Cobra - model type?

[theydrewa31]

Hello Gentlemen!

I am working on putting my outdrive back together right now and as I was putting it together, I noticed that the diagrams did not match what I was looking at in front of me, so I am trying to get the model number for my outdrive figured out so I can get this girl back together.

Background: I am working on a Starcraft Islander 221V. I bought this vessel a while back as a project boat and never had contact with the previous owner and no records or information about the history of the boat were provided, so I have been figuring out what has been done by deduction alone. So far, I have been able to determine that the boat was re-powered at some point but I'm not sure if the engine and/or outdrive were new or used when installed.

The model number on the engine is 432APRGDP, which is the 4.3L Chevy/GM engine produced in 1988. The model number on the outdrive is 985269 though I have not been able to find much information as to when that model number was produced.

I had previously assumed that everything was all a matching set from 1988; however, I am now starting to think that the outdrive, or lower unit may have been replaced at some point. As I was getting ready to put the lower unit back together (after complete dis-assembly, cleaning & paint) I was laying out the O rings, seals and bearings for re-assembly and noticed that the diagram for the 1988 model year did not match what I was looking at in front of me.

The upper unit went together just fine, and I did not seem to have any issues with O-rings, gears or bearings there.

The lower unit is where I noticed the difference between the diagram and my outdrive. The major differences that are immediately apparent are the lower bearing carrier, and the retaining screw on the side of the lower unit housing near the intake screen. After looking through all of the OMC model year diagrams I believe the lower unit to be one from 1993, as that appears to be the only year that had the correct style bearing carrier as well as not having the retaining screw near the intake screen. The first diagram shows the 1988 model, while the second diagram shows the 1993 model which I believe is the correct model year for my lower unit.

The major differences that I noticed first were:

1. The 1988 model uses snap rings and a plate which are installed in front of the bearing carrier, which the bearing carrier is then bolted to (circled in RED in first diagram). My model uses locking tabs behind the bearing carrier to hold it in place (circled in GREEN in the 1993 model diagram).

2. The 1988 model has a screw near the intake screen which must be removed for dis-assembly (circled in ORANGE on 1988 diagram), while my lower unit does not have this (circled in YELLOW on 1993 diagram)

I am running through the bearings and O-rings right now to make sure that I have the correct parts for re-assembly so I am trying to nail down the model number and any significant differences between models that would affect functionality, or assembly process.

I feel like I have it narrowed down to the below two model numbers which are for the 4.3L 2 barrel carb with Standard R.H. rotation:

432APRJVB
432APRJVN

Are there any differences between these models for the lower unit? Anything I should be looking out for here with regards to making sure everything is properly matched together and functional between upper and lower gear case? Is it worth it for me to get the 1993 repair manual as well, or is this similar enough to the 1988 model to use the same repair manual? I noticed that the upper unit for the 1993 model year looks the same, and my engine is a 1988, so I'd hate to buy another manual for a few small parts that changed.

I should mention that the reason for replacing all bearings, seals and O-rings was that the upper gears were completely destroyed. They looked like they had been melted. An old-timer OMC mechanic said it was common for that to happen if the outdrive was run with low oil. I'm sure that this thing was just neglected and run with low oil, but I would like to make sure that wasn't caused by installing a poorly matched lower unit. Does anyone know if they used the same upper gear cases for 1988 and 1993?

I am sure I am over-thinking this, but I just want to make sure to get it right the first time. Thanks in advance for any help!

Below is the parts diagram for the 432APRGDP which is the 1988 model number on the engine.

Below is a diagram of a lower unit for a 4.3L from 1993.

 

[theydrewa31]

Update: Purchased the Seloc online manual for the 4.3 which covers this model year because I'm trying to keep the project moving and I needed to know the information for the vertical drive shaft to know if the 1993 uses the same gauge tool as the 1988 (which it does). I am going to have to order the shims and wait for them to ship and I didn't want to add the shipping time for the manual to hold up the project even longer so I went ahead and got the online version to get my questions answered more quickly. So ignore the question about whether it is worth it to get the manual for the 1993.

That said I am still curious about any differences and things to look out for, so any information on that is still appreciated.

by the way: At a glance I do not like the electronic manual from Seloc. It looks like someone just copy pasted the text from the paper manual so it isn't arranged in a readable way like the paper manual is where the illustrative photos are near the related text. It accomplishes my needs for now and keeps the project moving but if I had a choice I'd have bought the paper manual instead.

 

[louc]

There are OEM shop manuals still available that are way better than Seloc. When I’m at my desktop computer I will post up a link for you. That said even tho I have run a Cobra over 20 years I don’t know the answer to your question because I’ve never had to have it apart…. The one thing I do know is that the 4 cyl models came with a smaller lower unit but after ‘90 I think they went with the same lower for the V6 & V8 models.

 

[louc]

Oh and the upper gears being destroyed is because the PO did not refill it with gear oil correctly. Most Cobras will take a full 2 qts of gear oil.

 

[theydrewa31]

You gave me the website for the original manuals when I was working on the transom shield a couple of weeks ago. I purchased the factory manual for the 1988 model year already. I probably won't get the 1993 factory manual simply because I only need it for the lower unit, and I would rather save the cash for parts that I need.

I kind of thought the main differences in models were going to be for the 4 cylinder units and the king cobras. It seems like everything else stays mostly the same with regards to engine size and model year except for that lower unit that got the new bearing carrier, and I assume that the gear ratio for the upper gear set would change based on engine size. That said my upper gear case is already put together with brand new gears in the correct ratio for my engine size so I'm already good on the top side.

Thanks for the help Louc! I can always count on you!

For anyone else who is interested in getting the factory manual the link is below!

Original outboard product and service manuals for Johnson, Evinrude, Gale, and OMC

Ken Cook Co. sells Original Product Literature Supporting 1996 and Older Outboard Marine Corporation Products, limited supply of original printings of Johnson, Evinrude, Gale, and OMC manuals are still available. On older literature, we may provide a machine copy reproduced from a master file...

www.outboardbooks.com

 

[louc]

I thought I had posted that before! About the King Cobras that gets confusing because in some models it was the same standard dog clutch Cobra with some engine differences but in some (Ford 460) the upper housing was the same but the lower was the larger Evinrude V8 gear case. Then there’s the rare cone clutch King Cobra, only made for 3 years or so.