How much to service change bellows on Volvo DPH?

[Portofino]

@OP wait for the call “oils emulsified “ !
Ask the members on hear about new seals + pressure testing.
One more while it’s off “ the UJ joints corroded it’s got wet afraid “

Mentally add X % on to your quotes for theses discovery s .

 

[kennyh]

@OP wait for the call “oils emulsified “ !
Ask the members on hear about new seals + pressure testing.
One more while it’s off “ the UJ joints corroded it’s got wet afraid “

Mentally add X % on to your quotes for theses discovery s .

I’ve been there before - drive got complete rebuild 3yrs ago.

Thankfully each oil change since then has been perfect.

The drive is now scheduled to be serviced by a trusted local marine mechanic at a reasonable cost; hopefully that will be problem free.

 

[Sticky Fingers]

I’ve been there before - drive got complete rebuild 3yrs ago.

Thankfully each oil change since then has been perfect.

The drive is now scheduled to be serviced by a trusted local marine mechanic at a reasonable cost; hopefully that will be problem free.

Great stuff. I see you've also posted on the VP owners' group on FB (or at least I guess it's you!) be interesting to see what other inpout you get.

 

[[2068]]

You know how I feel then after a day

I can do a few hours of the basic tasks, but I’m ready for an afternoon nap by 3pm, and the next day is spent catching up with TV on the sofa.
There’s no way I could do it every day.

 

[timbad]

Yes, lost the VP agency.

Who has taken the VP agency over ?

 

[Boat2016]

Its scary how much dealers charge, I regularly did in a twin D6 full service in a day, both engines serviced before lunch, both drives off and serviced after lunch. Bill £3,000 for which I got payed £160.

I doubt that can be done properly in that time seeing how long my engineer has taken to do the same job, no wonder dealers are getting a bad name. Rushing to get done is how mistakes get made.

 

[DavidJ]

I’ve noticed a few people mention new hose along with bellows change. I have my bellows changed every two years but is it normal to always have the hose changed at the same frequency?
I do all the engine servicing myself.

 

[Sticky Fingers]

Who has taken the VP agency over ?

Nobody. It’s Golden Arrow only now AFAIK.

 

[BruceK]

I’ve noticed a few people mention new hose along with bellows change. I have my bellows changed every two years but is it normal to always have the hose changed at the same frequency?
I do all the engine servicing myself.

The concern is when the rubber softens that it can collapse under the vacuum pressure or delaminate inside doing similar, especially when adjusting drive trim. I changed mine once as a matter of course and I have seen no deterioration in 5 years. So no it doesnt get changed to the bellows schedule for me and unlike the UJ bellows it's not something that will go unnoticed if it fails causing catastrophic damage. Your temp alarm will tell you soon enough there is a problem. Once you return to displacement speed it would sort itself out being under water an low vacuum allowing you to get back too.

 

[spannerman]

I doubt that can be done properly in that time seeing how long my engineer has taken to do the same job, no wonder dealers are getting a bad name. Rushing to get done is how mistakes get made.

Absolutely no rush involved, not at my age, its calling being organised and having over 25 yrs on Volvo, if you know your job then its very easy, plus over 2000 bellows changes helps!. I had vacuum oil pump out and all the tools and parts ready. Interestingly I have accrued a collection of customers who have followed me from one dealer to another and won’t have anyone else work on their boat, I am sure VolvoPaul has experienced the same. We had no problem keeping customers in fact we had a policy of not working on boats more than 10 yrs old as we had so much work and thats with 9 mechanics to keep busy! So without seeing my work IMHO your doubts are irrelevant.

 

[Scubadoo]

Is the DPH drive more complicated/labour intensive to change bellows and service compared to a DPE drive, just seems to me the prices quoted on here are alot higher.

 

[[2068]]

DPH service prices above are Volvo Dealer prices.
DPH drive is heavier, tie bar on twin installations, external steering rams, props have to come off to drain the oil, extra anode on tie bar, etc.

Just changing the oil and anodes on a DPH drive is a straightforward DIY task.
Changing the bellows, not so much.

