Volvo MS2 Gearbox problem

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Gryphon2

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When the engine is hot and been running for a while, the gearbox will not engage torward or reverse at low revs without lots of nasty sounds and vibration. Speeding up sorts out the problem but it comes back at low revs and neutral can be difficult to find. The symptoms do not appear if the engine and gearbox are cool. I have tried changing the oil to 10/40 from 75/90 but this appears to make no difference. The linkage looks OK but I am not sure how to adjust it anyway. It seems to be at the end of its adjustment.

Any ideas before I find a nice Volvo man?
 
I had 2 of these on my TMD41A engines. Nightmare! I stripped them down and found several problems which lead me to replace them. However the actuating cone on the end of the lever wears horribly and this is easy enough to extract by undoing the two nuts holding the beastie in and extracting it. Might be worth a try.
 
Gryphon2 said:
When the engine is hot and been running for a while, the gearbox will not engage torward or reverse at low revs without lots of nasty sounds and vibration. Speeding up sorts out the problem but it comes back at low revs and neutral can be difficult to find. The symptoms do not appear if the engine and gearbox are cool. I have tried changing the oil to 10/40 from 75/90 but this appears to make no difference. The linkage looks OK but I am not sure how to adjust it anyway. It seems to be at the end of its adjustment.

Any ideas before I find a nice Volvo man?
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Are you aware of this? http://www.dbmarine.co.uk/ms2.php
What engine is it fitted to?
 
Spyro said:
Well the OP has a MS2 Gearbox that is what the article refers to so as far as I know it could be. Why don't you shut the XXXX up at let him answer.
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But it seems you don't know much about the MS2 gearbox. I've had a Volvo engine with an MS2 gearbox, and I totally understand the spline problem which affected a number of engines, including mine. When the splines wear out, there's no drive at all, regardless of the temperature of the engine/gearbox. That's why I said it has nothing to do with the OP's problem.
 
Gryphon2 said:
When the engine is hot and been running for a while, the gearbox will not engage torward or reverse at low revs without lots of nasty sounds and vibration. Speeding up sorts out the problem but it comes back at low revs and neutral can be difficult to find. The symptoms do not appear if the engine and gearbox are cool. I have tried changing the oil to 10/40 from 75/90 but this appears to make no difference. The linkage looks OK but I am not sure how to adjust it anyway. It seems to be at the end of its adjustment.

Any ideas before I find a nice Volvo man?
Click to expand...

As boatmike has suggested, the dog may be worn. If you look at the MS2 Workshop Manual, there are lots of photos and detailed guidance on how to replace this (if parts are still available). You should be able to find a download of the Workshop Manual on line; if you can't, PM me with your email address and I'll send you a PDF of it. Once you've looked at it, you'll be better able to decide whether to try a DIY repair or to get a VP man in.

Edit: I just looked on the Volspec website and the dog is available for around £150. It's a new part number and is described as being replaced "for quality reason", so it might be more durable.
 
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Gryphon2 said:
When the engine is hot and been running for a while, the gearbox will not engage torward or reverse at low revs without lots of nasty sounds and vibration. Speeding up sorts out the problem but it comes back at low revs and neutral can be difficult to find. The symptoms do not appear if the engine and gearbox are cool. I have tried changing the oil to 10/40 from 75/90 but this appears to make no difference. The linkage looks OK but I am not sure how to adjust it anyway. It seems to be at the end of its adjustment.

Any ideas before I find a nice Volvo man?
Click to expand...

A worn gear shift dog might be part of the problem as boatmike suggests but I dont think it will be the cause of the "nasty sounds and vibration" to which you refer but there maybe some other problem with the shift mechanism

The workshop manual is on the Manualslib website at https://www.manualslib.com/manual/893496/Volvo-Penta-Ms2.html

It describes the adjustment of the shift mechanism but have you tried disconnecting the cable for the remote control lever and operating the gearshift directly by hand ?
 
Thank you for the various thoughts.

I suspect the gear shift dog . I will investigate further. Unfortunately I have so far been unable to disconnect the linkage as it seems the adjuster and lock nut will not budge but I will try harder!
 
Gryphon2 said:
When the engine is hot and been running for a while, the gearbox will not engage torward or reverse at low revs without lots of nasty sounds and vibration. Speeding up sorts out the problem but it comes back at low revs and neutral can be difficult to find. The symptoms do not appear if the engine and gearbox are cool. I have tried changing the oil to 10/40 from 75/90 but this appears to make no difference. The linkage looks OK but I am not sure how to adjust it anyway. It seems to be at the end of its adjustment.

Any ideas before I find a nice Volvo man?
Click to expand...
Hi
I have got the same problem and will send the gearbox to a repair shop. Please advise: what was the outcome, which parts needed replacement ?
 
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