lifted boat and discovered drive bellows are split

[kashurst]

lifted boat and discovered drive bellows are split
I have been following a post on another boat forum discussing an inspection out of the water by a potential purchaser. On examining the boat out of the water the drive bellows were found to be split exposing the UJs. Owner says drive oil was changed 2 years ago but not bellows which are 5 years old. Drive was serviced by respected local volvo engineer according to owners instructions.
- what would you think ???

 

[ARA]

lifted boat and discovered drive bellows are split
I have been following a post on another boat forum discussing an inspection out of the water by a potential purchaser. On examining the boat out of the water the drive bellows were found to be split exposing the UJs. Owner says drive oil was changed 2 years ago but not bellows which are 5 years old. Drive was serviced by respected local volvo engineer according to owners instructions.
- what would you think ???

I have Volvo outdrives and have always been led to believe bellows to be replaced every 2 years

 

[Portofino]

- what would you think ???

Classic case of deferred maintainance -offer should reflect , or walk away what else ?


When I had an out drive boat ,I used VP agents .Oil change every year ( along with anodes ) .Bellows every two .VP parts only .
@ Bellow ,s it was a 3 day job .Yup every two years drives off Monday am taken in the "engine shed " stripped down ,all the gears removed , checked ,measured , seals replaced rebuilt ,installed Wednesday Pm and refitted to boat .
Occasionally some minor part replaced -ranged from extra € 80-180 each time on top of the €1600 for the two drives .,approx €2K every 2 years ,with a smaller oil n anodes of €1000 I between .

After 9 y @ sale ,a nice thick folder was on the boat saloon table ,with 9 yrs, worth of bills
1st person ( A German Lotus franchise owner ) -sea trail and survey -bought it -took 3weeks from list to empty berth .
Got the impression from the SS broker thay were happy to list it .
Btw -it never let me down either -uneventful 9 y of VP outdrives .
Suspect something to do with "by the book " servicing .

 

[Momac]

Classic case of deferred maintainance -offer should reflect , or walk away what else ?


When I had an out drive boat ,I used VP agents .Oil change every year ( along with anodes ) .Bellows every two .VP parts only .
@ Bellow ,s it was a 3 day job .Yup every two years drives off Monday am taken in the "engine shed " stripped down ,all the gears removed , checked ,measured , seals replaced rebuilt ,installed Wednesday Pm and refitted to boat .
Occasionally some minor part replaced -ranged from extra € 80-180 each time on top of the €1600 for the two drives .,approx €2K every 2 years ,with a smaller oil n anodes of €1000 I between .

After 9 y @ sale ,a nice thick folder was on the boat saloon table ,with 9 yrs, worth of bills
1st person ( A German Lotus franchise owner ) -sea trail and survey -bought it -took 3weeks from list to empty berth .
Got the impression from the SS broker thay were happy to list it .
Btw -it never let me down either -uneventful 9 y of VP outdrives .
Suspect something to do with "by the book " servicing .

You were robbed.

 

[stelican]

You were robbed.

robbed 9 times!

 

[Portofino]

robbed 9 times!

That inc kad 300 engine service too -whole thing

I don,t feel so "robbed " -9 y of family boating -fly in --school hols ---has to plug n play -it did for 7-10 weeks / y .
I even had the heat exchanger s taken off and cleaned @ 5 y as per VP maintenance schedule -- boat was faultless temp guages never went up etc .

But for me the bigger pic was NOT stuck with Two boats .
Offloading an 10y old out drive boat in 3 weeks to the 1st prospect .
Believe me any yearly "robbed " was repaid at sale in my mind @ the back end --- and more importantly -piece of mind with family aboard .We went to Corsica ,Elba all over Italy in that little outdrive boat ,so for me it's a big Thankyou to Franc ,the guy who looked after it an employee of the VP dealer .
BTW he,s done a bits and bobs on my MAN 2876,s ----- changed all the black hoses and pipes for me --just good housekeeping @ my request € 60 /h + parts .

Buyers will look for a nice thick file on letterhead note paper and original parts invoices .

Having said that I accept there's a lot of DIY ers out there .
Wait for the offer and chip downs to avalanche @ sale if not allready priced to reflect -- or have it for sale for ever+ berth fees !

My argument is I got safe turn key family boating AND a quick turnaround ----- that's worth more than saving a few £ with keypart knock off parts and DIY .

 

[julians]

lifted boat and discovered drive bellows are split
I have been following a post on another boat forum discussing an inspection out of the water by a potential purchaser. On examining the boat out of the water the drive bellows were found to be split exposing the UJs. Owner says drive oil was changed 2 years ago but not bellows which are 5 years old. Drive was serviced by respected local volvo engineer according to owners instructions.
- what would you think ???

The bellows should be changed every two years, if these have not been done for 5 years then theres a higher chance of other things not being done right

 

[Momac]

I am certainly not wishing to pick fault with people who attend to service of engines and transmission in good time.
I also agree with the annual inspection of outdrives in that there is always the possibility of water getting in and if caught in good time is not a major issue.

The use of genuine parts for bellows - or indeed any outdrive part being essential.

