sgvarn wrote:
First question, should I replace the spine of the drive? I tend to think these things were engineered with a purpose but don't know for sure how necessary they really are. Has anyone else done this?
The Drive alignment pin is only there as an insertion guide -- doesn't affect performance. If you still have a half pin it should work fine. I cut the pins off entirely to enable the newer Drives to fit my older boats. Otherwise, the pins don't affect performance in any way. They were added a few years ago to keep some users from putting the Drive in tilted too far forward to operate properly.
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Last, if I have to replace the spine is it worth the extra $40 to replace the Drive Drum with the newest version with bearing? Any special notes here?
IMO, better to wait and do the full upgrade later when something significant breaks or wears out.
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Any special tips or advice?
Just ignore it.