Saildrive oil leak

[walker]

Wonder if anyone else has come across something like this.

We recently found a substantial amount of oil had leaked out of what we presumed to be the filler cap of the saildrive on our Volvo MD22L. Another member of our share group got an engineer (official service centre to mainstream Croatian marina) to take a look and he advised that when the oil had been changed over winter (by another firm, natch) they had done it wrong, causing an airlock which in turn caused the oil to froth up and out of the cap. He further advised that saildrives cannot be filled from the top (don't know what else that cap is for) and that the boat must be lifted out to top up the oil (!!!). This was done at considerable expense, and our partner set off. Several hours into his trip and lo and behold, the same thing happened. He found his own solution this time - tightened the oil cap a bit more using a wrench - I think maybe a bit of PTFE on the thread might be an idea next time.

Anyway, my question is, was the engineer right that the oil in these saildrives should not be filled from the top? Also, when he had to top it up again (from the top) he couldn't get synthetic as indicated in the manual and therefore used about 1/2 litre of Shell mineral oil (not sure what grade) i.e. it will be less than 20% of the total 2.7 litre volume. Is this likely to cause any harm in the long (or short) term?

Thanks

Mark

 

[Will_M]

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He further advised that saildrives cannot be filled from the top

[/ QUOTE ]

Thats total bollocks.


[ QUOTE ]
Is this likely to cause any harm in the long (or short) term?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, potentially that will.

Without going into to much detail.... If your saildrive is infact one of the later models as would have been on an MD22L at the time, ie your saildrive designation is 120S-D or 120S-E. If thats so then yes it should run syn oil, and you do not introduce some mineral to that, not even if your stupid! The addition of the mineral oil will break down the qualities of the syn oil and chances are will lead to prem wear on your clutch cone because of the material coating etc etc..

 

[bigwow]

I must have been filling both of mine wrong then for the past 10 yrs! As far as I'm aware that big black round thing on the top of the saidrive, which exposes a bearing when you take it off, is the filler cap

 

[bendyone]

The only way is to fill from the top slowley, however the only way to drain the oil is from the bottom when on the hard. Was the right grade of oil used? cant see any other reason for it to come out or leak.

 

[starboard]

I understand if you use mineral oil in that type of leg you run the risk 0f degrading and breaking down any oil seal fitted as these seals are designed to be used with a synthetic oil only.

As for the filling I fill mine from the top and have never had a problem, sying that you really should not need to top up once the oil has been changed as the quantity should remain the same unless you have a leak!!

paul.

 

[walker]

Thanks - as I suspected. Bit of a worry given the number of saildrives in the marina. Looks like we've been had over.

Grateful for any views on how quickly the problems arising from the mineral oil are likely to arise -is it a case of change it now, or might we get away with it until the end of the season without too much damage. (Were it the engineers lift we would press for a free lift out in recompense and do it then, but its not so face another £250 bill.)

 

[BlueChip]

We had a similar leak on our Yanmar, turned out just to be a missing O-ring under the gear oil filler cap
Might be worth checking you have one

 

[walker]

Thanks. Apparently there is an o ring. Its just that finger tight wasn't enough. Wonder about possibility of a couple of turns of ptfe tape but worried that might drop into the drive - so soft can't imagine it doing any harm but maybe it would just dissolve anyway, in which case it wouldn't be much use. Think we'll just make sure it is well-tightened. Booked a lift out for a couple of weeks time. So that'll be about £600 in total for what could have been achieved with a quick tightening of a filler cap - wonderful - thank God its a syndicate!

 

[tom52]

I understand that it is crucial not to overfill your sd with oil or it will force itself out.

To be sure whether yours is a mineral or synthetic oil saildrive you need to check its serial number with your volvo dealer.

You fill slowly through the cap !

 

[alldownwind]

Slightly off thread....but for what it's worth, I found that with a steady hand, it's faster to fill my 120S saildrive by pouring oil into the dipstick hole rather than into the big 'ole under the filler cap.

 

[Stork_III]

120D is ok with diesel engine oil, only the E has mineral specified by VP.

 

[Will_M]

[ QUOTE ]
120D is ok with diesel engine oil, only the E has mineral specified by VP.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep, your absolutely correct, my mistake. The 120S-E is the only one of the '120' series saildrives which should use the synthetic transmission oil SAE 75W-90.

 

[walker]

Ours must be the 120E then, as synthetic 75W - 90 is specified. I presume draining the old oil is just a matter of undoing a drain plug at the bottom the leg? Also that the residual amount of dilute mineral oil that will be left in when I drain the contaminated oil should not be a problem?

 

[Will_M]

Yes to drain the fluid, all you need to do is drop the drain bung in the bottom of the leg, suffice to say the fluid drains quicker with the filler cap removed.

I know i'd, if it were my own, flush it through alittle with some of the correct syn oil before refilling, granted its expensive and wasteful, but like I said, if it were my own.

Obviously you would refit the drain bung with a new seal.

Equally so replace the filler cap seal whilst you at it, they tend to get chewed up with repeated tightening of said filler cap after a while.