Volvo Seawater Filter

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mike james

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I have been written to by the local Volvo Service Agent concerning a replacement sea water filter top for my 3 year old Volvo D4 .
The offer says "some problems have occurred with old type tops"
It is now a transparent cover to enable visual inspection of the filter.
The cost is £127.48 plus Labour plus VAT
Anyone else been offered this and is it worth changing?
Is there a problem with the original?
 
We have for our D6's in warranty. I asked if the cost would be covered by warranty & have heard no more !!!!!!!!!
Apparently some peeps have cross threaded the standard ones & experienced leakage, I think just take care when replacing them. Won't stop me from having some fun with the dealer next year when I ask for the upgrade under warranty.:D
 
mike james said:
I have been written to by the local Volvo Service Agent concerning a replacement sea water filter top for my 3 year old Volvo D4 .
The offer says "some problems have occurred with old type tops"
It is now a transparent cover to enable visual inspection of the filter.
The cost is £127.48 plus Labour plus VAT
Anyone else been offered this and is it worth changing?
Is there a problem with the original?
Click to expand...

Well there has benn a problem with leaks on both d4 and d6 engines, some boats i have worked on have been flooded out causing bad damage to alternators, starters and wiring looms, not to mention rust all over the mounts and sump pans.

Basically volvo should have made this a recall and stood by the damage the poor design has caused a great deal of boat owners.

Some dealers have offered the new lid as afreebie when you have them service the engines, quite frankly I saw it as a ploy by a certain south coast dealer to entice customers into having a service done by them as the actuall time taken to fit them in tiny and can be pulled in when the service is carried out, at some marinas it takes longer to walk to the boat, than fit the parts!.

Id guess its the same dealer, other forum members have been charged for this fitting and have battled with volvo and the boat builder to get there money back.
ive heard comments about the filter not being merchantable etc, id agree with them on this case, as ive seen the damage caused to some 2 and less year old boats that really volvo should be making good.

If I were you id be making an inspection of your engines and if there are signs of rust around areas ive mentioned taking it up with your dealer and insisting its done for free.
 
Just changed the filter tops on both my D6's - the originals were screwed on correctly, but patently weren't fit for purpose, and started to leak. Since I have fitted the new metal and Perspex lids, they are totally leak free and inspire far more confidence.
 
mike james said:
is it worth changing?
Click to expand...

Get it done straight away and argue afterwards about the cost.
This is a sinking issue .

As Volvopaul says if one of the tops comes off you will be looking at a bill for

starters
Alternators
and possibly
Batteries
salvage
lifejacket recharge
liferaft repack and service.........need I go on ?
 
Hello all.

I am currently in this situation and it's not a nice position to be in.

The engine is a D6 and I did not put the water strainer lid back on correctly. The engine bay took in quite a bit of water and the engine stopped. Not knowing where the water had come from, we assumed that we had a hole of some kind in the hull. We were towed back to shore by the local lifeboat crew (who were fantastic by the way) where we found the problem with the ill fitted strainer lid.

We washed the engine and components down with fresh water and left to dry for an hour or so. We then ran the engine at idle for an hour or so and all looked fine.

As a precaution, we had a new alternator and starter fitted but when we came to start the engine again it would not fire.

A local Volvo dealer has stripped the engine down and the diagnosis is a bent con rod and all but one of the valves are stuck. Obviously, water has been ingressed into the engine, probably through the air box.

I can't understand how we managed to run the engine for an hour after it had initially stopped (I presume this is when it initially hydrauliced and bent the rod) ?

The estimate is over £10K so I called the Insurance company to inform them.

They were pleased to inform me that I wasn't covered for such an event. The actual contract states the following exclusion :

loss or damage to engine, gearbox, electrical machinery, electrical equipment, batteries and connections resulting from -
i) negligence (they were saying that what happened was down to negligence - I say that I was being diligent, but did not screw the lid on properly / cross threaded it)
iv) water, unless by sudden accidental incursion into the vessel (looks like they are covered by this exclusion too).

Devastated doesn't even come close. £10K for not screwing a lid on properly - what do these policies actually cover you for ?

It will certainly make me read the small print before taking out another insurance policy.

I will be speaking to the Insurance Ombudsman, but don't hold too much hope - unless anybody has any advice or experience in these matters ?

I am also looking into whether or not there is a recall on the lid for my engine. If so, do I seek help from Volvo for this unfortunate incident ?

Best regards

James.
 
Last edited:
After reading Terranova's reply it does seem like an urgent issue for me to sort out.
Surely it is a design fault and therefore Volvo are responsible?
Has Volvo replaced anyone's at their expense either in the guarantee period or after?
 
Any photos of what the problem looks like. I've a 2007 D4, the raw water filter has not been a problem so far, is this fault to a particle batch.
David
 
mike james said:
After reading Terranova's reply it does seem like an urgent issue for me to sort out.
Surely it is a design fault and therefore Volvo are responsible?
Has Volvo replaced anyone's at their expense either in the guarantee period or after?
Click to expand...

Yes they have replaced lids, they are responsible for the leaks, up to date im pretty sure dealers have made money from owners having leaks from the faulty lids, when it should have been a recall.

