"bowgus" wrote in message
t.cable.rogers.com...
Something I read awhile back ... dunno if it's true ... due to the way a
diesel fires as compared to a gas engine, it would hammer your OMC
(designed
for a gas) apart ... ???

It was in response to my (exact) question that wgsant asked. It turned out
that the torque of the diesel during shifting would eventually destroy the
gear sets. When you shift the computer kills one side of the engine to
reduce the torque and allow the gears to engage easily. It would be
imposable to cause the diesel to momentarily stall during shifting. So yes
you can install the diesel but it would kill the drive relatively fast. In
my case I chose to build a little cash and go with the Mercruiser Diesel
Sterndrive. They are a little expensive but should be a nice upgrade.
Besides getting parts for the OMC will be come a issue and since the new
owners of OMC (Bombardier) are known for poor quality products, it makes
sense not to stick with the OMC if it is time to replace the hardware. I
caught up with a guy in Mexico that had a set of diesel Merc's in his ferry
and he said they have not been a problem.

good luck,
mark

http://www.cmdmarine.com/recreationalsterndrives.html