Volvo Penta engine info

Easy to fix they may be, but not cheap, unless someone has come up with a kit of parts. Replacement of the whole ram is the only remedy, as far as I know.

Volvo dropped the price of each ram to be £217, which is a lot better than the original price was!
 
Volvo dropped the price of each ram to be £217, which is a lot better than the original price was!

Well that is good news, and goes a very small way in accepting responsibility in what was a very poor design. Are the new ones lasting longer than the 18 months or so that some were lasting when launched?
 
is this for trim rams ?


I doubt it. I'm looking at £400 per ram, £800 per engine drive combo and that doesn't include the hydraulic piping which is liable to also shear at the nipple because of corrosion. The brass ones are £70 a pop but the hoses are £270 so to change the rams on a single drive is going to be in order of ~£1200
 
I doubt it. I'm looking at £400 per ram, £800 per engine drive combo and that doesn't include the hydraulic piping which is liable to also shear at the nipple because of corrosion. The brass ones are £70 a pop but the hoses are £270 so to change the rams on a single drive is going to be in order of ~£1200

Wow, that bill would spoil my day, particularly as I'd have to pay labour.
 
Can you let Bruce know the secret before he bankrupts himself and takes all the skin off his fingers.

Ya, I know about barnacles destroying endcap seals. Mine corroded through. The end caps are aluminium. They dissolve eventually in much the same way anodes do, it just takes a bit longer.
 
Can you let Bruce know the secret before he bankrupts himself and takes all the skin off his fingers.

Bruce's scenario was very much worse case. I had four trim Rams leaking on DPE legs and the total bill, including recoating the Rams and grinding them back down to spec, as they were pitted, was about £250. Just for seals and o rings I could have got away with about £50. Obviously this was DIY, so no labour costs.
 
The endcaps can be replaced for £48 each if it's just the endcap or seal that is gone. My ram barrels are approaching the 20 year mark so replacing the endcaps if I could get them off which is no mean feat either would only be seen as a temporary delaying tactic to replacing the rams anyway. May as well do a proper job than master the half job.
 
The endcaps can be replaced for £48 each if it's just the endcap or seal that is gone. My ram barrels are approaching the 20 year mark so replacing the endcaps if I could get them off which is no mean feat either would only be seen as a temporary delaying tactic to replacing the rams anyway. May as well do a proper job than master the half job.

where would i buy a new end cap for the trim cylinders ?
 
Good luck getting the end cap off. By all written accounts it is no easier than removing the pin. DIY people have the advantage of time and patience, a pro is unlikely going to be willing to undertake the job.
 
Some seal kits do not include endcaps. Be gentle with the heat, Ali can become brittle and crack if you exert to much force on it while heating. The ram cylinder wall to me does not look like it is particularly thick and too much torque on it may well deform it which is why in the other thread I was contemplating drilling the endcap out by collapsing it.

i.e. drill a single line of close spaced holes in the endcap from wall to ram, clean out the spaces with a dremel, and then when the pin spanner is used it will compress the endcap lessening it's diameter and breaking that corrosion weld.
 
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have a custom pin spanner made

I was thinking of this as it will be easier to get a metal tube over it for leverage. Haven't tried it myself, but all written accounts confessed to needing additional leverage over a standard pin spanner.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00ALTYPPG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

81D35VpTYFL._SL1500_.jpg
 
prob with all these spanners so far, i have tried 3, is that the pins are quite small and pop out of the holes with the torque applied. another member on this forum suggested having a section of 5mm steel modified with a suitable slot in the end end pins fitted. this is not something i can do myself, still trying to find some one to make one.
 
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