How often do you change sail drive oil?

Yanmar recommend every 100 hours for my SD20 saildrive. They also recommend changing the diaphragm every 5 years.

Conversely I have never changed the gearbox or Diff oil on any car I have owned.
 
TiggerToo said:
... as per title.

What would you recommend for Tigger's saildrive (a VP120S if that is relevant)?
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I believe your owners manual says every 200 hours or at least once a year

Service every 200 hours of operation, or at least once a year

10.Drain the oil from the S-drive. Use a collecting vessel. Contact an authorised Volvo Penta Service Workshop if the oil looks grey.
Warning! Hot oil can cause burn injuries.

11.Refill the S-drive with new oil. See “Technical data” regarding oil quality and viscosity.
NB. Do not screw down the dipstick when measuring the oil level. If there is too much oil, the excess must be drained off.
Check the tightening of the dipstick and the plug.
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Bluenote2 said:
Conversely I have never changed the gearbox or Diff oil on any car I have owned.
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Ditto.

And I only change the hypoid oil in my Yanmars when the shaft seals go and water emulsion starts to appear in the oil so around every 5 years.

Others will have a very different approach and will change the oil at the recommended service interval .... and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Richard
 
I change mine every year when the boat is lifted. Draining it from the bottom rather than pumping it out also gives me a chance to clean off the small amount of swath that collects on the magnetic drain plug.
 
Yanmar SD50 requires an oil with specific additives which, of course, costs a small fortune at around £20 a litre. Only one brand available, seemingly. From Google, it appears that this gearbox can exhibit early life issues with its cone clutch so it's worth an annual change in my view. After filling the gearbox, it takes a good while to establish the level as it's prone to air lock in the small galleries. Overfilling is critical as it will cause the oil to blow out of the input shaft seal.

Overall, a high maintenance gearbox, certainly as others have noted, compared to automotive.

Don't get me started on the ridiculous 5 year deal change routine.
 
davidjackson said:
Yanmar SD50 requires an oil with specific additives which, of course, costs a small fortune at around £20 a litre. Only one brand available, seemingly. From Google, it appears that this gearbox can exhibit early life issues with its cone clutch so it's worth an annual change in my view. After filling the gearbox, it takes a good while to establish the level as it's prone to air lock in the small galleries. Overfilling is critical as it will cause the oil to blow out of the input shaft seal.

Overall, a high maintenance gearbox, certainly as others have noted, compared to automotive.

Don't get me started on the ridiculous 5 year deal change routine.
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It's a monograde SAE90 which, I believe conforms to GL-5/synthetic but Quicksilver are very protective about releasing the detailed spec ..... for the reason you clearly understand. :(

Richard
 
davidjackson said:
Yanmar SD50 requires an oil with specific additives which, of course, costs a small fortune at around £20 a litre. Only one brand available, seemingly. From Google, it appears that this gearbox can exhibit early life issues with its cone clutch so it's worth an annual change in my view. After filling the gearbox, it takes a good while to establish the level as it's prone to air lock in the small galleries. Overfilling is critical as it will cause the oil to blow out of the input shaft seal.

Overall, a high maintenance gearbox, certainly as others have noted, compared to automotive.

Don't get me started on the ridiculous 5 year deal change routine.
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RichardS said:
It's a monograde SAE90 which, I believe conforms to GL-5/synthetic but Quicksilver are very protective about releasing the detailed spec ..... for the reason you clearly understand. :(

Richard
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But the OP's Volvo Penta 120S drive uses engine oil ... and can use any decent brand of automotive engine oil of the correct specification. No reason therefore on oil cost grounds to economise on oil change intervals.

What a Yanmar SD50 uses is irrelevant.
 
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I am relatively new to saildrives, but to my mind there is a risk of making things worse by draining ashore, if perchance the rubber o-ring doesn't seal properly. Sure at least 9/10 it will be fine, but if wrong could do a lot of harm.
Hence I am inclined to pump out from above and replace annually, as minimal cost and risk from this approach. Only drain from bottom perhaps 5 yearly or so. So far oil coming out looked perfect
 
VicS said:
But the OP's Volvo Penta 120S drive uses engine oil
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Not all of them, the 120S-E uses API GL-5 SAE 75W-90 (gear oil) as per current Volvo specification. It is the exception though - for all the other revisions and all the other models it's "same as engine" oil.

I change mine whenever I haul out, which last was October 2015 (fitted new seals then), and every couple months I check for water (after motoring - no point at all checking after it's been sitting, it'll have separated again with the oil on top). Since this model can absolutely not be drained from the dipstick/filler cap (cannot get the hose down because it can't go around several 90 degree bends), it's a haulout for every change (although one crafty german cruiser has documented an in the water oil change, involving diving equipment, a long hose attached to a drilled out drain screw and a bicycle pump screwed into the filler cap to pressurize the drive from inside).

