Volvo DPH steering problems

R

ringham

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I have had various problems with leaking steering rams on my Fairline Targa outdrives. Last season I had new seals fitted but noted the boat seemed to pull to starboard and I was constantly having to correct the wheel. At the end of last season the port steering ram was leaking again when the boat was lifted. Iwill replace both rams with the latest type this year but do you think this will cure this problem or is something else amiss? The steering tie bar looks as if it has been set up properly. Any ideas / help would be much appreciated.
Richard
 
Have you had the new type hoses fitted also, they have a shiny plastic finish as opposed to the matt rubber finish of the earlier type. We have replaced literally dozens and when you have the latest hoses and cylinders you shoud have no more problems, but its important that the hose nipples are correctly tightened as I have seen several leaking from the fitting up in the transom shield where they enter the hull.
Check the colour of the ATF oil in the power steering resevoir it should be dark red, if its pink then its contaminated with seawater and the whole system needs flushing as it can, if not already damage the shuttle valve on the inside of the transom behind the engine, which could be causing the pulling to starboard.
 
If and only If you have full dealer service history I would contact your local dealer or the dealer who has looked after your boat , you should seek repairs under warranty.

You will have to prove you have made every effort to comply with volvos service recomendations ie had every service carried out using genuine VP parts and professional services.

I have helped a few of my clients have rams, hoses, and pumps replaced under warranty ven on boats up to 5 years old, basically you just have to be nice and state the sale of goods act etc, maybe contact trading standards they will help you say all the right words in the right ear so to speak.

Ive lost count how may rams ive replaced not necessarily on early drives either, its pot luck when they fail and to what extent, hoses too but there now affordable and come in sets of 4 rather than individual items.

Off you go now and talk to your dealer.
 
My 3 1/2 yr old is coming out on Thursday as I have a leak from the steering something. This will be my 3rd set of hoses or my first ram replacement. If it's hoses it will be done under warranty, if it's rams I've got a large bill coming.
 
I have Bennet trim tabs on my boat; plastic housing, plastic rams, hydraulic operation. They live in sea water, they have done so since 2004, Admittedly they have probably done far fewer actuations than a steering ram; but surely the growth on the rams (+ potential damage) will as a result have been much more; why are they still working?
 
Bennett trim tab rams are usually left retracted so growth is not a problem, this is not possible on the steering rams. They also are moved much less than the steering is. The trim tab rams also operate under much less preshure.

The best prevention is to always leave your steering hard over to one side so only one ram is exposed.
 
SolentPhill said:
My 3 1/2 yr old is coming out on Thursday as I have a leak from the steering something. This will be my 3rd set of hoses or my first ram replacement. If it's hoses it will be done under warranty, if it's rams I've got a large bill coming.
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Large bill, not necessarily if you have full dealer service history and there under 6 years old go for sale of goods act, trust me there are certain forum members ive helped get new rams, hoses and pumps FOC. Talk it through with your dealer and the boats supplier/if a main dealer.
 
Thanks Paul , boat has had full service by Volvo dealer, the company I bought it from was Simco who were completely useless and quite right went bust.

I will see the outcome in the morning and update here later in the day.

Thanks anyway
 
FYI, i spoke to my VP dealer yesterday about the recall on steering hoses & rams, it only on a small batch of DPH drives, not all, so dont get too excited thinking that VP are going to pay for it.
as for the last post, Simco are still trading!!! & yes they were bloody useless, many people like me have been left to pick up the mess they left behind. there are a lot of people out there that were not happy with the service (or lack of it) that they provided.
yet they now trade as power marine sales.
 
For any of you that are serious or stupid enough to listen to Daka post, do not use cooking oil in your steering, its not mineral based so can damage your seals etc, and it wont mix with the existing oil.

As daka clearly is not a volvo fan (which when he sells his boat and buys another will make his search a whole lot harder to find a non green engined boat).

Im going to compile a report on Mercruiser engines and drives.

All of course in the best fun possible.

Great post Pete but surely boating isnt that bad!
 
volvopaul said:
For any of you that are serious or stupid enough to listen to Daka post, do not use cooking oil in your steering, its not mineral based so can damage your seals etc, and it wont mix with the existing oil.

As daka clearly is not a volvo fan (which when he sells his boat and buys another will make his search a whole lot harder to find a non green engined boat).

