KevB
Well-Known Member
Thought this may be of interest to anyone thinking of removing their 290 outdrives for the first time.
Last weekend I removed my 290 drives to change the bellows, oil and give them a good antifoul. Armed with Instructions supplied by Pendana and my rusty tool kit I set to work.
Notes courtesy of Pendana
Outdrive service:
The UJ bellows and exhaust bellows only need changing every other year according to Volvo. Inspect and replace if necessary.
To renew the UJ bellows you will either have to remove the drives or separate the upper drive housing from the intermediate housing.
At 60 kg, the sterndrives are heavy and awkward, however I usually remove the drives each year so I can clean, antifoul and top up with oil in the comfort of my garage at home.
While the sterndrives are still on, remove the props and old ring anodes. Protect the shafts by wrapping something like polythene round them - they are covered in grease which attracts all the dust in the boatyard. Remove the bar anode at the base of the transom shield and keep to put back on if ok.(usually get a couple of seasons out of these)
Remove the oil drain plug with impact screw driver and check that the oil runs clear and not emulsified thus proving the integrity of the seals.(Volvo recommend renewing the oil every year)
To take the sterndrives off, take the weight onto the skeg with timber blocks and folding wedges. Remove the cover plate and release the gear selector cable.
Undo the bolts to the steering helmet clamp (6 mm allen key or hex socket) and remove the clamp by screwing in the long coverplate screw.
Push the steering helmet up as far as it will go.
Swing the drive starboard remove the left bolt securing the gear selecter cable clamp, swing the drive to port and likewise remove the right bolt <span style="color:red">(Mine only had one bolt) </span> and recover the clamp plate that secures the selecter cable. Pull on the cable to esure it is free to move through the hole in the drive.
Undo the jubilee clips and release the UJ bellows, exhaust bellows and water intake hose from the drive. (flexible screwdiver with 7mm hex socket required to remove jubilee clips) <span style="color:red"> (I managed this with just a standard screwdriver with no problems) </span>
Remove the split pins and clevis pins from the forks.
This bit really needs two people.The two pins securing the drive to shield can now be removed. These can be drifted in but is sometimes difficult to recover them from between the forks and the steering helmet. Much better to screw in a 6mm bolt into the end of the pins which are threaded for this purpose and pull the pins out using a slide hammer puller. <span style="color:red"> (I 'drifted' them out ie hit them with a hammer and a short extension bar from a socket set. First you have to remove the securing bolts)</span>
Take the weight of the drive and ease the drive backwards so the UJ separates from the engine output shaft and carefully ease the gear selecter cable free from the drive.
Putting the drives back on is the proverbial reverse order but you have to line up the holes in the forks to the holes in the shields at the same time turn the UJ joint onto the splines of the engine output shaft. This is best achieved by placing the skeg of the drive onto a piece of timber arranged as a lever that you can stand on to raise the level of the drive to line up the holes of the forks with that of the shields. Oh, and it is quite normal to bang your head on the underside of the bathing platform!
Just a postscript to the sterndrive servicing. It is important to get the positions of the screwheads of the jubilee clips in the right location otherwise damage to the bellows can occur.
The clips should always be tightened from the starboard side of the drive.
The UJ bellows clips should have the screwhead at the transom shield end at the 3 o’clock position and at the drive end at the 6 o’clock position.
The exhaust bellows clips should have the screwhead at the transom shield end at the 2 o’clock position and at the drive end at the 6 o’clock position.
The water hose clip should have the screwhead at the 2 o’clock position.
Parts required:-
UJ bellows
Exhaust bellows
Ring anodes
Bar anodes
Plastic bushes for forks
o-ring for drain plug
o-ring for dip stick
fibre washer for filler plug
waterproof grease
My foot note is that so far it's been very easy and I am very glad I gave it a go. Time will tell if I still feel the same putting them back on.
It took me up to a couple of hours to take the first leg off having not done it before but less than an hour for the second having already done one.
All in all it has taken me more time to clean the legs and the transom shield than it has to take the legs off.
