1/8" drill bit?

Should the tube be visible from the outside? I don't see anything other than the hole in the drive body. Maybe someone tried to drill it out and gave up.

hillbilly24

The rubber hose ends where it hooks to the drive from the transom plate. The whole that you are using the drill bit in leads to a verticale passge that the speedo tube hooks too on the upper drive housing. in some extreme cases you may have to split the drive to get it all cleared out . when you split it you will see a round rubber collar about 1/2" around inthe front of the lower. pull this out and blow air into the inlet passage on the front of the lower unit. If you find alot of sand in there you might want to have a look at your impeller too.

US1 Fountain

Try using more pressure to turn the drill several times. Remove the drill and look closly at the drill tip to see what type of material the blockage is. If just wood, try again with more pressure to break thru the blockage. Gotta remember if wood got forced in that small hole, it's packed tight. I have even used power before to remove wood, just gotta know when to stop.

SkiDoc

If you know a dentist, try an endodontic file(root canal file), works every time, I always have a use for my instruments.

Chris288

First off there are two different diameter holes, the first is a bit larger then it narrows down, cant remember how deep it goes, but thats probably why your hitting solid at 1/2 inch.. It's most likely wood and you will need a pretty long drill, that hole is about 6 inches deep. First I use a drill bit to get most of the solid stuff out then I take a piece of small diameter welding wire and twist it around like a cork screw to work the rest of the debris out.. There is also a connector half way up the drive that I Sometimes will seperate, and back flush with air or water until I get a solid stream out of the pickup hole... We have a lot of crap in the water and i'm constantly unplugging the speedo pickup..

synack

So the basic layout of the speedo pickup in the drive unit is as follows:

Small hole in the leading edge of the drive
About 1/2" down this hole it narrows slightly (I'm assuming from 1/8" to 3/32")
There's a 3" long alluminum tube probably where it narrows
about 6" from the opening, the passageway goes upwards to where the speedo hose attaches on the outside of the unit.

Is that about right?

So, when you hand drill with the 3/32" bit, you are trying to clear out the blockage in the smaller tube (which is set in about 1/2")

Raylar

Sounds like a recurring problem and all the speedos I have seen seem to be so far off as to be almost useless. Go and buy an inexpensive hand held GPS and velcro it on the gauge panel. Always right on and bullet proof reliable. Of couse it will now stop a lot of top speed "bragging" and hence deflate some egos, however us aftermarket parts guys will sell more parts and single handedly save the US economy!

Ray @ Raylar