Volvo Penta D6 DPH - Propeller replacement

marcochi76

marcochi76

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Hi All,
my Volvo tech just informed me that 1 of the propeller of my volvo Penta D6 DPH has tendency of (I do not know how to say that in proper english...) to slide when rotating...
My propellers are the old type in bronze.
It seams that VP put on the market a new type in stainless steel.
Does it worth it to change all 4 props with the new ones in stainless steel?

I am quoted the following:
1 prop old model is 998 Eur + VAT
twin prop new model: 2.295 Eur + VAT






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Either get new props or re - bushed - it far outways the cost of a new / reconditioned drive if the 2 propellers slam into each other
 
Had a similar Problem last year and after a question to the forum I decided to change all props in stainless steel. Imho it is not worth to spend money in some reparations.
 
I had mine all re-bushed, as the props were otherwise in reasonable condition.
If the props are corroded or pitted, then replacing with Stainless Steel is the way to go.
 
Hi Marcochi,

Did you notice the fault as on of your engines would not hit full revolutions, but one would easily. The propeller with the problem will be on the engine that hit full revolutions and not the other that would not. If this is the case then you have had the hub of the propeller debond from the propeller and it is now slipping.

To fix this you either need to have the old propeller rehubbed. When this happened to me I could not find anyone on the Côte d’Azur who could do this. I ended up buying new propellers from Keypart in the U.K. and had those fitted. I hand carried the new propellers in my luggage before Brexit and so had no hassle.

Unfortunately Volvo Penta Prices in France are greater than those in the U.K. and so I paid less than £1700 for two new propellers in 2019.

Volvo Penta will not be interested in anything apart from selling you new propellers, but you might try one of the independent marine engineers in Beaulieu and see if they can help with the rehabbing option, but that pitting on you old propeller doesn’t look good. Alternatively have a look at the Volvo Penta shop online as you get a 10% discount if you sign up. Now the problem will be getting them fitted as Mecca in Beaulieu won’t touch parts you provide. Having said that fitting props is not complex and any independent can do it as can you if you have the tools.

I won’t be in Beaulieu until late May otherwise I would offer to help. If getting back on the water quickly is the issue then you really only have one option.
 
marcochi76 said:
View attachment 134643
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Looks like cavitation .Must have had a whack if it’s the only blade of the 12 and got slightly out of alignment? Maybe the resultant vibration ( not that great for you to notice @ the helm ) is the cause of the looseness , slippage of the bushing ??
I would want to know what caused this before throwing another set on .
€5 K ++ for a full set ( assume you do both legs so they are identical? ) seems steep .

The VP Cote d Azur HQ is off the A8 at La Napoule near the airport.
They have a direct sales to public counter.+ the inconvenience of closing for 2 hr French lunch as well .
You can email them a request .
I wasted my life in there when I ran VP outdrives.:)
Speak good Eng btw ……now !
Accueil - Marine Moteurs
 
Thanks all for your replies.
I do not notice anything strange at the helm, except that the boat recently had difficulty to go on plane, but I assumed this was due to the dirty hull.
The 2 engines seems to be aligned when taking revs.

The VP mechanic noticed 1 propeller is starting slipping and highly suggested to replace it.
It seems it is not completely dead, but it is much safer to replace it before it will damage the leg...

Another VP mechanic I contacted was not surprised at all as he told me those propellers do not last long and he regularly replace them...

I see 2 options:
just replace the faulty propeller with one of the same type, and try to have the old one repaired to keep it as spare.
But knowing that there is high probability to have to replace the others soon?

Or change the 4 of them with the new ones in stainless steel, but that is super expensive and I was not ready for that...

I need to decide quickly as the boat was already planned to go back on water.
 
When one of my propellers "slipped", I had just that one re-hubbed.
Then only a few weeks later I had the same thing on the other side.
This messed up the best weeks of last season.

If one prop is slipping, the chances are that the others also want to slip.
They just haven't told you yet.
 
marcochi76 said:
and on a side note:
are stainless steel props that much better than the old nibral ones? Or is it just pure marketing?
Click to expand...

Stainless steel props are a bit better than the Nibral props, in that the blades are thinner, so you get a little more speed for the same amount of power.
They are also less prone to cavitation damage and corrosion.
Plus they look cool when cleaned and your boat is out of the water :)

Downside could be that your drive anodes fizz away faster than with Nibral props.
 
In my opinion I would replace one prop with the Volvo Penta original. I have one set of new (2019) one set original 2008 and one set of spare re-Hubed 2020.
Let me guess you are in a ship yard and the costs are slowly going up.
 
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