Colour of outdrive oil? plus other questions

[RIN]

So its commissioning time and I thought this would be something I could do myself this year as the (1994) Volvo 290DP legs were taken off the boat and serviced professionally last year (as they are every two years). I thought it would just be a case of draining the oil and filling with fresh oil but I have run into 3 snags I need the advice of our forum on

Problem no1

The colour of the oil out of the two drives was different. I hope this comes across in the picure

There was also a little bit of white stuff in both samples

So is this normal? Can I just refill and carry on or do I need to throw copious amounts of pound notes at them?

Problem no2

The play in the legs which I noticed when taking the props off surprised me. There was about 3-4mm of play in the fork. Is this normal? I went around other Volvo sterndrives on the hard and some were as loose as mine, some had no play at all

Problem no3

One of the legs would not go down. The trim pump works when going up, I have removed and cleaned the two relays on the pump bracket, and then swapped them over and it still will raise but not lower. I also swapped the relays at the helm over from port to starboard and still the leg will raise but not lower. Any suggestions for what to try next?

Any advice gratefully received on all or any of these problems

 

[Cymrogwyllt]

you may well have water contamination of the oil. Possibly linking points 1 and 2

 

[scottie]

You have some oil in your water I would suggest

 

[volvopaul]

I have just overhauled 7 drives in the last 2 weeks all with water in the oil.

The correct way is to totally strip the drive, renew all seals and o rings, clean out the oilways and rebuild.

The play in the steering hood bushes is normal, just grease the steering arm that may take some of the play out.



sounds like you have electrical issues, do you have a reading on the trim indicator? maybe the potentiometer has failed, if there is no reading on the gauge.

Failing that get an engineer.

 

[twilliams_34]

One of the drives was mine, thanks Paul excellent service.

Tony

 

[VicS]

Cannot explain the difference in colour if they were both the same oil originally but they should remain "clear and bright" .
Any milkiness is an indication of water ingress.

 

[CX54WEK]

If it is any consolation yours are nowhere nearly as badly contaminated as ours was (see "Out She Comes" thread) and we spent a fortune having ours proffesionally serviced 12 months ago

Still the cause of our contamination was quite plain to see when the boat was lifted (plus we found a couple of missing o rings from the dipstick and oil drain plug!!

We will service our own drive from now on. We only have one person to blame when it goes wrong then.

 

[Scubadoo]

I've just had my outdrive serviced (the usual two year service) and asked the professional about the play, he said the same as Volvopaul - so I don't think you need to worry about that.

I would more concerned about "P" than the other one and suggest you get it looked at professionally.

 

[DAKA]

Pleae can yopu supply a few more details..........

How long had the drives rested before you removed the oil
(1 month/5 hours)

Were both samples taken at the same time
( start of draining/ mid drain/ last few drips)

Now the samples have settled what is in the bottom of the jar
(2 drops of water / 1/4 inch of water /no water)

Were you present at the last service as both legs had new oil replaced,
( it is possible that the engineer decided as the oil in s leg was clear he may as well save you money and not change the port one)


If the samples havent settled now with any water, and your samples were taken from the bottom of the drain, and tehre is a possibility that one sample has 100 hours more use than the other then it is time to top up with fresh oil .

Then check the oil in 3 months, I can detail how to check oil from a submerged leg if you arent already aware of the procedure.

The oil you have removed is not spent and is not causing any damage, although agreed it needs changing.

 

[AdeOlly]

Problem no3

One of the legs would not go down. The trim pump works when going up, I have removed and cleaned the two relays on the pump bracket, and then swapped them over and it still will raise but not lower. I also swapped the relays at the helm over from port to starboard and still the leg will raise but not lower. Any suggestions for what to try next?

I had exactly the same problem with mine a few weeks back. I have '97 DP-D1 drives, and the following was what I found.

I tried all the things you have tried, and eventually found it was the helm switch at fault. I have the black rectangular trim switch panels. These can be tested by swapping them over port to stbd, there is a circular connector plug on a short fly lead from switch. If that is the problem don't pay VP main dealer price which is nearly £100! Can be had for a fraction elsewhere.

You can also test the function of the trim motor by 'hot wiring' it. If it's the same as mine you will see a pair of wires leading to the relays, one green and one blue. Green is to trim down (green grass) and blue up (blue sky). There should be a connector plug near the trim motor for these. Disconnect and using a wire, with the ignition on, connect each in turn on the relay side to the battery or other +ve supply. The relays should activate and the drive should trim up and down appropriately. BTW, both relays need to be in place for the drive to trim.

 

[RIN]

Pleae can yopu supply a few more details..........

Hi Daka

How long had the drives rested before you removed the oil
(1 month/5 hours)


Rested for two months.

