Duoprop rams - replace, rejuvenate, renew?!

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djingrouille

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Afternoon all,

The er delightful news that the rams on the duoprop are leaking and need replacing came in today - woo! Would you advise biting the bullet and replacing with new, replacing with reconditioned, or overhauling the existing ones and replacing seals etc. Cost of doing the work is a factor, but as is the longevity of overhauled or reconditioned rams. All opinions welcome!

TIA
Dan

:)
 
I assume we are talking Volvo?

Having just been through this I would say it depends on a couple of things.

1. Can the existing rams be removed without taken engines out, or shifting them forward. This requires small cutouts in the transom behind the engine which the builder should have put in during build. I didn't have these.

2. How pitted and worn are the rams? If they are pitted, they will need polishing to stop them damaging new seals. It doesn't take much polishing to reduce their diameter which means the new seals wont seal properly. In this case you'll need to have them re coated and ground down. (Hardened Chrome coating not soft). At this point the cost of refurbing is creeping up to a point where replacement might just be easier. (subject to number 1 above of course)

Properly overhauled rams, using quality components, should last as long as a new one.
 
We are indeed talking Volvo. Thankfully the rams can be removed without engine removal. Rams themselves don't seem too bad to my untrained eye. How much, as a ballpark, are we talking for a set of new rams? I can get some a pair of reconditioned ones for £250.

Cheers
 
I have just replaced the seals on two on my VP290 rams and it was a very easy job. I obtained the seal kits from Seabridge marine but you can get them off Ebay too.. about £50 per RAM which is a bit steep for what the kit entails to be honest but hey ho, much cheaper than new or recon rams.. A good set of Stilsons (< £10 from Halfords if you don't have any) will remove the cap and there's a guide in one of the online mags to show how to do it once the ram innards have been removed. I can send you a link. Took me about 20mins per RAM to replace and looked a quality job once done. Mine only had a slight seeping of oil and a duff pump which I also replaced, changed the seals more as a precautionary measure.
 
I have just struggled to free off pins even though transom shield is on my bench, it would help if they were greased during assembly in the factory, I decided to remove them and grease them before fitting transom shield to boat, I will make sure the cut outs are there in case they fail and have to remove them, I don't intend removing engine again once its fitted.
Rather than chew the ends up with a Stilson you can get a proper spanner to fit the ends.
 
Surely it depends on the drive(s) you have. "Duoprop" is very vague. DPS ones are very easy to remove and rebuild kits including the shafts are quite cheap; others may be less so. There's no cut outs or no stupid pins holding the DPS ones in place
 
I bought refurbished ones from ebay and they lasted 3 years until i sold the boat.

I understood that Volvo had significantly reduced the price of these rams in the last 18 months or so, so It maybe worth looking at new ones?
 
jrudge said:
I bought refurbished ones from ebay and they lasted 3 years until i sold the boat.

I understood that Volvo had significantly reduced the price of these rams in the last 18 months or so, so It maybe worth looking at new ones?
Click to expand...

Current price is £473 inc vat each.
 
I think at 473 a piece I'll be opting for the refurb option! They're 290 duoprops coupled to an AD41. I'm just thankful that the job can be done without engine removal!
 
I have the same 290 with AD41..
I removed the ends, checked the bores, installed new seals, with no problems..
Top tips.. Use quality parts..Make sure the ram rods are not scored..and use a decent pin wrench when dismantling..
I did mine 2 years ago, and they are fine..
I also identified a problem with my pump, and bought a replacement from the States, as they are no longer available through VP dealers..
The presets, are slightly different, and it wont trim under full power, but as it saved me 2k over new rams pump labour etc etc..I will live with it..
 
Eventually chose Trident Marine Services (Guernsey) to do the work as there were other bits and bobs that also needed doing. Have to say I was mightily impressed with their customer service and the quality of work done. I wouldn't hesitate recommending them to anyone, and their prices are around half what other local companies were quoting. Absolutely faultless.
 
We replaced the seals in ours last winter. Cant remember the exact cost but it was about £30 for the kit to do two rams.

No need to take the rams off the boat as they can be dismantled from outside the boat and the seals replaced from there.
 
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