Sail drive leaking gearbox oil ?

[VicS]

The OP confirmed that the filler cap O-ring was in good condition so I assumed that his saildrive did have one. Certainly my Yanmar SD20s have yellow filler cap / dipstick holes.

Richard

I think you will find that the 130S is filled via the dipstick hole. That is what the owner's manual indicates,

Oil level. Check Remove the dipstick by turning counter-clockwise. Wipe the dipstick and reinsert it in the drive / reverse gear without screwing it in. Remove the dipstick and check the oil level. The correct oil level is between the MAX and MIN markings. Top up the oil as required using the dip stick tube. For oil quality and capacity: See the chapter ”Technical Data”.
IMPORTANT! Do not overfill under any circumstances. The oil level must always be within the recommended level.

but I am only deducing from what has been said in the thread, and from the OP mentioning a D1-30 in an older thread, that the engine is a D1-30 . If it is then the SD will be a 130S

He seemed to confirm the existence of the an extraction tube. That would make it a 130 ( or later ) drive, but then he seemed to confirm the existence of a filler cap which would make it an earlier (120S) drive

I dont understand why the OP does not ID the drive

 

[RichardS]

I think you will find that the 130S is filled via the dipstick hole. That is what the owner's manual indicates, but I am only deducing from what has been said in the thread, and from the OP mentioning a D1-30 in an older thread, that the engine is a D1-30 . If it is then the SD will be a 130S

He seemed to confirm the existence of the an extraction tube. That would make it a 130 ( or later ) drive, but then he seemed to confirm the existence of a filler cap which would make it an earlier (120S) drive

I dont understand why the OP does not ID the drive

I think we're at cross-purposes Vic. The dipstick on the SD20 is a screw-in one which you unscrew completely to add oil. I (and the OP I think) are calling it a filler cap but it's also the dipstick.

Richard

 

[VicS]

I think we're at cross-purposes Vic. The dipstick on the SD20 is a screw-in one which you unscrew completely to add oil. I (and the OP I think) are calling it a filler cap but it's also the dipstick.

Richard

Same arrangement then. Earlier 120 S drives did infact have relatively large filler cap as well as a dipstick. Therefore I tend to call a dipstick a dipstick and a filler cap a filler cap.

 

[Jobs a good un]

The drive is a 120S-E .
I have today ordered a new dip stick in the hope that is the weak link .
I have also discovered today that this model is supposed to use synthetic oil not engine oil .
It has engine oil in atm .
When topping up oil do i add more engine oil thats already in there or do i add synthetic oil which this model is supposed to have ?
Also another point of contention is do i remove brass bung on end of extraction tube when measuring oil ?
Volvo seem to think that doing that will give a more accurate reading but is not necessary .
Regards All

Mark

 

[Tranona]

Yes, should have API GL-8 SAE 75W-90. Suggest you drain and refill with correct oil.

 

[Jobs a good un]

One other thing is that the dipstick is tricky to get screwed in , it takes about 8-9 attempts to get it to screwed in , mind you could be me being a old git

 

[RichardS]

Yes, should have API GL-8 SAE 75W-90. Suggest you drain and refill with correct oil.

I've never heard of GL-8 ..... are you sure that's correct?

Richard

 

[VicS]

I've never heard of GL-8 ..... are you sure that's correct?

Richard

A misprunt I would think.

You only have to look at http://www.volvopenta.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/Penta/Misc/drive_1_oil_rec_7745608.pdf to see what it should be

 

[Jobs a good un]

Thats where i got the info about oil from

 

[Yngmar]

I have also discovered today that this model is supposed to use synthetic oil not engine oil .
It has engine oil in atm .

If it really has engine oil (how did you identify this?), that would likely be the reason it's leaking then. The correct oil (API GL-5 SAE 75W-90) is an extremely viscous hypoid gear oil (takes an hour to fill the thing on a cold day because you have to wait for it to ooze down into the leg) and has a strong sulfurous smell - it is nothing like the much thinner engine oil at all. Therefore the oil seals must've failed and that's why your oil is leaking out.

When topping up oil do i add more engine oil thats already in there or do i add synthetic oil which this model is supposed to have ?

You'll have to drain the thing ASAP and replace the oil with the right stuff. Unfortunately that means hauling out, as the 120S-E cannot be drained via the dipstick (or filler cap). You should probably replace the oil seals while you're at it, definitely the ones at the prop shaft.

If it has been run for any significant time with the totally wrong oil in there, inspect the rest of it too.

Also another point of contention is do i remove brass bung on end of extraction tube when measuring oil ?
Volvo seem to think that doing that will give a more accurate reading but is not necessary .

I don't know what brass bung you mean, or what extraction tube for that matter (I have a 120S-E too). To measure the level, unscrew the dipstick, wipe and rest it loosely on the threads only, without screwing it in.

 

[RichardS]

The correct oil (API GL-5 SAE 75W-90) is an extremely viscous hypoid gear oil (takes an hour to fill the thing on a cold day because you have to wait for it to ooze down into the leg) and has a strong sulfurous smell

I've had to re-think this over the last few months as I've bought 5L of GL-5 75W-90 EP/Hypoid from two different suppliers and neither keg had that sulphurous smell. Just a slightly sweet smell compared to engine oil. I asked the first supplier and was told that Hypoid oils are now being produced with a new compound which does not smell.

I'm pointing this out in case Mark is assuming that it is engine oil because of the absence of the smell.

Richard