Hope the above helps someone.
Kevin.
Last weekend I removed my 290 drives to change the bellows, oil and give them a good antifoul. Armed with Instructions supplied by Pendana and my rusty tool kit I set to work.
Notes courtesy of Pendana
Outdrive service:
The UJ bellows and exhaust bellows only need changing every other year according to Volvo. Inspect and replace if necessary.
To renew the UJ bellows you will either have to remove the drives or separate the upper drive housing from the intermediate housing.
At 60 kg, the sterndrives are heavy and awkward, however I usually remove the drives each year so I can clean, antifoul and top up with oil in the comfort of my garage at home.
While the sterndrives are still on, remove the props and old ring anodes. Protect the shafts by wrapping something like polythene round them - they are covered in grease which attracts all the dust in the boatyard. Remove the bar anode at the base of the transom shield and keep to put back on if ok.(usually get a couple of seasons out of these)
Remove the oil drain plug with impact screw driver and check that the oil runs clear and not emulsified thus proving the integrity of the seals.(Volvo recommend renewing the oil every year)
To take the sterndrives off, take the weight onto the skeg with timber blocks and folding wedges. Remove the cover plate and release the gear selector cable.
Undo the bolts to the steering helmet clamp (6 mm allen key or hex socket) and remove the clamp by screwing in the long coverplate screw.
Push the steering helmet up as far as it will go.
Swing the drive starboard remove the left bolt securing the gear selecter cable clamp, swing the drive to port and likewise remove the right bolt <span style="color:red">(Mine only had one bolt) </span> and recover the clamp plate that secures the selecter cable. Pull on the cable to esure it is free to move through the hole in the drive.
Undo the jubilee clips and release the UJ bellows, exhaust bellows and water intake hose from the drive. (flexible screwdiver with 7mm hex socket required to remove jubilee clips) <span style="color:red"> (I managed this with just a standard screwdriver with no problems) </span>
Remove the split pins and clevis pins from the forks.
This bit really needs two people.The two pins securing the drive to shield can now be removed. These can be drifted in but is sometimes difficult to recover them from between the forks and the steering helmet. Much better to screw in a 6mm bolt into the end of the pins which are threaded for this purpose and pull the pins out using a slide hammer puller. <span style="color:red"> (I 'drifted' them out ie hit them with a hammer and a short extension bar from a socket set. First you have to remove the securing bolts)</span>
Take the weight of the drive and ease the drive backwards so the UJ separates from the engine output shaft and carefully ease the gear selecter cable free from the drive.
Putting the drives back on is the proverbial reverse order but you have to line up the holes in the forks to the holes in the shields at the same time turn the UJ joint onto the splines of the engine output shaft. This is best achieved by placing the skeg of the drive onto a piece of timber arranged as a lever that you can stand on to raise the level of the drive to line up the holes of the forks with that of the shields. Oh, and it is quite normal to bang your head on the underside of the bathing platform!
Just a postscript to the sterndrive servicing. It is important to get the positions of the screwheads of the jubilee clips in the right location otherwise damage to the bellows can occur.
The clips should always be tightened from the starboard side of the drive.
The UJ bellows clips should have the screwhead at the transom shield end at the 3 o’clock position and at the drive end at the 6 o’clock position.
The exhaust bellows clips should have the screwhead at the transom shield end at the 2 o’clock position and at the drive end at the 6 o’clock position.
The water hose clip should have the screwhead at the 2 o’clock position.
Parts required:-
UJ bellows
Exhaust bellows
Ring anodes
Bar anodes
Plastic bushes for forks
o-ring for drain plug
o-ring for dip stick
fibre washer for filler plug
waterproof grease
My foot note is that so far it's been very easy and I am very glad I gave it a go. Time will tell if I still feel the same putting them back on.
It took me up to a couple of hours to take the first leg off having not done it before but less than an hour for the second having already done one.
All in all it has taken me more time to clean the legs and the transom shield than it has to take the legs off.
Hope the above helps someone.
Kevin.
