Sterndrive Service Expence

lovezoo said:
How do you shaft drive types check your gear box oil level?..
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Most often by a dipstick, just as for the engine.
Only drives with remote reservoir can be checked from inside the transom. Drives without needs to have a level-plug removed - and must be out of the water.

lovezoo said:
Finally, if my outdrive goes wrong I can buy an entire new one (which includes a gearbox) for more or less the same cost of a new gearbox for a shaft drive boat.
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But still servicing over the years until you decide to replace, is very different.
 
lovezoo said:
Finally, if my outdrive goes wrong I can buy an entire new one (which includes a gearbox) for more or less the same cost of a new gearbox for a shaft drive boat.
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Generalization here but many 35-44 ft shaft drive boats fitting with twin shafts Volvo Penta/mercruiser/CMD etc will be fitted with Hurth ZF63a gearbox.

Cost about £1500 , take Col about 2 hours to change one with the boat floating.

Not that there are many reports of them going wrong.

When I hit a drift net with a Volvo Penta 290 outdrive it cost almost £5000 to repair .

Ignoring the drift net cost, My experience is that £500 a year would not cover running costs of an outdrive, especially if your outdrive has exterior steering rams and aluminium props which also need replacing every 2-4 years.
 
I've had my boat for over 12years from new and has a Volvo DPE Outdrive, never had any problems with it (touch wood).

Here is probably why, it is fully serviced (including replacing various bellows etc) every two years by a Volvo agent (not confident enough to do it myself). I check the drive every year when out of the water to check bellows, oil is not milky, remove the outer cover and regrease moving parts etc. This year I notice the rubber flap is starting to split so that will be replaced as part of it's next full service etc.

The cost for the every two year service is around £400 to £500.

It is not an item to skip maintenance on and I think a lot of the scare stories are related to people ignoring maintenance.
 
BTW what is this "nasty rain or horrid wind" of which you speak? :)


Can only speak about Volvo.The gearshift seal,propeller shaft seal and the oil seal just behind the U/J do require replacing.
Not sure what the recommended period is,perhaps on condition but when and not if they do fail,its water in the whirly bits and the bills that go with it.
My shaft gearboxes are in the warm and dry,it is the work of seconds to pull out the dipstick and check the level,if it fails it is obvious and instant remedial action can be taken unlike outdrives where if you are lucky it will not be 12 months before you discover a foamy goo with bits of case hardening glittering in it.
Everybody I know who repairs outdrives has got a MUCH BIGGER and BETTER boat than me.
Simple test.Pop marine gearbox problems into MBM search engine and then outdrive problems,wonder which one will seize up the system .:)
 
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I charge between £275 and £300 labour plus parts to service 2 drives depending on the boats location from the Hamble, if that gives you an idea of costs.

As said its not every year you need new bellows etc, though its a good idea to fit new clips to the drive bellows every year as they corrode, come loose and let water into the top of the drive emulsifying the oil if too much gets it as the top seal is one way seal only.

Ive always had shaft drive boats so I must be a few grand up over the years!
 
My boat is 10 years old now and I have never spent anywhere near £500 on a leg service Thinking about it I've never spent £500 on getting them both serviced, even getting them done by a professional.

This year may be different as I intend to get everything done regardless if it needs it or not.
 
I've just had to spend £3k on a new lower leg (£5k in total with other work on them), due to a tiny groove worn in the propeller drive shaft where the seal sits against it. It seems you can't put weld in the groove as you would with any other worn shaft on the planet, and VP don't offer slightly oversize seals so you can't just grind it down.

It seems to me that virtually every outdrive has a major mechanical issue sooner or later (or rather a minor mechnical issue with a major cost associated with it).

As someone above says, stern drive's must be VP's pension fund. I'd never have them again, unless the boat was to be stored out of the water.
 
Nick_H said:
I've just had to spend £3k on a new lower leg (£5k in total with other work on them), due to a tiny groove worn in the propeller drive shaft where the seal sits against it. It seems you can't put weld in the groove as you would with any other worn shaft on the planet, and VP don't offer slightly oversize seals so you can't just grind it down.
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I'm not sure I should say this but a friend had the same problem and had the groove filled and ground. All was still good when he replaced the engines and legs 3 years later.
 
When this happened to my shaft the new seal was not put in quite as far and so ran on a new bit of the shaft,was def OK after 2 years when I sold it.
 
I found milky oil in my 290 duo props in Newcastle, phoned my then trusted mechanic to meet me in Hull for an hour lift out, where it could be easily seen the shaft had worn away where the seal rubs (10 000 miles , many in the sandy muddy River Humber and East coast waters). A standard new seal was put over the grove so I could carry on to the Channel Islands.

I kept checking the oil (can be done under water with use of a cut off wet suit leg and bellows clip), I didnt find any more water and treated it as a permanent repair which lasted until we sold the boat several thousand miles later.

Are you sure they werent looking for work Nick ?

My mate's just had a quote to antifoul a 34ft boat £2455 :eek:
 
oldgit said:
Simple test.Pop marine gearbox problems into MBM search engine and then outdrive problems,wonder which one will seize up the system .:)
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Remember HLBs bit of a sinking do - wasn't that something to do with his shaft drive falling off?

Having said that, if I was just going to trundle up and down a muddy river drinking endless cups of tea, I would probably get myself a diesel flybridge on shafts.

I would also make sure there was a suitably strong cross member somewhere high up on the superstructure, because I would also no doubt hang myself out of sheer ****ing boredom.
 
neale said:
Tell him i'll do it for £2k ;)
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This is the actual break down

blast off hull (and shaft client) labour £489

sand hull (and shaft client) Labour £150

4x epoxy coat (and shaft client)Labour £644

tie coat prime(and shaft client) Labour £136

2 coats antifoul (and shaft client) Labour £272

Materials

15 L epoxy (and shaft client)£360

antifoul (unspecified type)£255

tie coat primer £69

consumables (extra strong consumables are recommended for such shafting s)£80


You see , it soon adds up, you would have been out of pocket :D



NB

The antifoul AND BOAT was in sound condition, the hull only needed the usual jet wash and paint !
 
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DAKA said:
This is the actual break down

blast off hull (and shaft client) labour £489

sand hull (and shaft client) Labour £150

4x epoxy coat (and shaft client)Labour £644

tie coat prime(and shaft client) Labour £136

2 coats antifoul (and shaft client) Labour £272

Materials

15 L epoxy (and shaft client)£360

antifoul (unspecified type)£255

tie coat primer £69

consumables (extra strong consumables are recommended for such shafting s)£80


You see , it soon adds up, you would have been out of pocket :D



NB

The antifoul AND BOAT was in sound condition, the hull only needed the usual jet wash and paint !
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and there you have it, running a boat on 'shafts' is expensive
 
DAKA said:
:D:D

It was on legs, which sort of shouts out ,
' hey, Im a plonker who doesnt mind throwing money away ' ;)
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just serviced my Sterndrive and one of the checks I always do these days is carry out a vacuum and pressure test of the drive before refilling with the stinking high performance gear oil... catch it before it becomes an issu in the wet stuff so to speak.. if we ever go for a 30+ boat, I reckon we'd go shafts though, wouldn't want to be maintaining two sterndrives.
 
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