Volvo Saildrive Seal - Replacement

TonyMills

TonyMills

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29 Dec 2001
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I understand that this is a pig of a job and that it is recommended every 5-7 years.
Does anyone have any advice on approaching the job? Some forumns suggest that its not really necessary - but I'd hate to be the first to find out that it is.
i can see no evidence of deterioration but I do know that it has been in place for at least 10 years and possibly 20!

Regards
Tony
 
Recommended every 7 years.
Not beyond the capable ammeter.
Main consideration is having room to move the engine forward a couple of inches.
Article on DIY job is available on the net if you do a search.
 
we did ours a few years ago.... dunno why we bothered apart from a piece of mind.. from my experience it's not the saildrives seal that needs replacing it's the two back to back shaft seals (by shaft seal i mean the shaft the prop slides on to). We only discovered this when the saildrive would not come out of the engine bay without taking the complete shaft out. I actually know a few boats that have failed due to this.
 
once the props off and ring anode removed, you can see the seals round the shaft.

you then need to split the housing which is held in by two cap head screws, one at the top and one at the bottom of the shaft. The housing most prob will need splitting or prizing with a screwdriver to open. If your saildrive is like ours with one or two layers of paint on you may not see the split line but is about an inch away from the rear of the saildrive. (Oh dont forget to drain the oil first)

You dont need to remove the shaft, but it might be worth pulling it out to check any teeth wear. I bought our shaft seals from the main dealer. which were quite expensive for what they were.... they are actually Stefer seals <SP> which are very common in motor cars. so i guess you could buy them cheap at you local autoparts.

The seals are just pressed in to the housing back to back packed behind each other with grease.
 
Do have a peep at past posts on this one - site details above.

The hull seal is clearly made to last somewhat longer than 7 years: I think it's neoprene coating a fibre interior mesh. So it's a serious piece of gear. I have never heard of one giving way, certainly not catastrophically. But nothing lasts for ever, so if you're in doubt let me line up with fellow sailors who say "get it seen to"

Your biggest consideration is being able to unbolt the engine and slide it forward an inch or two to allow the gearbox and leg to be swung away from the engine drive shaft and lifted into the vessel. If on inspection this looks difficult or impossible, take advice from other owners of the same class.
If it looks doable, you're in for an interesting 10 hours of DIY work - ashore (no way can you do this between tides!).

Buy the replacement parts from Keypart of Kings Langley - all Volvo stuff but cheaper! Including the Volvo synthetic oil for leg and gearbox, which you really should use.

PWG
 
[ QUOTE ]
..........Buy the replacement parts from Keypart of Kings Langley - all Volvo stuff but cheaper! Including the Volvo synthetic oil for leg and gearbox, which you really should use......PWG

[/ QUOTE ]
Careful..........not all Volvo saildrive legs specify synthetic oil, some specify regular engine oil. Find out which you have.
 
Interesting - I have never come across such a setup. All the manuals I have seen show the oil systems to be separate - S leg and engine. I guess really old ones could specify mineral oil but more because mineral was the oil then available? I wonder if Volvo would recommend a move over to synthetic now, given the stresses etc in the gearbox/drive?

I would be surprised if the questioner's rig was that old - but you can never be too careful.


PWG
 
It's been debated on here before, Peter. My leg, for example, is a 1997 Volvo 120S and is clearly labelled '15W/40 engine oil'.
The oils won't be interchangeable, will they - for one thing, the requrement on the oil-seals is different.
 
Ah, missed the earlier debate...

But even more interesting 'cos my 120S rig is the same age as yours and is definitely synthetic ONLY. Done 2500 hours since then, so seems to be right. Can't understand the difference though...a mystery..

I know that mixing oils is not on, but a substitution is a consideration. I shall ask at the next boat show out of interest. Never know, this item may come up again on the forum...

PWG
 
photograph each stage and the bits that emerge,use bowls or paper cups, and write on them what they contain.a laptop to display the pics large will be luxury,as will 2 full days to clean up mating faces and abrade any corroded areas and repaint.take weight of engine on baulk of timber across companionway,using say spectra rope tackle.helps if engine stays in the horizontal plane exactly,when moving fwd abt 2 inches.witn luck no tubes or cables will need removal.care with 12v supply,sorry re caps etc,on the nokia!gde luck,any probs materials,shout.
 
Thanks for the informative responses and the links to the PBO pages.

The engiine is boxed in (not in the least Practical) so it will be quite an excercise. I'll prepare a plan for next years lift out and get some quotes (although I'll probably tackle it myself in the end).

No point asking the insuance company, I know the answer.

Regards
TonyM
 
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