I am waiting to hear from a customer of mine who has challenged volvo and his supplying boat dealer as he was sent a bill for the fitting of new lids, on his service I pointed out the rust damage to his engines, though now hes out of 2 year warranty so no help from Volvo.

Will find out whta his outcome is.

As for you new engine rebuild, id certainly challenge volvo over your 10k bill, imagine had your boat sunk, loss of life etc, where would you have gone had the boat been sunk and a totall loss with your insurance, id check to see if you have legal cover with your insurers to challenge vp into making good your engine at there cost.

In all my years as an engineer working on boats never have I seen such poor design on what should have been an up to date spec engine, raw wtaer strainers on 30 year old boats dont leak like the D4 and D6 strainer, volvo have half admitted defeat by bringing out a new design filter.
 
Decided to take the advice offered and the new seawater filter cover etc. is being fitted tomorrow.
Now I know of the problem I will never feel safe until it is fixed.
The Volvo agent says the reason he is writing to all his customers with D4/6 is that some customers who have suffered a ruined engine suggested that as he had serviced the engine he was responsible if the filter cover leaked/ fell off as he had not replaced it correctly.
His view was that the filter cover flexes under pressure.
He too is sure it is a design fault but says Volvo are sticking it out and they say that all problems are due to incorrect replacement of the top.
He had a couple of boats outside his office who have had their engines flooded and knows of many more.
It does seem to me that Volvo have turned a fault acknowledged by their Service Agents but disputed by Volvo into a profit making system for themselves.
 
mike james said:
Decided to take the advice offered and the new seawater filter cover etc. is being fitted tomorrow.
Now I know of the problem I will never feel safe until it is fixed.
The Volvo agent says the reason he is writing to all his customers with D4/6 is that some customers who have suffered a ruined engine suggested that as he had serviced the engine he was responsible if the filter cover leaked/ fell off as he had not replaced it correctly.
His view was that the filter cover flexes under pressure.
He too is sure it is a design fault but says Volvo are sticking it out and they say that all problems are due to incorrect replacement of the top.
He had a couple of boats outside his office who have had their engines flooded and knows of many more.
It does seem to me that Volvo have turned a fault acknowledged by their Service Agents but disputed by Volvo into a profit making system for themselves.
Click to expand...

Quite right Mike id thoroughly agree, when I read the advert in a well known vp dealer near to portsmouth I just though all it was about was to increase there turnover and fit the lid at the customers costs in order to safeguard any further claims and embarassment to vp and the dealers. when as ive said in earlier posts that it can be done on a service at relatively no cost to the dealer whasoever. How can anyone screw a lid back on wrong, even stevie wonder could do it right and have no leaks after!
 
Paul

in your humble opinion, what is the 'bad design' that causes the lids to leak ? I assume from you username that you work for Volvo ? What makes you think that I would be able to challenge VP to make my engine good at their cost when the error was clearly mine ?

If you're ever up my neck of the woods, I'd be happy to show you exactly how they can be cross threaded.

Regards

Stevie Wonder.
 
Sea water filter

Firstly, i have fitted the new sea water filter covers and it was easy. So don't pay for some one else to do it. Took me 30 minutes but now I know what to do I can do it in 15. Bit fiddly but really easy. My boat is 2004 and I an far from a DIY dude.

Who do i need to contact about trying to get my money back from. I know it's Volvo but would it be a dealer or a head office. Does anyone have an email or contact details.

Thx
 
Release the 3 12mm bolts from the strainer. Remove the old lid and o-ring. Fit new o-ring.
FIt the clamp around the housing and fit the new lid so it all lines up. Pull the new lid up to the flat edge so it seats square and do up the 5mm allen bolt and 10mm nut.

Did 2 today on D6 IPS units 30 mins for both
 
terranova said:
Paul

in your humble opinion, what is the 'bad design' that causes the lids to leak ? I assume from you username that you work for Volvo ? What makes you think that I would be able to challenge VP to make my engine good at their cost when the error was clearly mine ?

If you're ever up my neck of the woods, I'd be happy to show you exactly how they can be cross threaded.

Regards

Stevie Wonder.
Click to expand...

Hi no I dont work for volvo, I work for myself and have done since 1990, I work mainly on volvo engined boats and have in the past subcontracted for volvo dealers.

I dont think you would get any help from volvo as you have admitted cross threading the lid, id have kept quiet about that and tried a warranty claim as there is clearly a design fault with the strainer, maybe the poor design caused you to cross thread it.

When you say up my area where are exactly are you, send me a pm if you like.
 
mike james said:
I have been written to by the local Volvo Service Agent concerning a replacement sea water filter top for my 3 year old Volvo D4 .
The offer says "some problems have occurred with old type tops"
It is now a transparent cover to enable visual inspection of the filter.
The cost is £127.48 plus Labour plus VAT
Anyone else been offered this and is it worth changing?
Is there a problem with the original?
Click to expand...
Just to say this is still an ongoing issue. We recently (11th March 2012) on our own Boat experienced the same fault during a 143 mile voyage crossing the Med. to Mallorca. Read my blog for the full story at http://volvoseastrainerlids.blogspot.com/
 
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