Rippem

Aluminum? Since when?

take one of yours off and hold it in your hand...zinc is heavy...mag and alum are light. Or get a mag anode and compare it to a like one off your drive, if yours are heavier...they are ZINC.

They came stock with Zinc anodes for years, and still did that I knew of. My '02 Bravo X drives came with zinc anodes stock to a dealer in Minnesota.
No saltwater there!

Maybe they are making an attempt to respond to all the years of corrosion issues...finally.

CigDaze

Might it also be stray current from a surrounding vessel or shorepower?
It's a huge problem for many.

Check out this site, it's an excellent resource on many marine related topics.
http://www.yachtsurvey.com/corrosion.htm

Rippem

Plenty of stray current in my boathouse full of large cruisers, and I occasionally use my shorepower. I've avoided getting eaten...with the right plan.

Mag anodes and a working Mercathode!

Chris288

Huge amount of info here too... http://www.sterndrives.com/bulletins...rotection.html

Yup, seems merc. is using a universal alum. anode now,, he said how could we know where the customer was using a boat, so yes your drive came with alum. anodes,,, funny I thought it looked like alum.

Going to have to have a dealer check it out and find out what the problem is,, hopefully it will be covered... ( wheres the smiley for holding your hand together praying )...

Obviously I have another problem given the amount of corrosion I have, even with the alum. anodes after this is all said and done I will most likely switch to the magnesium ones....

PatBrennan

I've been using Mag anodes on my Bravo 1 since the boat was new. This year the boat spent a few months in a fresh water lake, no shore power at all. Magnesium anodes are quite eaten away, but so is my outdrive. around the top cap and any place there's an edge to the paint, around the drain holes etc. Also applies to my trim tabs. Tabs had aluminum (or zinc) anodes, weren't corroded at all but they have growths on them. Not sure what to do to prevent the corrosion. It's a 2003 with a Mercathode.

Poorsche

There is a post around somewhere that details the severe corrosion problem Mrecruiser has/had with the Bravo's. Might chek www.Boatfix.com or do a google search on subject.

Also--make sure if you're using shore power fro anything (batt charger fridge etc) that you put a Galvonic Isolator in the shorepower circuit as it enters boat.

Final point make sure your boats BONDING System has full continuity and that everything below the water line is tied in to that syste. Under ABY codes its a light green wire. Evfen thru hulls connected to rubber hoses need to tied in.

ALL insurance policies EXCLUDE electrolysis as a covered hazard.

I learned all this technical chit after the marina let a homemade houseboat dock next to my slip--eat up a pair of TRS's., trim cylinders, Gimbles et al in less that 6 weeks.

mats

Yes, as Porsche stated in the previous post, one can not overemphasize the importance of continuity between all the pieces of the drive, including prop and sacrifical anods. I lost one of the continuity wires between the gimbal ring and the transom assembly. The outdrive almost dissappeared in one season. Check with an ohmmeter.

Chris288

Alright,, more ?????????'s

The outdrive, gimble, merchathode, and possibly the transom assembly are being replaced by Merc. They also recommended that a zinc button kit be installed in the boats transom and tied into the mercathode system for extra protection.

But the question is this,, The docks are in poor condition, is this going to be enough protection from the ****ty wiring and shore power hook-ups at the dock. Or am I still going to be a victim of stray electricity in the water and will continue to eat my drive. ??? does the mercathode system protect against the stray electricty ( electrolysis ) or just galvanic corrosion ??

Wife wants to know if we are getting a slip this year and if the drive is still going to be eaten away I will say to forget it..

P.S. we don't even have shore power on the boat, just the docks itself..

Pismo10

The zinc button and a functional Mercathode should protect you. Any continuity issue will be fixed by the replacements as well. You should be good.

mr mercruiser

chris288-I bet if you send merc a picture of your woman-they would probably send you a brand new drive-they might even send you a new boat-no disrespect