Self service

charlumax

charlumax

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If the approx cost of an annual inboard service for a VP D6 300hp is around a grand, a) how many hours labour does that cover (ie for a pro to do it), b) how much is the service kit to buy & c) how hard is it for an average Joe to learn to do?
 
Our D2 engine is much smaller than yours, but I paid the local Volve Penta agent to do the first service - but with prior agreement that I could watch the service being done.
I took lots of photos and made lots of notes, and later wrote these up into a set of tailored service instructions. Have used these each year and added more hints and tips each time.
Need some investment in tools, beyond basic socket set etc - each engine is different but my top investments were
- Pela vacuum pump to extract oil
- Water impeller puller (after lots of swearing trying to do with long nose pliers)
- Filter turner (three different types tried)

Having seen done, most regular servicing should be easy enough - PROVIDED the boat has been sensibly designed and there is access to where needed. If the pro engineer needs to do excessive contorted gymnastics to access then think again.
 
a) We've been surprised that the time and price can vary - especially since the D6 is such a common engine. Our service covers two D6 engines and outdrives. Also note that the professionals may send an apprentice - and don’t necessarily tell you in advance!
c) I agree with @dunedin that it’s a good approach to first go through it with a professional and then do it yourself later on. It’s just a matter of how much time you have available and whether you have the appetite to DIY.

If you decide to pay for service, also keep in mind that your mechanic may not always take the greatest care in handling fluid spills or avoiding stepping on various pipes, etc. We’ve had this problem several times now - very annoying. Most boats with D6 engines don’t have great access to everything, and we’ve found that several mechanics often brute-force their way through to save time.
 
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More like a good mornings work ? and then some to simply clear up the mess.
Going to assume you will be booking a trip to your local authority oil recycling point to dispose of the 12 litres of old oil

...and where will the old filter(s) end up ? :)
 
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charlumax said:
If the approx cost of an annual inboard service for a VP D6 300hp is around a grand, a) how many hours labour does that cover (ie for a pro to do it), b) how much is the service kit to buy & c) how hard is it for an average Joe to learn to do?
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Depends on the boat and access inside the engine bay , all boats differ .
Some of the French builds I won’t mention names have built boats around engines making servicing a long job .
2 hours to service a D6 , not if you do it properly .
 
The thing I will add it is good to get to know your engine - ie impellers, belts and filters if something were to go wrong at sea then at least you would know how to fix it.
 
volvopaul said:
Some of the French builds I won’t mention names......................................
.
Click to expand...
Go on name names...one particular French Flybridge boat we went to look at with view to purchase was soon dismissed , it was virtually impossible to see more than a tiny little green section of a rocker box without removing much of floor.

Your quick cursory check of the engine compartment to check oil or coollant levels for weeps or leaks pre departure was virtually impossible .
Still, folks will have found out there was a problem soon enough.
 
oldgit said:
Go on name names...one particular French Flybridge boat we went to look at with view to purchase was soon dismissed , it was virtually impossible to see more than a tiny little green section of a rocker box without removing much of floor.

Your quick cursory check of the engine compartment to check oil or coollant levels for weeps or leaks pre departure was virtually impossible .
Still, folks will have found out there was a problem soon enough.
Click to expand...
You know , you know .
 
charlumax said:
service for a VP D6 300hp is around a grand
Click to expand...

Ooft, I thought one day we’d likely change our outboard boat to something with a diesel. But this makes me think the outboard isn’t so bad, especially as anything we’d look at would likely have an out drive.
 
Phil_boat said:
Ooft, I thought one day we’d likely change our outboard boat to something with a diesel. But this makes me think the outboard isn’t so bad, especially as anything we’d look at would likely have an out drive.
Click to expand...

Theres not much in the servicing for an equivalent size engine in terms of the parts. Mercury dealer also charges about a grand to service a big outboard.

Mercury 200-350HP outboard
300 hour service kit £780 Mariner Outboard 300 hour Service Kit 200-300HP L6 Inc Oil – Pacermarine
100 hour service kit £207 Mercury Outboard 100 hour Service Kit 200-300HP L6 Inc Oil – Pacermarine

Volvo D4 annual service kit £317 Genuine Service Kit for Volvo Penta 21704968, D4 Series, + 70 quid of oil
Plus belts occasionally, plus gearbox oil / filter occasionally, plus outdrives if you are unfortunate enough to own them.

The big savings come if anything goes wrong, outboard generally cheaper to fix, and if it goes really wrong, much easier/cheaper to swap for a new one.

Fuel costs are lower with a diesel.
 
There is a service and a service. Which one are you having? Not all items need replacing on every service. There are also different iterations of the D6. Some have service items that others do not. A VP service should also include a diagnostic check and software updates. These updates can take quite some time, especially on a twin installation with 1st gen EVC systems that require each engine to be checked and updated individually.
 
madabouttheboat said:
There is a service and a service. Which one are you having? Not all items need replacing on every service. There are also different iterations of the D6. Some have service items that others do not. A VP service should also include a diagnostic check and software updates. These updates can take quite some time, especially on a twin installation with 1st gen EVC systems that require each engine to be checked and updated individually.
Click to expand...
It depends which software upgrades are required.
If it’s inside warranty term and there are issues related to bad software it’s free .
If your engines are out of warranty some upgrades are sold as a product because the dealer has to pay for them .
I will say this from experience, I recently had to pass a job to a dealer who had to fit a new ECU controller to one engine , i and my customer suggested we did a software upgrade , they refused to do this because they said the age of the engines might not accept the upgrade , this would lead to problems further down the line so it was deemed unfit to wipe existing programs incase the age related ECU s would not accept the latest version.

What Volvo really want to do is sell everyone the latest throttle controls and ecu / pcu to your boat , that way any further software upgrades are possible .
Walk into your dealer , it’s all on display for a set price .
My gut feeling is down to supply issues of the older generation engines that may not be supported in the near future, a bit like the older series 44/300/73/74/75/122 where they were out of production for around 2 years leaving owners unable to use their boats . There was a post on here about it .
 
On first getting my mooring, the better half worked out ,from the car park to the boat was a quarter of a mile or a 20 minute trudge.
After much sucking up or simply getting on the tits of various folk in the club was eventually allocated a berth much closer the the bar ... er car park.
It is now a mere 10 minutes each way except when pushing a trolley with 30 litres of 15/40, assorted tools and anything raided from the wifes wardrobe for rags.
Some of it may even have been worn once, but most still have tags ,
If the tide is out it takes lots longer to slowly wheeze back up the landing stage to Terra Firma.
 
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