Gearbox oil leak

[SimonD]

My Volvo MS2 gearbox seems to have developed a leak. Can't see where it's coming from, but it's definitely gear oil in the bilge (way too clean for sump oil!).

Where could it be coming from and is it difficult and/or expensive to fix?

Grateful for any ideas - I'm in a bit of a flap!

Simon

 

[rivonia]

My Volvo MS2 gearbox seems to have developed a leak. Can't see where it's coming from, but it's definitely gear oil in the bilge (way too clean for sump oil!).

Where could it be coming from and is it difficult and/or expensive to fix?

Grateful for any ideas - I'm in a bit of a flap!

Simon

Are you sure it is oil and not DIESEL?

 

[SimonD]

Good question. I'm pretty sure. It looks like oil and I had to top up the gearbox. I'll check again though.

 

[earlybird]

I had this with a Beta engine & Hurth box. Turned out to be the input shaft oil seal. The oil leaked into the flywheel housing, then out through the drain-hole into the bilge.
Difficult to spot.
Just to cheer you up,( not really) at least in my case, it involved engine removal and separation of the housing to access the bolts retaining the gear-box.
Should add, the other places a gearbox can leak are the output shaft and the gear-change spindle, but leaks from here should be more obvious

 

[SimonD]

Thanks for that. It has cheered me up a bit - the gearbox will come out without the engine. Was it a bit job to change the oil seal? I'm a bit hampered by not being able to find a workshop manual for the MS2.

 

[Bosun Higgs]

Will depend on the detailed design of your box but likely not a big job.

As it happens I have exactly the same symptoms with an MD 2030 but in my case I suspect its the crankshaft oil seal

 

[earlybird]

[QUOTE Was it a bit job to change the oil seal? I'm a bit hampered by not being able to find a workshop manual for the MS2.[/QUOTE]

On the Hurth box, replacement of the seal was easy. IIRC it was retained by a plate held by 2 set-bolts. No dismantling of the box itself was required.
The guy I ordered the seal off said it was very unusual for it to fail, but it definitely fixed the leak I had.

 

[SimonD]

That's helpful - many thanks

 

[VicS]

Cannot help with a workshop manual but the parts catalogue for any of the Volvo Penta engines that normally use the MS2 gear box incldeds exploded diagrams for the gearbox.
Find your engine and then go to the transmissions section.

See http://www.marinepartseurope.com/en/volvo-penta-spare-parts.aspx
While not a substitute for a manual they can be very useful.

.

 

[D244]

MS2 & Spares MS2 g/Box

I have a MS2 workshop manual & a fairly recently overhauled gearbox for sale as a set if you get stuck.
Regards

 

[SimonD]

Vic - many thanks for the link, it's really useful.

D244 - thanks for the offer. I might take you up on the manual if I get stuck, but I hope I won't need a new box! (Assuming you'd be willing to sell separately that is).

Simon

 

[PeterGibbs]

I had this with a Beta engine & Hurth box. Turned out to be the input shaft oil seal. The oil leaked into the flywheel housing, then out through the drain-hole into the bilge.
Difficult to spot.
Just to cheer you up,( not really) at least in my case, it involved engine removal and separation of the housing to access the bolts retaining the gear-box.
Should add, the other places a gearbox can leak are the output shaft and the gear-change spindle, but leaks from here should be more obvious

Earlybird has usefully narrowed the options. Drive seal at the end of the crankshaft leaking into the flywheel casing smells suspicious, I fear. Oil is thrown out through the dry seal on the flywheel casing, depending on setup. Happened to me on my Perkins rig.

This small seal easily replaced but what a pallaver to get in and out. Dismantling the whole flywheel case required for access in the event this diagnosis is correct.

Obviously, you come to this conclusion only when you've tried every other possible source of oil leak. You can carry on in the interim I believe, topping up along the way; catastrophic sudden loss of oil is not likely at least in the early stages.

If, as Earlybird says, your leak is on the output end, you'd better get into dock pronto - not a push-on condition, I fear.

PWG