 

[Sticky Fingers]

DPH service prices above are Volvo Dealer prices.
DPH drive is heavier, tie bar on twin installations, external steering rams, props have to come off to drain the oil, extra anode on tie bar, etc.

Just changing the oil and anodes on a DPH drive is a straightforward DIY task.
Changing the bellows, not so much.

Mine's a twin but no tie bar. It has the so-called "electronic" steering, each leg steered independently so I can imagine that means there's even more to go wrong....

 

[Scubadoo]

DPH service prices above are Volvo Dealer prices.
DPH drive is heavier, tie bar on twin installations, external steering rams, props have to come off to drain the oil, extra anode on tie bar, etc.

Just changing the oil and anodes on a DPH drive is a straightforward DIY task.
Changing the bellows, not so much.

Thanks that explains it, I was also referring to dealer prices in comparing DPH and DPE.

 

[[2068]]

Mine's a twin but no tie bar. It has the so-called "electronic" steering, each leg steered independently so I can imagine that means there's even more to go wrong....

Aha, very nice.
£2100 for the hydraulic unit, £2900 for the control unit ... hopefully a reliable piece of kit ???
These things typically work very well for the first and second owners.
It's whoever is at the helm 10 years+ later that can end up with a floppy and rather thin looking wallet.

 

[Sticky Fingers]

Aha, very nice.
£2100 for the hydraulic unit, £2900 for the control unit ... hopefully a reliable piece of kit ???

Yes. It's part of the Aquamatic joystick pack. Stock boat, I didn't choose it and I rarely use it. But may appeal on resale.

 

[[2068]]

Yes. It's part of the Aquamatic joystick pack. Stock boat, I didn't choose it and I rarely use it. But may appeal on resale.

Anything that makes mooring less stressful is going to be attractive, I would have thought.

 

[madabouttheboat]

The joy of lifting and as boat emerges dripping, spending a whole 30 seconds to check no one has stolen your stern gear.
Give everything a wiggle to check for wear.
Jet wash hull.
Undo 4 bolts holding a couple of anodes.
Wack on coat of A/F ........................................... back into the water .
The same last year, this year and very very probably the next few years after that.

£50.00 for the anodes.
£ 120.00 for some really expensive Anti -Foul.
The real expensive bit is buying your coffee and roll in the caff during the dull boring hours waiting to go back in.
Light relief can sometimes be provided watching people lying on their back in the slurry under the boat stabbing a screwdriver into various crevices in a strange aluminium casting hanging off the back of their boat. If you hang aroung long enough you can watch them applying (lying on their back)some thick grey paint from a tiny weeny tin(several needed ) , most of it directly onto all the barncules they have either failed to find or simply given up trying to remove.

There is an alternative ?
A revolutionary low cost KISS propulsion system that will go for years without costing you a fortune !
Any guesses what it is

You must give me the details of your everlasting cutlass bearings and lifetime maintenance free shaft seal. I assume your shafts never needs replacing either due to wear. Are they made from a special grade of stainless?

 

[Sticky Fingers]

Yes. It's part of the Aquamatic joystick pack. Stock boat, I didn't choose it and I rarely use it. But may appeal on resale.

Anything that makes mooring less stressful is going to be attractive, I would have thought.

Well, it certainly does that. My own, errr, challenge is that I came to mobos via decades of sailing yachts and have had to unlearn a lot of things rather quickly. I feared becoming dependent on the joystick so have used it very sparingly. That said, I found it very handy when reverse parking into astern-to pontoon raft at Yarmouth in a stiff crosswind...

 

[madabouttheboat]

I’ve noticed a few people mention new hose along with bellows change. I have my bellows changed every two years but is it normal to always have the hose changed at the same frequency?

I changed mine last time I did the bellows. I suspect the intake hoses on my late 90's boat were the originals. I think once every 5-10 years should be fine as long as inspected each year.

The concern is when the rubber softens that it can collapse under the vacuum pressure or delaminate inside doing similar, especially when adjusting drive trim.

All of the old ones I have taken off, three in total. Two were probably 20+ years old and the other was probably 25+ years old, have gone hard rather than soft. More chance of cracking than collapsing I suspect. No signs of delaminating inside any of them.