Volvo KAD44 with DPE outdrives, heavy thud engaging gear on one engine

[Blue Chamoo]

I’m a newbie to this platform and to motor cruiser ownership but it looks like there’s a lot of experience out there, so here goes.
Boat is 1999 Fairline Targa 34, Volvo Kad44’s with DP-E outdrives, EDC controls. She’s relatively new to me (Sept 21) and appears to have been impeccably maintained. Stern drives serviced 1 year ago.
The stbd engine thuds heavily going into fwd and rev, which didn’t happen at the survey and came on pretty soon after bringing her to her new home (4 hour passage to Portsmouth). The port engine engages very smoothly, to the point of being imperceptible!
While the boat was out for anti-foul and anodes, I got the oil changed in the drive, just to rule one thing out and there were no signs of any metal contamination in the oil and the right amount came out. I’m loathed to remove and teardown the drive until I’ve ruled out every external influence.
The engineer says it doesn’t sound like a cone clutch issue but I have no knowledge to form my own opinion. He suggested I ask someone more specialist to come and listen.
Further background; on one occasion, the engine wouldn’t start and I found a disconnected wire so assume the EDC couldn’t confirm it was in neutral. That solved that problem. Another occasion, while manoeuvering, she wouldn’t come out of fwd gear, regardless of the movement of the lever (fortunately nothing to hit!), I switched the engine off and then she wouldn’t start again, presumably as she was still in gear. I squeezed the multi-plug by the linear actuator and then all was good again.
On the port engine, the corresponding multi-plug has been removed and the wires connected individually with butt connectors. It seems this would be wise to do on the stbd engine regardless but could there possibly be anything related to this electrical connection that’s preventing a smooth engagement? With ignition on and engine not running and moving the lever in and out of gear, both port and stbd actuation sounds the same in terms of speed. One last thing, the revs don’t appear abnormally high when engaging gear and both engines are the same.

Any words of wisdom from anyone who may have experienced similar or perhaps from the guru, volvopaul?

Many thanks for taking the time to read this and any thoughts/guidance will be gratefully received.

 

[simonfraser]

cone clutches are supposed to clunk in out of gear
soft no noise, they are wearing out and soon you’ll have no engagement at all

 

[Blue Chamoo]

cone clutches are supposed to clunk in out of gear
soft no noise, they are wearing out and soon you’ll have no engagement at all

thank you for taking the time to review and reply. I had a feeling that there would be some feedback that some clunk is normal and I agree but I feel it's too much. Of course it's particularly noticeable when manoeuvering. I have helmed other Volvo outdrive boats that don't clunk so much. Nevertheless, comments are noted and taken on board. Thank you

 

[BruceK]

a positive clunk is good but if it's delayed and you start advancing throttle it can be a bit harsh. Especially if you are new to the boat and there is a second or two delay operator error can come into play. Otherwise it could be the forks wearing out or bent. You realy need someone experienced onboard to see if the clunk is above the expected thresh hold. SS props are heavy and can also make the clunk harsher if you have those on.

 

[volvopaul]

I’m a newbie to this platform and to motor cruiser ownership but it looks like there’s a lot of experience out there, so here goes.
Boat is 1999 Fairline Targa 34, Volvo Kad44’s with DP-E outdrives, EDC controls. She’s relatively new to me (Sept 21) and appears to have been impeccably maintained. Stern drives serviced 1 year ago.
The stbd engine thuds heavily going into fwd and rev, which didn’t happen at the survey and came on pretty soon after bringing her to her new home (4 hour passage to Portsmouth). The port engine engages very smoothly, to the point of being imperceptible!
While the boat was out for anti-foul and anodes, I got the oil changed in the drive, just to rule one thing out and there were no signs of any metal contamination in the oil and the right amount came out. I’m loathed to remove and teardown the drive until I’ve ruled out every external influence.
The engineer says it doesn’t sound like a cone clutch issue but I have no knowledge to form my own opinion. He suggested I ask someone more specialist to come and listen.
Further background; on one occasion, the engine wouldn’t start and I found a disconnected wire so assume the EDC couldn’t confirm it was in neutral. That solved that problem. Another occasion, while manoeuvering, she wouldn’t come out of fwd gear, regardless of the movement of the lever (fortunately nothing to hit!), I switched the engine off and then she wouldn’t start again, presumably as she was still in gear. I squeezed the multi-plug by the linear actuator and then all was good again.
On the port engine, the corresponding multi-plug has been removed and the wires connected individually with butt connectors. It seems this would be wise to do on the stbd engine regardless but could there possibly be anything related to this electrical connection that’s preventing a smooth engagement? With ignition on and engine not running and moving the lever in and out of gear, both port and stbd actuation sounds the same in terms of speed. One last thing, the revs don’t appear abnormally high when engaging gear and both engines are the same.

Any words of wisdom from anyone who may have experienced similar or perhaps from the guru, volvopaul?

Many thanks for taking the time to read this and any thoughts/guidance will be gratefully received.

A nice positive clunk tells me the cone clutch is in good order , a soft engagement is ok as long as there is no delay further especially when you apply the throttle .

 

[Blue Chamoo]

a positive clunk is good but if it's delayed and you start advancing throttle it can be a bit harsh. Especially if you are new to the boat and there is a second or two delay operator error can come into play. Otherwise it could be the forks wearing out or bent. You realy need someone experienced onboard to see if the clunk is above the expected thresh hold. SS props are heavy and can also make the clunk harsher if you have those on.

Thank you for the response. I believe the props are standard but nevertheless, both sides have the same configuration and engage differently?? When I'm manoeuvering, it's only ever at idle speed, so that would rule out the issue of advancing the throttle before engagement. thank you anyway

 

[Blue Chamoo]

A nice positive clunk tells me the cone clutch is in good order , a soft engagement is ok as long as there is no delay further especially when you apply the throttle .

thank you for picking up the thread and responding volvopaul. That's good to know that it's unlikely to be the cone clutch that's the issue but I feel the clunk is more than positive, particularly when compared to the port drive and other boats. I'm also sure it wasn't like that at the survey, so trying to understand what could have changed? On the soft engagement, I don't believe there's a delay but when I'm on the boat tomorrow, I'll pay more attention to that. If you're ever around Gosport Marina and have any interest to come and offer an opinion, it would be appreciated, but nevertheless, I'll try to find someone with the appropriate specialist expertise. Thank you

 

[Mr Googler]

thank you for picking up the thread and responding volvopaul. That's good to know that it's unlikely to be the cone clutch that's the issue but I feel the clunk is more than positive, particularly when compared to the port drive and other boats. I'm also sure it wasn't like that at the survey, so trying to understand what could have changed? On the soft engagement, I don't believe there's a delay but when I'm on the boat tomorrow, I'll pay more attention to that. If you're ever around Gosport Marina and have any interest to come and offer an opinion, it would be appreciated, but nevertheless, I'll try to find someone with the appropriate specialist expertise. Thank you

Think you miss understand……. @volvopaul is the specialist expertise……as a profession ?

 

[Blue Chamoo]

Think you miss understand……. @volvopaul is the specialist expertise……as a profession ?

I absolutely understand that volvopaul is the guru, as I wrote in my original post. But being a realist and understanding that there is a huge demand on his expertise from what is no doubt a huge a customer base, it's likely that it may not be possible or easy for him to consider me, therefore I will need to consult someone who has relevant skills, while recognising that they may not be to the level of the Master.