Oil leak!! VP 2003.

Sans Bateau

Sans Bateau

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It looks like the rear crankshaft oil seal has started to leak on my VP 2003 engine, there is evidence of oil, an egg cup full after 62 hours of motoring, under the rear of the engine. I cannot see anywhere were it can be coming from other than the flywheel housing.

My question is, can the oil seal be changed after removing the flywheel but without removing the sump? Has anyone done this?
 
I know.. it's not easy looking under this part of the engine...

Would I be right in guessing that the oil is the dark colour (like the used sump oil) rather than the cleaner colour (as it would be in the saildrive leg)?

I'm just asking because either gearcase or saildrive oil could leak out at this joint...
 
pvb said:
I think I could happily live with that.
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Mmm, not so sure about that, it has only just started and the leak seems to have accelerated, I would not want to evacuate the contents of the sump during some critical motoring session.
 
galadriel said:
Mmm, not so sure about that, it has only just started and the leak seems to have accelerated, I would not want to evacuate the contents of the sump during some critical motoring session.
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Your original post mentioned 62 hours though. Why say that if it's only just started leaking?
 
I had a puddle of oil under my VP2003 earlier this year. In fact it was just a small amount floating on some water. I cleaned it all up and it hasn't occurred again - so heavens what it was. I'd clean up and keep an eye on it. If it gets any worse or more frequent then it needs looking at. Are you sure its not dribbling down the block from a rocker cover leak?
 
pvb said:
Your original post mentioned 62 hours though. Why say that if it's only just started leaking?
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The 62 hours were done over a 3 week period, the engine is normally very clear with no residue of any kind beneath it, the oil was spotted in the last 20 hours of the 62 hour period, does that make sense?
 
galadriel said:
The 62 hours were done over a 3 week period, the engine is normally very clear with no residue of any kind beneath it, the oil was spotted in the last 20 hours of the 62 hour period, does that make sense?
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OK, so it's an eggcupful in 20 hours or so. Still not huge, and I'm not sure how you've judged that the leak has "accelerated". I'd just keep an eye on it for now. If the crankshaft seal is leaking, it's unlikely to suddenly empty the sump.

As for replacing the seal, to remove the flywheel you have to take off the flywheel housing cover, which I seem to recall is the mounting place for the rear engine mounts, so you'd have to support the weight of the engine in some way. Not the easiest job, especially in terms of access!

Incidentally, the turbocharged 2003T has an external mild steel high pressure oil pipe supplying the turbo. When that pipe corrodes and leaks, the speed with which it empties the sump is impressive. Don't ask how I know!
 
Yes I realise the flywheel has to come off, I realise the engine will have to be moved forward, what I do need to know though is does the sump need splitting from the block or can I extract the oil seal once the flywheel is off. Has anyone done this please?
 
Do these diagrams help... The first seems to show it does not interfere with the sump and sump gasket.
http://www.marinepartseurope.com/en/volvo-penta-explodedview-7726000-21-11548.aspx

It is taken from this folder of diagrams...
http://www.marinepartseurope.com/en/volvo-penta-cat-7726000.aspx

Hope this helps a little.. I am still guessing that this is black oil that's leaking and not the clearer saildrive oil... Rgds Martin.

PS - Hover over the diagram titles in the second link and you will see previews of the exploded diagrams.
 
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galadriel said:
Yes I realise the flywheel has to come off, I realise the engine will have to be moved forward, what I do need to know though is does the sump need splitting from the block or can I extract the oil seal once the flywheel is off. Has anyone done this please?
Click to expand...

The sump doesn't need to come off - the seal is fitted in the flywheel housing. I don't know whether you could extract the old one and fit a new one without taking the housing off. But if you've gone to the trouble of getting the flywheel off, it's only a case of removing the starter motor and a few bolts to get the flywheel housing off to do the job properly. There are some O-rings to be replaced too. The workshop manual has details on replacing the seal; if you don't have a manual, you can download one here.
 
Great, thanks, got the manual. It will probably wait 'till winter, when I can also change the saildrive input shaft to the DB marine version, may as well whilst its all out.
 
Just an update on this, maybe it could be useful to someone else. Yesterday I moved the engine to the saloon, and as pvb says, you can get the crankshaft oil seal out once the flywheel is removed. I used a small screwdriver and although I was expecting a bit of a battle the oil seal just about feel out. On close inspection, the part of the seal that was in contact with the crankshaft was in very good condition. The oil seal was such a loose fit in the housing though, the oil had been leaking there, this was visible from the oil stains. The VP workshop manual instructs that the seal should be bedded with some VP 'glue', a part number is given. If this is the case, why was the original oil seal not fitted in this way? Cost cutting by VP in manufacture, but advice in the manual to get you to spend even more money? Incidentally, VP want £35 for the oil seal!!!
 
Sorry to resurrect this old thread, but I thought I'd share the news that my 2003T has just started leaking (presumably from the rear crankshaft seal). It's a big leak - loses a litre of oil in about half an hour. Unfortunately, access restrictions mean that the engine has to be craned out through the cockpit floor to fix it, which also involves getting the boat out of the water. Oh, and looking at the engine compartment and the size of the hatch in the cockpit floor, it seems I'm going to have to strip out the Eberspacher, the second alternator, the turbocharger and maybe the heat exchanger to get the engine out. Deep joy!
 
pvb said:
Sorry to resurrect this old thread, but I thought I'd share the news that my 2003T has just started leaking (presumably from the rear crankshaft seal). It's a big leak - loses a litre of oil in about half an hour. Unfortunately, access restrictions mean that the engine has to be craned out through the cockpit floor to fix it, which also involves getting the boat out of the water. Oh, and looking at the engine compartment and the size of the hatch in the cockpit floor, it seems I'm going to have to strip out the Eberspacher, the second alternator, the turbocharger and maybe the heat exchanger to get the engine out. Deep joy!
Click to expand...

Commiserations. What a bummer. :(
 
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