Twin Disc TM170A getting hot. Too hot?

[Xavi84]

Hi,

on my Polyform Barracuda I have a Twin Disc TM170A coupled to a VM706 engine.
I noticed the gearbox is getting hot to the touch. When measuring with the RayTec (laser temp gun) I measure up to 82 degrees.
There is no temp sensor, nor pressure gauge, no alarms.
This temperature rises fairly quickly to this level and doesn't rise any further, not even after a couple of hours. Since the temperature of the gbx housing stabilizes aroudn 82 degrees, I assume the temperature of the oil won't be much higher than this 82 degrees.
I opened and cleaned the cooler which was a bit dirty, however nothing dramatical. But the temperature didn't drop after the cleaning.
The oil I've replaced, but also without effect on the temperature. The oil was quite clean, except in the bottom of the sump, the last bit was a bit "muddy".

The engine and gearbox is performing well. I have no power loss, no strange noises, clutches forward, neutral, aft; all very normal.
Nothing that would indicate slippage.
The only thing I noticed is when in neutral, the propshaft slowly rotates. When grabbing it by hand it stops rotating, as soon as you release it, it slowly rotates again.

The info from Twin Disc is quite brief. Can't seem to find much info about "normal" oil temperatures of this gbx.

Any idea's or advice? Is this something that requires attention? Or just plain normal behavior.
Personally, I find this casing temperature (oil temp) rather high.

 

[vas]

82C (I assume) is rather hot, are you getting this value everywhere in the box?
Having said that I have two twindisk boxes (not this model, slightly different but not far off) and although I had an issue with the diverter valve housing on one (lost fwd and only had reverse) I cannot recall them ever being hot to touch.
I've installed pressure gauges and oil temp sensors and oil return from exchanger is usually 40-50C (if that)
What is the temp in the oil heat exchanger body?
how does it work in your installation, where is the gbox oil cooler in the line of exchangers from the pump onwards?

 

[volvopaul]

Hi,

on my Polyform Barracuda I have a Twin Disc TM170A coupled to a VM706 engine.
I noticed the gearbox is getting hot to the touch. When measuring with the RayTec (laser temp gun) I measure up to 82 degrees.
There is no temp sensor, nor pressure gauge, no alarms.
This temperature rises fairly quickly to this level and doesn't rise any further, not even after a couple of hours. Since the temperature of the gbx housing stabilizes aroudn 82 degrees, I assume the temperature of the oil won't be much higher than this 82 degrees.
I opened and cleaned the cooler which was a bit dirty, however nothing dramatical. But the temperature didn't drop after the cleaning.
The oil I've replaced, but also without effect on the temperature. The oil was quite clean, except in the bottom of the sump, the last bit was a bit "muddy".

The engine and gearbox is performing well. I have no power loss, no strange noises, clutches forward, neutral, aft; all very normal.
Nothing that would indicate slippage.
The only thing I noticed is when in neutral, the propshaft slowly rotates. When grabbing it by hand it stops rotating, as soon as you release it, it slowly rotates again.

The info from Twin Disc is quite brief. Can't seem to find much info about "normal" oil temperatures of this gbx.

Any idea's or advice? Is this something that requires attention? Or just plain normal behavior.
Personally, I find this casing temperature (oil temp) rather high.

Use an infa red temp gun on the oil cooler pipes , compare the temp on the inlet pipe to the cooler and the outlet pipe that will tell you if the cooler is dissipate the heat , 82 deg is ok in my opinion .

 

[Xavi84]

thanks for the reactions!
It is indeed 82 degrees C.

The cooler for the gearbox is mounted in the seawaterline after the intercooler of the engine but before the turbo charger where the seawater mixes with the exhaust gasses.
I didn't measure the IN and OUT of the cooler. (now I feel kind of silly that I didn't measure this...)
The boat is currently on the hard for replacement of the bottom paint.
I will definitely measure the temps and keep updating here.