Im going to compile a report on Mercruiser engines and drives.

All of course in the best fun possible.

Great post Pete but surely boating isnt that bad!
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:confused:

I will re look at it paul in order to tone it down.

Remember the cooking oil is only used after the ******** seals have failed and you have run out of steering oil and engine oil !
Do you think I need to add that the system should be checked afterwards before casting off again.......

pm sent with details of actual events.
 
Last edited:
sgoodwin71 said:
FYI, i spoke to my VP dealer yesterday about the recall on steering hoses & rams, it only on a small batch of DPH drives, not all, so dont get too excited thinking that VP are going to pay for it.
as for the last post, Simco are still trading!!! & yes they were bloody useless, many people like me have been left to pick up the mess they left behind. there are a lot of people out there that were not happy with the service (or lack of it) that they provided.
yet they now trade as power marine sales.
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Not true, yes I agree there has recently been a recall on some recent DPH drives which owners have been contacted through there supplying boat dealer.

Read my previous posts about sale of goods act and 6 years warranty though the boat has to have dealer history, remember the fact that warranties are a partnership between the boat owner and the volvo dealer ie you have your boat engine and drives serviced by them using correct parts and trained engineers that will also update any vodia issues at the time of service, have your boat serviced at the correct time, the dealer will help you even if its out of waranty, you just have to speak to the right people.
 
volvopaul said:
As daka clearly is not a volvo fan
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Bit unfair Paul.

I have done 1000's of miles with Volvo Penta 10 000's likely.

I have a lot of respect for

TAMD41's including the 290 AQAD outdrive version.

63L 63P .

Very reliable engines.

The Volvo Penta DPH drives can be a problem, my post was designed to help forum members from getting stranded and thus reducing the unreliability.

As per my pm , I will delete it if you like.
 
Maybe Daka has done thousands of hours on Volvos but he is no mechanic as his post clearly illustrates, has he ever actually bled out a DPH system, I think not judging by the tosh in his post, there is no pressure from the power steering pump up at the helm as this is purely a low pressure (hand powered) hydraulic system which operates the shuttle valve at the rear on the transom shield, this then controls the high pressure from the servo pump down to the cylinders. If any oil blows back while filling this is purely air coming up the hoses and is directly proportional to how fast you spin the wheel while filling, I have done this operation at least 50 times and we always run the engine to help purge the cylinders of air.
It isn't as dramatic as he makes out, you get plenty of warning as as soon as the oil level in the helm gets low you get a clicking sound from the helm pump and the wheel feels notchy, you can top up and keep going, the oil doesn't leak so fast that you instantly lose the steering as he implies.
I am sure Volvopaul will confirm this.
 
spannerman said:
Maybe Daka has done thousands of hours on Volvos but he is no mechanic as his post clearly illustrates, has he ever actually bled out a DPH system, I think not judging by the tosh in his post, there is no pressure from the power steering pump up at the helm as this is purely a low pressure (hand powered) hydraulic system which operates the shuttle valve at the rear on the transom shield, this then controls the high pressure from the servo pump down to the cylinders. If any oil blows back while filling this is purely air coming up the hoses and is directly proportional to how fast you spin the wheel while filling, I have done this operation at least 50 times and we always run the engine to help purge the cylinders of air.
It isn't as dramatic as he makes out, you get plenty of warning as as soon as the oil level in the helm gets low you get a clicking sound from the helm pump and the wheel feels notchy, you can top up and keep going, the oil doesn't leak so fast that you instantly lose the steering as he implies.
I am sure Volvopaul will confirm this.
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I ve deleted it as its too much like hard work.

It was based on actual experience.
and a report of a guy almost getting chucked out his boat.


I thought the idea of a forum was to share experiences and help each other.

disappointed but its no skin off my nose !
 
spannerman said:
you get plenty of warning as as soon as the oil level in the helm gets low you get a clicking sound from the helm pump and the wheel feels notchy, you can top up and keep going, the oil doesn't leak so fast that you instantly lose the steering as he implies.
I am sure Volvopaul will confirm this.
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I thought that an auto helm would take the notchy feeling away, obviously not .
My mistake.
Now educated I would like to say that the Volvo penta DPH drive is a marvellous innovation, taking the steering mechanism out of the engine bay and above the water line to under the sea water was brilliant, out of sight and out of mind, marvellous .
 
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