Volvo saildrive 120 bearing preload

[Miken]

I am in the process of changing the propshaft seals and bearing carrier on my Saildrive 120 as the previous owner let the annode corrode away to nothing and the Carrier has been eaten away. The rear bearing will require preloading and I wonder if anyone has a saildrive manual (I have Engine manual but saildrive workshop manuals seem non existant) as I would like to understand which is the critical measuring point for the bearing face is it A) the end of the carrier or B) the bolt up flange face. Or if there is a different technique to setting the preload without having to put the Bearing in and out and check the float.

Any info would be apreciated

 

[Dipper]

I bought a Volvo workshop manual for the 120S (also covers the MS2 and MS2V) from Keypart about 10 years ago. If I remember rightly it was a very expensive £25. I don’t know whether it is a problem exclusive to me but I always find official workshop manuals difficult to understand in places even though this one has lots of photos.

Please note – boring technical details follow!

The shim thickness for the rear bearing is calculated with the propeller shaft in place and the outer bearing race in place. Rotate the shaft a few times to settle it in. Measure the distance between the face of the gear housing and the outer bearing race (this is called measurement Y). Then note the measurement B which is stamped on the rear bearing housing. B should be between 50 and 70. The shim thickness needed is Y minus (B/100) in millimetres.

The other much easier method which I used is to add your shims and check that the bearing race is level with the plane of the gear housing. I found that the old shims were just the right size anyway so I didn’t have to adjust anything. Mind you, I had only replaced the bearing and not the housing.

Checking the preload involves fitting the bearing and housing back together then winding string around the propeller shaft. Attach a spring scale and pull. The correct reading should be 7.7 lbf. I didn’t have a spring scale so trusted to luck on this!

I hope this helps. I've sent you a PM.