Volvo Penta DPH a bit milky

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gordmac

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Having eventually figured out you need to lock the controls and press neutral to trim the outdrive up to the required angle (something you might think would be in the operator's manual!) and taken the filler plug out it would appear I have water in the oil. A bit annoying, particularly since the last owner paid a considerable sum to have it sent away for repair in the autumn.
Presumably I need to pressure/vacuum test to try and find how it got there, anyone recommend what to use and how to connect it? The filler plug is rather large! I take it there are seals both on the outer prop shaft and between the shafts? Seals on the gear selector? I presume if the water was getting in via the input shaft in the bellows it would also be leaking into the engine compartment?
I haven't drained it yet ( forgot to take a container to drain into with me and it is a 60 mile round trip!). How do I get the remaining emulsified oil cleaned out? Would filling with say diesel rinse it out?
Any advice gratefully received.
 
Could be anything. Usually you'd change the o-rings / nylon washer of the drain / fill / dip-stick with every service so unlikely there; therefore prop-shaft seals or gear selector seals. Most likely (in my experience) the prop-shaft seals.

Forget service history - they could have been replaced 1 week ago but got destroyed with fishing line etc. or badly assembled.

Get yourself a pressure / vacuum tester... you don't even need to be great at DIY to do this. I do it annually on my own out-drive and it's always a nice relief to see it holds pressure / vacuum. Don't tell anyone though, or the whole yard will be asking for a lend of it!
 
I had my DPE serviced a few months ago and found some water contamination in the oil. Changed both the shift seal and shaft seals, they weren't that expensive.
 
alt said:
Could be anything. Usually you'd change the o-rings / nylon washer of the drain / fill / dip-stick with every service so unlikely there; therefore prop-shaft seals or gear selector seals. Most likely (in my experience) the prop-shaft seals.

Forget service history - they could have been replaced 1 week ago but got destroyed with fishing line etc. or badly assembled.

Get yourself a pressure / vacuum tester... you don't even need to be great at DIY to do this. I do it annually on my own out-drive and it's always a nice relief to see it holds pressure / vacuum. Don't tell anyone though, or the whole yard will be asking for a lend of it!
Click to expand...
Thanks for replying. What tester do you have and how do you attach it? The filler plug takes a 30mm spanner, not sure what would fit there.
 
This is almost a service item on Volve drives! They all leak at some point, I always replace the prop shaft seals and gear shift seal together, I use diesel to rinse the drive. When you remove the outer propshaft with its gear look inside the gear housing with a good flashlight and inspect the pinion gear by rotating it to check for damage on the teeth, this is the smallest gear and works hardest so the surface hardening can fail if its had prolonged use with water in the oil. After a good rinse and new seals then pressure and vac test and you are good to go, just did this on my neighbours drive and luckily no damage, as a gear set is expensive and takes time to overhaul as there is a lot of measuring and shimming involved, I have been rebuilding drives for 26 yrs and it takes time and patience and a lot of special tools. You can pressure test using the drain plug hole as its easier to get an adapter for that thread size, although I have a spare filler plug drilled and tapped to connect a pressure tester.
 
gordmac said:
particularly since the last owner paid a considerable sum to have it sent away for repair in the autumn.
Click to expand...

he actually said that did he . :rolleyes:


The cheque is in the post
Your call is important to us
The outdrive was completely serviced last year.
I have it on the bench in front of me right now..... Sir !

A merry Winterval to all. :) ☃
 
If there is a groove you can reposition the seals a milimetre or two either way so the lip sits an a flat surface, easy to do and no extra cost!
 
Thanks for the replies.
Oldgit, I have seen the invoice!
Spannerman, am I as well just replacing the seals as a matter of course rather than trying to find what is leaking?
Have a nice Christmas!
 
Its usually the propshaft seals as they aren’t protected so are vulnerable to fishing line etc, and its not a lot more work to do the gearshift seal while you have it on land, then you know its all good for a few seasons. There is a roll pin locking the selector pin on the shifter which you ease out with sidecutters and replace with a new one, the hard part is then getting the selector pin out, the official method is grip the pin in a vice and knock the whole shifter housing away from it, I recommend heating it first as its a VERY tight fit, it has the locating groove for the roll pin on the inner end so make sure its completely out and don’t twist it as you can snap off the last part, maybe buy a spare pin as a reserve. Look carefully down the roll pin hole when tapping the locating pin back in so you get the groove lined up, I use a small punch of the same diameter and rest it in the hole so it drops down when the groove is in the right place.
 
I would open them if you are in doubt. Better 1k today then 12k for a new drive.

A client with a Zaffiro just changed seals and new oil, in end of August during his cruise he blew the stern-drives. 2 weeks of waiting and 12k of bill for a new drive.
 
Never had a straight bellows change every two years .They were always removed opened up striped down all the shafts / gears out .
Checked bits replaced deemed out of spec reassembled refitted .They were overnighted pressure tested .
Some small part of the invoice was the actual bellows .
Anyhow up shot was 9 yrs hassle free albeit expensive seasons .
Off the boat Monday afternoon returned refitted Thursday PM ready for the Friday lift in .
VP agents .
Iirc something like €2_3000 + tax each time depending on extra parts .Stuff like seaks , shims , UJ s odd few hundred piece .
Just the drives ,
In-between theses 2 y jobs just a oil change .They used to grease up the bearings / moveable joints with that blue VP grease and remove , greases + refit the props .
So with the engines I could easily blow €5 K on a service, back in noughties.

They are ok for a few years esp when new and you can avoid the turbo , elbow , riser , drenched alternator and now seemingly ECU hassle + expense .

Live n learn :)
 
There is a knack to filling DPH drives, they hold 5.2 ltrs but if you fill them with the drive down you won’t get it all in, so you run them full up and down a few times then trim up to 35 degrees and fill allowing it to sink down until it stabilises at the bottom of the filler hole. If you don’t get it all in then you risk running the top section with a too low oil level equals £££££.
 
alt said:
Could be anything. Usually you'd change the o-rings / nylon washer of the drain / fill / dip-stick with every service so unlikely there; therefore prop-shaft seals or gear selector seals. Most likely (in my experience) the prop-shaft seals.

Forget service history - they could have been replaced 1 week ago but got destroyed with fishing line etc. or badly assembled.

Get yourself a pressure / vacuum tester... you don't even need to be great at DIY to do this. I do it annually on my own out-drive and it's always a nice relief to see it holds pressure / vacuum. Don't tell anyone though, or the whole yard will be asking for a lend of it!
Click to expand...
Agree with this. Very easy and common for the seals to get nipped when tightening up. I used to silicone up over the screws to make sure. Didn’t have an issue from there on. Loads do it these days
 
I pump up to 10 psi and leave for 15 mins to see if it holds, rotate prop shaft, input shaft and operate the gearshift to check the seals are holding, and then have a brew to make sure, same with vacuum.
 
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