However i have not personally encountered a need to strip and rebuild an outdrive - even though I have always using a VP main dealer for outdrive service and giving instruction to do whatever is necessary.
Where I have heard of a stripping down being done it has been in the case of serious water ingress or some other fault.
.

 

[Boat2016]

You can't blame the VP dealer for service that was carried out 5 years ago, we all know you should do the bellows every 2 years so don't complain when they fail because they were left, more to the point, where else has the owner cut corners with the maintenance?

 

[rlw]

Had a similar situation with a 290DP drive. New bellows and oil and was good to go. No dammage found by VP dealer and ran the boat 5 years after that incident.
Haver the universal joint checked.

Good luck

 

[Boat2016]

That inc kad 300 engine service too -whole thing

I don,t feel so "robbed " -9 y of family boating -fly in --school hols ---has to plug n play -it did for 7-10 weeks / y .
I even had the heat exchanger s taken off and cleaned @ 5 y as per VP maintenance schedule -- boat was faultless temp guages never went up etc .

But for me the bigger pic was NOT stuck with Two boats .
Offloading an 10y old out drive boat in 3 weeks to the 1st prospect .
Believe me any yearly "robbed " was repaid at sale in my mind @ the back end --- and more importantly -piece of mind with family aboard .We went to Corsica ,Elba all over Italy in that little outdrive boat ,so for me it's a big Thankyou to Franc ,the guy who looked after it an employee of the VP dealer .
BTW he,s done a bits and bobs on my MAN 2876,s ----- changed all the black hoses and pipes for me --just good housekeeping @ my request € 60 /h + parts .

Buyers will look for a nice thick file on letterhead note paper and original parts invoices .

Having said that I accept there's a lot of DIY ers out there .
Wait for the offer and chip downs to avalanche @ sale if not allready priced to reflect -- or have it for sale for ever+ berth fees !

My argument is I got safe turn key family boating AND a quick turnaround ----- that's worth more than saving a few £ with keypart knock off parts and DIY .

I'm all for the belt and braces approach when it comes to looking after your boat and in your case it was well worth it for 2 reasons - 1 you had all those years of trouble free boating and 2 - you sold easily when it was time to change.
Many will say it was OTT to strip drives but for you it looks like it was better than waiting for if to go wrong and spoiling your holiday.

 

[A_8]

lifted boat and discovered drive bellows are split
I have been following a post on another boat forum discussing an inspection out of the water by a potential purchaser. On examining the boat out of the water the drive bellows were found to be split exposing the UJs. Owner says drive oil was changed 2 years ago but not bellows which are 5 years old. Drive was serviced by respected local volvo engineer according to owners instructions.
- what would you think ???

Was the boat pressure washed before discovering the bellows were split?

 

[spannerman]

The important thing now is to establish if there is any major damage. The drives need to be checked for water ingress as the steel spacer which the seal behind the U/J sits on can rust damaging the seal and letting the oil out and seawater in. I have replaced dozens of these over the years due to water ingress via the bellows. The drive will need to come off to inspect this shaft and seal properly and at the same time examine the intermediate shaft in the transom as any seawater in there will destroy the bearing so the bearing and seals will usually need replacing.
And if there is water in the drive oil I would want the gears examining as the small gear at the bottom of the vertical shaft is the weakest link and can shed teeth which will then require a complete lower gear set £££££.
These are the things I have experienced over the years, having said that these drives are very robust and you could be lucky that nothing has been damaged but I wouldn't proceed with the purchase without knowing more.

 

[A_8]

I've had water in my drives and they have come back ok from examination (yes autorized vp guys) but the the next year and the year after I have had to replace the bearings and more some years after that.
Did not realize it's a boat you are considering buying but if it was me and there was just a trace of water in the oil I would negotiate from the perspective they will need to be stripped and at a minimum having the bearings replaced.
Water in the oil is really not something you want, even if it seems minor you could very well get a slight damage on a gear tooth and a few hundred hours later it will start to sound bad with a lot of costs to fix.
When I think about it, if there is proof of water in the oil I would calculate on having to replace the drives or get a big refurb bill within 2-5 yrs depending on the hours and average torque you push through them.

 

[Gentlemanracer]

lifted boat and discovered drive bellows are split
I have been following a post on another boat forum discussing an inspection out of the water by a potential purchaser. On examining the boat out of the water the drive bellows were found to be split exposing the UJs. Owner says drive oil was changed 2 years ago but not bellows which are 5 years old. Drive was serviced by respected local volvo engineer according to owners instructions.
- what would you think ???

5 years! Full marks for honesty but that level of care & attention would make it a walk-away for me.

 

[oldgit]

When I had an out drive boat ,I used VP agents .Oil change every year ( along with anodes ) .Bellows every two .VP parts only .
Btw -it never let me down either -uneventful 9 y of VP outdrives .
Suspect something to do with "by the book " servicing .

Sounds like the manufacturers recommended servicing for any outdrive boat.
Especially to ensure long term reliability during long term ownership.
A few owners appear to be in denial about just how much attention and cash needs to be spent on outdrives to keep them going ?

 

[[2068]]

You don't need both.
Either you pay close attention to maintenance, or you pay out lots of cash. Lots of owners choose the latter, for whatever reasons.