New Mercury Verado gearcases
Mercury Marine recently announced that its six-cylinder Verado outboards come with a new and improved 5.44in gearcase, making it 14 per cent larger than the existing 4.8 inch gearcase. It also contains a range of strengthened internal components.
The new gearbox features what Mercury Marine calls its “patented low copper content XK 360 Alloy with electro-deposition painting for superior corrosion protection” — which certainly sounds pretty high tech. It also has its stainless steel propeller shaft, drive shaft and shift shaft, as well as a sacrificial anode. Dual-water inlets and “patented low water pick up” help ensure a constant flow of cooler water to the engine.
The new gearcase has a 1.85 gear ratio and will now come as standard on most six-cylinder Verados from 200-300hp.
Mercury added that the change does not affect propellers. The new gearcase has been designed to work with all existing Mercury propellers which are suitable for six-cylinder engines.