Were both samples taken at the same time
( start of draining/ mid drain/ last few drips)

The stbd leg was taken immediately, the port was taken almost immediatley

Now the samples have settled what is in the bottom of the jar
(2 drops of water / 1/4 inch of water /no water)

No visible water, a faint whiteness at the bottom of the stbd jamjar, fainter still on the port jamjar

Were you present at the last service as both legs had new oil replaced,
( it is possible that the engineer decided as the oil in s leg was clear he may as well save you money and not change the port one)

No I wasn't present I have been charged for 6L of oil though so that would be for two legs


I will check the oil in the jamjars tomorrow and see if any more has precipitated

 

[RIN]

I had exactly the same problem with mine a few weeks back. I have '97 DP-D1 drives, and the following was what I found.

I tried all the things you have tried, and eventually found it was the helm switch at fault. I have the black rectangular trim switch panels. These can be tested by swapping them over port to stbd, there is a circular connector plug on a short fly lead from switch. If that is the problem don't pay VP main dealer price which is nearly £100! Can be had for a fraction elsewhere.

You can also test the function of the trim motor by 'hot wiring' it. If it's the same as mine you will see a pair of wires leading to the relays, one green and one blue. Green is to trim down (green grass) and blue up (blue sky). There should be a connector plug near the trim motor for these. Disconnect and using a wire, with the ignition on, connect each in turn on the relay side to the battery or other +ve supply. The relays should activate and the drive should trim up and down appropriately. BTW, both relays need to be in place for the drive to trim.

Thanks I will give this a go when I get a chance to get down to the boat again

 

[RIN]

OK oil has had a good chance to settle down now - Is this bad or can it wait until next year when the legs will come off for a service anyway?

 

[Rum_Pirate]

Erm, remember that oil floats on water!

 

[scottie]

Check the cost of replacement drives plus lift out etc.
Worry until it's sorted

Or sort it now ?

If you know it's suspect you will not feel comfortable until it's sorted

But it's your boat and your money and wont cost us if we say leave it till next year

 

[volvopaul]

Any water content in oil turns the oil into virtually a useless product, if I was clever enough to post pics on here id fill posts with all the nasties that volvo have designed over the years, though to be fair to them nothing will last left dangling in sea water.

Running drives with oil/water mix just destroys the case hardening on gears then rips the teeth off, wears the cone faces which then causes slippage which then burns the oil (ever drained your oil and its jet black) thats a slipping cone clutch.

Prop seal replacement should be classed as a service item every year in a schedule thats designed to give years of work, but once the drives been contaminated it takes years off its life, id say boats in the Humber and Bristol channel suffer as the waters very dirty with sand and mud that acts like grinding paste to everything thats rotating in it, good for shot blasting its way around your heat exchangers though bit takes its toll on sea water pumps and impellers.

 

[DAKA]

The oil in your legs will have settled exactly the same as the oil in the jars.
In effect you are looking at the worst of the worst in the samples and the oil from the top of the legs should have been golden.
As you are looking at the total water content it isnt too bad but anyone would be daft not to follow Volvopauls advice/experience especially as you must assume the water came in one year and not over 3 years.


Over a 3 year period there will always be evidence of water in leg oil of any boat in frequent long distance use(perhaps a brand new leg used to be 100% water proof).

The leg heats up, the increased temperature forces air out of the o ring seals/shaft seal.

As the leg cools underwater there is negative pressure in the leg which has 12 months to suck small amounts of water past the rubber shaft seal.
There is 2 1/2 ft of water pressure combined with cooled oil/air negative pressure.
The water ingress will be especially noticeable on any boats kept in flowing water where the prop shaft rotates in the current slowly which helps the small amounts of water ingress.

The more times the leg gets warm/hot the more water will be sucked in, the older and more worn the shaft gets the poorer the seal will be(even after a new seal is fitted).

 

[RIN]

Yes I am going to get it done. Good advice from all thank you, esp Daka & Volvopaul. Hope to fix problem no3 first (leg will not come down) this week with info from AdeOlly's post.

 

[DAKA]

Yes I am going to get it done. Good advice from all thank you, esp Daka & Volvopaul. Hope to fix problem no3 first (leg will not come down) this week with info from AdeOlly's post.

Great news and saved me getting a 8***kin from Volvopaul

re getting your leg up

The 55amp fuse is worth checking.
they are aluminium and corrode becoming very unpredictable.
Bypass it to test.

White nylon size of a USB stick, port side close to your starter motor

 

[RIN]

The 55amp fuse is worth checking.
they are aluminium and corrode becoming very unpredictable.
Bypass it to test.

White nylon size of a USB stick, port side close to your starter motor

The pump operates when the leg goes up but not when down is selected. Does the fuse only protect the up movement?