Sail drive oil change

[Halo]

Gong back to my days studying tribology I would say if there is no deterioration in the oil colour (indicating water) then, in a sealed system such as a sail drive , what you are really looking for is
- to check for debris which may indicate a failing or wearing part
- to put in clean oil which does not have the microscopic particles which arise from wear and rapidly cause further wear.
In both of these cases it is better to drain from the bottom of the sail drive leg.
What I do in practice is to drain from the bottom when I am out of the water. If I dont come out of the water I dont change the oil. If there is water present (cloudy emulsified oil then she needs to come out for a shaft seal change).
The surprising thing is how long you can keep draining out the oil. It will keep dripping out for hours - so set up a good catching system (in my case large bucket raised to surround the leg with a double plastic sack inside. I raise the bucket so the wind does not blow the dangly oil threads all over the place as they emerge ) and leave it to drain for at least 24h.
Make sure you examine the oil for debris (normally by straining it)

 

[VicS]

Gong back to my days studying tribology I would say if there is no deterioration in the oil colour (indicating water) then, in a sealed system such as a sail drive , what you are really looking for is
- to check for debris which may indicate a failing or wearing part
- to put in clean oil which does not have the microscopic particles which arise from wear and rapidly cause further wear.
In both of these cases it is better to drain from the bottom of the sail drive leg.

Generally speaking although oil may darken in colour a little in service it should remain " Clear and bright" in appearance .

Any turbidity ( milkiness) is a sign of water ingress. Deterioration to the point where the oil resembles chocolate milkshake would indicate a serious level of water contamination requiring urgent investigation and repair.

Solid debris, from say failing mechanical components, will only be apparent if the oil is examined after draining from the bottom drain plug into a clean receptacle.

It is wise to refit the drain plug with a new sealing washer/O ring after draining the oil. It would be very unfortunate to have to lift a boat again soon after a SD oil change simply to replace a reused drain plug seal.

 

[nigelmercier]

No idea as to the actual size of the pipe but the Pela pump comes with two pipes that you connect to the large one that plugs into the top of the pump. I used the smaller of the two...

So does anyone know the diameter of the smaller Pela pipe?

 

[VicS]

My ( Toolstation) Pela lookalike has a two part suction tube, the lower part being what looks like the outer sheath of a bicycle brake cable.

It is 6mm OD and although flexible is not likely to do an about turn and come back up again as Duncan987654 describes in his earlier post.

 

[duncan99210]

Dd

My ( Toolstation) Pela lookalike has a two part suction tube, the lower part being what looks like the outer sheath of a bicycle brake cable.

It is 6mm OD and although flexible is not likely to do an about turn and come back up again as Duncan987654 describes in his earlier post.

Vic, the pump I have is the cylindrical one, which has slightly different pipes to the spherical one. The pipes are not like the bike cable outers but are of fairly rigid plastic. The smaller one is, I would say, thinner than the one you measured say about 4 - 4.5mm.

 

[nigelmercier]

Dd

Vic, the pump I have is the cylindrical one, which has slightly different pipes to the spherical one. The pipes are not like the bike cable outers but are of fairly rigid plastic. The smaller one is, I would say, thinner than the one you measured say about 4 - 4.5mm.

This one? http://r.ebay.com/Cqr7D1

BTW, putting Pela oil into ebay gave some interesting results.

 

[VicS]

BTW, putting Pela oil into ebay gave some interesting results.

Oil Extractors ! ............... What sort of things does ebay have you recorded as being interested in ?

 

[Daydream believer]

It is wise to refit the drain plug with a new sealing washer/O ring after draining the oil. It would be very unfortunate to have to lift a boat again soon after a SD oil change simply to replace a reused drain plug seal.