The main risk with saildrives is water ingress - otherwise it's like any other gearbox, and I know of at least one (Hurth) that has gone 6 years between oil changes and covered serious mileage in that time - although the oil did look a bit spent by the time it came out. If you however resist the temptation of checking the dipstick too often, the unit stays pressurized, which even with bad seals keeps most of the water out.
 
Yngmar said:
Not all of them, the 120S-E uses API GL-5 SAE 75W-90 (gear oil) as per current Volvo specification. It is the exception though - for all the other revisions and all the other models it's "same as engine" oil.

I change mine whenever I haul out, which last was October 2015 (fitted new seals then), and every couple months I check for water (after motoring - no point at all checking after it's been sitting, it'll have separated again with the oil on top). Since this model can absolutely not be drained from the dipstick/filler cap (cannot get the hose down because it can't go around several 90 degree bends), it's a haulout for every change (although one crafty german cruiser has documented an in the water oil change, involving diving equipment, a long hose attached to a drilled out drain screw and a bicycle pump screwed into the filler cap to pressurize the drive from inside).

The main risk with saildrives is water ingress - otherwise it's like any other gearbox, and I know of at least one (Hurth) that has gone 6 years between oil changes and covered serious mileage in that time - although the oil did look a bit spent by the time it came out. If you however resist the temptation of checking the dipstick too often, the unit stays pressurized, which even with bad seals keeps most of the water out.
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You got it in before me :) my 120E uses Synthetic gear oil
 
In 2004 out the instructions for my ( then new)120s saildrive said use 15w-40, as for the engine, but a couple of years ago they put out an amendment changing that & it is now automatic transmission fluid i believe.
I have stuck with the original. I change the oil every year.
Volspec explained to me that the biggest problem with the saildrive is the cintered clutches & it was to prevent excessive wear that Volvo changed the spec. They also explained that any water in the saildrive would accelerate damage to the clutch plates & replacement is expensive.

One further point- fit a new drain plug washer every time.
The correct washer for the drain plug is essential as oil in the gearbox can be expensive- having the wrong one cost me 500+ euros, a lost week of my holiday abroad & a near heart attack dealing with the French Volvo dealers & DHL parcel service (who took 12 months to deliver spare parts from the UK to Cherbourg)
 
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In answer to OP's question, I've got a 120s that requires 15-40 engine oil. I change it every year, it only takes an hour and £20 of oil so can't really see the point in leaving it off the list of haul out jobs.

My drain plug has a screwdriver slot, I use a big (!) flat head with adjustable spanner on the hex shaft, so I can push up quite hard while using the spanner to undo. I'd imagine if you stick something a bit small in it and half heartedly turn you'll bugger the slot up quite easily.

But if it needed £150 of ATF and was difficult to do, I'd be more inclined to stretch the manufacturers recommendations.
 
Daydream believer said:
In 2004 out the instructions for my ( then new)120s saildrive said use 15w-40, as for the engine, but a couple of years ago they put out an amendment changing that & it is now automatic transmission fluid i believe.
I have stuck with the original. I change the oil every year.
Volspec explained to me that the biggest problem with the saildrive is the cintered clutches & it was to prevent excessive wear that Volvo changed the spec. They also explained that any water in the saildrive would accelerate damage to the clutch plates & replacement is expensive.

One further point- fit a new drain plug washer every time.
The correct washer for the drain plug is essential as oil in the gearbox can be expensive- having the wrong one cost me 500+ euros, a lost week of my holiday abroad & a near heart attack dealing with the French Volvo dealers & DHL parcel service (who took 12 months to deliver spare parts from the UK to Cherbourg)
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Hi, I've got the 120S saildrive. It's been in for 4 years now and the oil is still clear and clean, so I haven't changed it. I would like to know what sort of ATF Volvo now recommend as I have in mind to change the oil this spring. In my last saildrive (110S) I used gearbox oil around SAE80/90 without ill effects after I had trouble with water getting past the driveshaft seals.
 
philwebb said:
Hi, I've got the 120S saildrive. It's been in for 4 years now and the oil is still clear and clean, so I haven't changed it. I would like to know what sort of ATF Volvo now recommend as I have in mind to change the oil this spring. In my last saildrive (110S) I used gearbox oil around SAE80/90 without ill effects after I had trouble with water getting past the driveshaft seals.
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They don't. With the exception of the 120S-E which I had forgotten about until reminded by Yngmar above they use engine oil, See the link in Yngmar's post to the current VolvoPenta specification.

See also the Service bulletin issued in October 2010 :- http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=22917&d=1295403898 which refers to the cahnge from ATF to engine oil for 130S and 150S drives
 
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