HOW MUCH!! Renew sail drive diaphragm!

XTE said:
Kerching! Oh my days. Do I really have to pay as silly amount to renew my 7 year old piece of rubber on my Volvo Penta 2030 sail drive?

Does anyone know a good engineer near Titchmarsh that wont charge me the earth?
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How much have you been quoted?

Bear in mind the engine has to come out......
 
XTE said:
£700. But my engine, for some reason, is fitted backwards, so the saildrive unit is nicely accessible under the companionway steps, so i dont think the engine needs to be removed.
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So is £300 of that the lift in lift out and storage ashore?
 
Nope, that £700 is £200 for rubber and £500 for labour. Lift and launch extra, but i have to do that anyway for antifoul.

I shall get another quote from fox's. I hope that they dont read this. If they quote £695 then i guess that will give me a clue!
 
Hm, tricky. Thats about 8 hours - not long at French Marine rates.

Of course, the one in my Jouet was nearly 20 years old, and still in good order. I inspected it most carefully and put rubber lubricant all over it before putting it back in.

I would say its a good case for condition monitored maintenance.

So, why can't you do it yourself while the boat is out for the winter?
 
I have never had a boat with a saildrive, but if I had been asked to come up with a figure for replacement by a yard, then £700 is the sort of money I think you would be talking. Lift out/in/parts/labour .....
 
XTE said:
Kerching! Oh my days. Do I really have to pay as silly amount to renew my 7 year old piece of rubber on my Volvo Penta 2030 sail drive?

Does anyone know a good engineer near Titchmarsh that wont charge me the earth?
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The locals (we know who we're talking about) will mostly quote 2 days' work = £600 odd plus parts (which shouldn't exceed £150) and will charge the full quoted price, of course.

Then there's the facts:
The leg takes about 3 hours to remove, the diaphragm 1 hour to replace (Volvo manual) and 2 hours to replace the lot - if there's no moving the enigne on its mounts. A bit longer if it has to be blocked and slid aside. Who removes the engine for this? But a good day's work.

Charging more is a scam, about which I've written loads already.

Solution? Get an engineer to do the job, not on estimates but hourly rate for time the job only, and parts (which you get discount from Keypart) Be there yourself to check it out. Save yourself £200+

Next time you can do it yourself - it's a lot more straightforward than taking the top off your engine, believe me.

PWG
 
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Whilst not jumping to the defense of every marine outlet in the UK, seems pretty reasonable to me.

A proper company with a warranty, premises, insurance, VAT, etc etc can't possible do anything at the same rates as your local jack of all trades.

Best of luck getting it done for less, but by the same token let's not begrudge a company making a few quid, if they are not in business next year any chance you might have getting a problem sorted are gone.

Not pointing the finger at anyone, but it does seem fashionable around here to knock the big guys.
 
XTE said:
My PBO arrived yesterday and there is a article devoted to this rubber seal replacement. Still dont fancy doing it myself and wasting a valuable weekend.

I shall look for a local engineer.
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if i were a "Local" engineer it would be a full days pay each day. where does one travel to for the last 2 hrs of a day. much different if marina based then its the nxt job on site therefore that would reflect in the price
 
Reading the article I thought it was quite easy to do and you'd save a dosh of money - it seems to be a two man job, but yours should be easy as the layout is back to front.
 
PetiteFleur said:
Reading the article I thought it was quite easy to do and you'd save a dosh of money - it seems to be a two man job, but yours should be easy as the layout is back to front.
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Did mine (not a back to front layout) a couple of years ago, it was not difficult at all. Probably easier to do it with 2 people even if access is good. The parts kit from Keypart was 150 quid 2 years ago.
 
PBO - March 11 - DIY Job - Just do it!

I had the same- Quotes from £800 > £1,200. So as I was thinking about this my PBO came though the post and guess what….. a full article about how to replace the saildrive diaphragm.
Let me start by stating that I am not a DIY minded person in anyway at all, changing a light bulb was my limit, however the thought of £900+ for that job was a joke. So I have attempted myself.

I have a 1990 MG Spring, so with PBO and a set of sockets in hand I went down below and followed the instructions, point by point.

Undid all the bolts as suggested… moved the engine forward and removed the saildrive. 1.5 hours later saildrive was out the boat and in the boot of my car. Not a hard job at all.

Next I ordered the kit from keypart (very helpful indeed) which came with the external flap as well. Purchased the flap adhesive as well so bill of £216.00 in VAT.

Got up this morning spent 1 hour in the garden with the parts, instructions and job done! I even managed to clean the outer casing of the leg as well
So far I am upto 2.5 Hours and all looking good.

Of course the proof is in the pudding and I need to put it back in (which I am doing tomorrow) and then it needs to be water tight. So I will keep you informed.

If you can manage to move your engine forward then I would really try this yourself.

J:D
 
J4YBS, Thats sounds very encouraging indeed. Thankk you. I wish you luck and look forward to your final update.

I have loads of other jobs to do and didnt fancy the idea of doing it myself but you now have me thinking.

Xyachtdave, dont worry about the big companies, they will charge what they need to to look after themselves and their services will alwayds be need by many. Last time i paid a professional to fit a new raw water pump for me they did a poor job without fitting the sealing ring properly and halfway accrooss the channel to Ostend I found my bilges full of oil. I had to remove and refit the pump properly myself, whilst in a heavy sea, so I should have done the job in the first place. It would have been cheaper and much safer!! I wont name the company bcause they did make it up to me and it may have just been a one off mistake.
 
j4ybs said:
Got up this morning spent 1 hour in the garden with the parts, instructions and job done! I even managed to clean the outer casing of the leg as well
So far I am upto 2.5 Hours and all looking good.

Of course the proof is in the pudding and I need to put it back in (which I am doing tomorrow) and then it needs to be water tight. So I will keep you informed.

J:D
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Hey J,
How did you get on??????
 
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