As I already pointed out in thread 16 -- been there had the "t" shirt etc etc

 

[VicS]

As I already pointed out in thread 16 -- been there had the "t" shirt etc etc

Sorry missed that

but I see you refer to damage to sintered clutch discs. Does that apply to the OPs boat?
Dog clutch in SD20 and cone clutches in SD50 I think

 

[Daydream believer]

but I see you refer to damage to sintered clutch discs. Does that apply to the OPs boat?
Dog clutch in SD20 and cone clutches in SD50 I think

To be honest I do not know how the clutches are made in saildrives only that Volspec warned me of possible damage if I did not remove the water

Re the washer - You are dead right - I just wanted to reinforce the point as it cost me approx 400 Euros & i lost over a week ( plus some hair) in Cherbourg when i was sailing round Uk ---all for my ignorance about a 10p washer

 

[Twister_Ken]

i lost over a week ( plus some hair) in Cherbourg when i was sailing round Uk

Time for some navigation classes?

 

[scottie]

Removing and greasing the prop and changing the anodes whilst dried out is required on a regular basis so your not just lifting to check/change the oil
Even with split anodes propellers are too dear to allow to be left with probability of seizing to the splined shaft
And that's without requirements for scrubbing and anti fouling

 

[Twister_Ken]

Removing and greasing the prop and changing the anodes whilst dried out is required on a regular basis so your not just lifting to check/change the oil
Even with split anodes propellers are too dear to allow to be left with probability of seizing to the splined shaft
And that's without requirements for scrubbing and anti fouling

No scrubbing or antifouling (Coppercoat) but yes, anode change and a prop clean. Usually do this in the spring, so will probably put off the SD oil change until then. Hope to do some sailing through the winter, but the only use of the engine will be the first and last few hundred meters.

 

[Daydream believer]

Time for some navigation classes?

Why?
I included Guernsey & Jersey in my trip to make up for not going round the top of Scotland but through the Cally canal as I was single handed

 

[sailaboutvic]

Do anyone know why volvo suggest on the S130 leg not to use ATF oil but same oil has the engine ?

 

[VicS]

Do anyone know why volvo suggest on the S130 leg not to use ATF oil but same oil has the engine ?

VP issued a Service bulletin in Oct 2010 recommending that the oil in 130 and 150 sail drives should be changed from ATF to 15W-40 engine oil.
They did not give a reason in that bulletin but I understand that it was due to slippage of the clutch discs when using ATF

Engine oil was already specified for older drives, except the 120S-E which uses a 75W-90 GL5 gear oil

VP Service bulletin

 

[Twister_Ken]

Why?
I included Guernsey & Jersey in my trip to make up for not going round the top of Scotland but through the Cally canal as I was single handed

Maybe I should have said geography classes...

"The Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey are not part of Great Britain, they are not part of the United Kingdom and neither are they part of the European Union. They are self-governing British Crown dependencies."

 

[sailaboutvic]

VP issued a Service bulletin in Oct 2010 recommending that the oil in 130 and 150 sail drives should be changed from ATF to 15W-40 engine oil.
They did not give a reason in that bulletin but I understand that it was due to slippage of the clutch discs when using ATF

Engine oil was already specified for older drives, except the 120S-E which uses a 75W-90 GL5 gear oil

VP Service bulletin

Thanks for that VicS
Yes I did read it , just couldn't understand where the problem was .
I guess it may had something to do with the clutch

 

[nigelmercier]

They did not give a reason in that bulletin but I understand that it was due to slippage of the clutch discs when using ATF. Engine oil was already specified for older drives, except the 120S-E which uses a 75W-90 GL5 gear oil...

When I finally got an answer from VP, they told me to use engine oil in my 130S (which replaced a 120S) even though the gearbox was unchanged. I decided to ignore them, am I wrong?

 

[gasdave]

VP issued a Service bulletin in Oct 2010 recommending that the oil in 130 and 150 sail drives should be changed from ATF to 15W-40 engine oil.
They did not give a reason in that bulletin but I understand that it was due to slippage of the clutch discs when using ATF

Engine oil was already specified for older drives, except the 120S-E which uses a 75W-90 GL5 gear oilVP Service bulletin

Thanks for this link - I was wondering about oil type too and trying to think back to a conversation with the yard service engineer.

I also note the instruction to sail "in reverse gear" if you have a folding prop - I haven't always remembered that