Looking to buy a 1980 boat w/ TRS drive. What do I need to know?

[Jeff U.]

Hi all,
My first post here. Did a search on TRS and came back w/ 18 hits. Seems more of you have this drive than I thought. I have some experiance w/ the Alpha drive and Volvo Penta drive. Had never heard of TRS until now.
I'm looking at a 1980 Tahiti Daycruiser. It has a 454 and Merc TRS drive. Seller says the outdrive has been "gone thru". What do I need to know? Do I want a boat with this type of drive? I not opposed to swapping out for a new motor and outdrive, but I understand the TRS setup includes a transmission inside the engine compartment, which obviously places the motor further towards the bow. Thus, the motor mounts are further forward too... thus making it impossible to upgrade to a late model motor and Bravo drive (for example).
Can you guys please school me on this whole thing?
Thanks,
Jeff

[paradigm shift]

Jeff I am no expert on TRS drives but they are pre Bravo and yes they use a transmission. TRS was a good drive in my opinion. TRS is a mercury drive and parts are still available but will be getting more difficult as time goes on to get easily. There are replacement drives also (Konrad for one) but they are not cheap.
Mercury went to the Bravo with a built in transmission for cost and mounting easily along with less weight. This allowed moving the motors back which is good or bad thing depending on the boat.
1980 hull make sure you check it for any water - wood damage. Drive it and like anything used plan on some needed $$$$ TLC. Boating gets in your blood and your pocket book! :) Buying used I hope you are a do it yourself person as repairs can get costly. Good Luck.
There are a couple of other boards you can search for info on also. Also the Mercuiserparts site. If you want PM me I can get you more places to look.
http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/
http://www.speedwake.com/upload/index.php?s=
http://www.mercruiserparts.com/selectDocs.asp?doc_nbr=76022

[DelawareDave]

TR/TRS was still being made while Bravo drives were being made. You need to look for what transmission is in there. The B/W trans is much better than the Merctrans. The B/W trans has a seperate bell housing, like a manual trans in a car, where the Merctrans has the trans case and bell housing in one piece, like most car automatic transmissions.

[HavaPaul]

Hey Jeff. TRS drives are STOUT oudrives.

[Jeff U.]

TR/TRS was still being made while Bravo drives were being made. You need to look for what transmission is in there. The B/W trans is much better than the Merctrans. The B/W trans has a seperate bell housing, like a manual trans in a car, where the Merctrans has the trans case and bell housing in one piece, like most car automatic transmissions.
Dave, any chance you have some pics of one vs the other (B/W vs Merc trans)?
Paul,
I've heard the same thing. But I've also heard that parts are hard to come by. And if I need to have the drive and/or the trans rebuilt, that concerns me a lot... from a cost and part availability persective.
Thanks,
Jeff

[DelawareDave]

Here are a couple crappy pics. I took them with a really lousy (cheap) digi cam probably 6 years ago. This is a Borg Warner trans and bell housing.
http://www.***boat.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=43723&d=1195938755
http://www.***boat.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=43724&d=1195938763
http://www.***boat.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=43725&d=1195938771

[Jeff U.]

Thanks Dave. That middle one gives me something to go on.
Sounds like the Merc trans is more typical. How would I know if it needed to be rebuilt? Can you even get them rebuilt?
Jeff

[Jeff U.]

There are a couple of other boards you can search for info on also. Also the Mercuiserparts site. If you want PM me I can get you more places to look.
Could you please send me your email address? I'd like to ask a few more questions.
Thanks
Jeff

[DMOORE]

Jeff,
The TRS drive with the merctrans is a very reliable set up, if you stay under 500hp. The merc trans is not as strong as the Borge Warner but still works very well. Ford designed the Merctrans for Mercury and it is essentially a c6 with one forward gear and reverse.Ithe merstrans is also shorter than a trs/ with BW trans. This allows the engine to be moved further back. They shift like butter and are easy to maneuver at the dock. I ran TRS's in a 32 Scarab and never had a bit of trouble. They were coupled to healthy 468's and spent a lot of time airborne. In a smaller daycruiser which most likely doesn't spend time in the ocean, it will be damn near industructable. Due to the deep running of the drive, stick with a 3 blade cleaver. Everyone that runs a TRS that I know, has had the best luck with these. BAM deals in parts for the TRS and you may be able to find props and such on offshoreonly.com ,if needed. I personally would not hesitate to purchase another TRS boat if it were clean. Infact in the offshore community, many people are installing the Konrad (which is an updated TRS) instead if Bravos, because they are more reliable.
Darrell.
Darrell.