mocruising
Well-Known Member
How often should the VP stern seal be changed. How long has yours been in operation. Mine was there when I purchased the boat 8 years ago, but I will change it this winter.
Volvo stern seal
- Thread starter mocruising
- Start date
mcanderson
Well-Known Member
Recommended time interval is 5 years. My boat is now 5 years old and I'm doing it this winter.
ithet
Well-Known Member
Volvo recomends almost everything be changed at 5 years! Many people seem to have had these for 3-4 times longer. Would have thought that they would start to drip a bit as they wear so giving some warning of when to change?
Probably worth carrying a spare though.
Probably worth carrying a spare though.
Last edited:
awol
Well-Known Member
The Volvo bumf says "many years"! I'm sure I've read 7 years, 5 years (above), 500hrs ! (claimed to come from Volvo Canada) but you say you're changing it anyway, so why worry.
Tranona
Well-Known Member
Mine is about 15 years. No sign of wear or deterioration of the rubber.
Skysail
Well-Known Member
If you don't know how long it had been on the boat, changing is a good idea. I think the spec said 5 years but mine looked good as new at that point. It was in the dark so no UV around, and the lip seals must depend on engine hours anyway?
Make sure there is no wear on the shaft and use the Volvo plastic ring for renewal.
Make sure there is no wear on the shaft and use the Volvo plastic ring for renewal.
ditchcrawler
Well-Known Member
I had one on a previous boat and asked through the owners association (British Hunter) if anyone had experienced a failure.No-one had and some of them were 15 years old plus.They were a standard fitting on Hunters.
jakeroyd
Well-Known Member
mine's on a hunter , 10 years old now.
No sign of any leak or deterioration.
I always give it it's 1cc of volvo grease every season.
No sign of any leak or deterioration.
I always give it it's 1cc of volvo grease every season.
wazza
Well-Known Member
+ 1.... no probs as of yet.. touch wood!!!
Ammonite
Well-Known Member
I replaced a 10+ year Volvo seal earlier this year. The old one wasn't leaking and looked fine (both internally and externally) However, when I compared it with the replacement it was clear that the lip seals has worn considerably - they looked fine but were a lot smaller than the replacement and not as tight on the shaft. So they definitely do wear out. Having said that I'm sure it would start to drip before it failed in a major way
Chris_Robb
Well-Known Member
Mines 20 years old now. No drips at all. I do carry a spare one.
I am told that they give plenty of notice of going wrong by starting to drip. I have had the odd buzzing noise from it when it has been turning under sail, but that goes if you burp it.
I grease mine every 50 hours, using a Mcdonalds straw as instructed by this forum......
I am told that they give plenty of notice of going wrong by starting to drip. I have had the odd buzzing noise from it when it has been turning under sail, but that goes if you burp it.
I grease mine every 50 hours, using a Mcdonalds straw as instructed by this forum......
Matador
Well-Known Member
Volvo Seal
Hello, I have fitted Volvo shaft seals on both the boats I have owned with no problems. However I have thought about what i would do if the seal failed catasrophically, not sure, vague thoughts about hose clips and bits of rubber or plastic bottle..... Any thoughts.
Cheers, Chris W.
Hello, I have fitted Volvo shaft seals on both the boats I have owned with no problems. However I have thought about what i would do if the seal failed catasrophically, not sure, vague thoughts about hose clips and bits of rubber or plastic bottle..... Any thoughts.
Cheers, Chris W.
Appleyard
Well-Known Member
Mine is about 17 yrs old and does not show any sign of age. Has anyone had experience of one of these seals failing catastrophically,what happens?
Martin_J
Well-Known Member
Look very very closely when you check them... The one I replaced on the last boat (at about 9 years old) had no obvious drips nor anything obviously wrong...
However - upon flexing it when burping I did notice a crack around the seal.. just where it would be covering the edge of the stern tube... That would have had no leaks but then been quite a serious failure... It was quite a deep crack - possibly from previous engine misalignment but could be just the way they are
Just something extra to check.... Hope this helps. It wasn't easy to see.
However - upon flexing it when burping I did notice a crack around the seal.. just where it would be covering the edge of the stern tube... That would have had no leaks but then been quite a serious failure... It was quite a deep crack - possibly from previous engine misalignment but could be just the way they are
Just something extra to check.... Hope this helps. It wasn't easy to see.
ghostlymoron
Well-Known Member
One thing I've always wondered - if you have a drying mooring, do you have to 'burp' every tide?
rob2
Well-Known Member
My boat is fitted with another brand of lip seal. Two thoughts that occur to me are that if you're going to remove the seal to examine it, you may as well change the working parts whilst you're in there: one piece of hose and two lip seals. Should give the lie to the real cost of these marine fittings!
The other thing is that the Volvo sela has to be manually greased and burped. My older one has a reservoir of transmission fluid fed to a nipple between the seals. It has never lost any oil yet. Would this be an unthinkable modification to a Volvo seal?
Rob.
P.S. If anyone has any details of the "Vire" seal sold by Fairways, I'd love to hear from them.
The other thing is that the Volvo sela has to be manually greased and burped. My older one has a reservoir of transmission fluid fed to a nipple between the seals. It has never lost any oil yet. Would this be an unthinkable modification to a Volvo seal?
Rob.
P.S. If anyone has any details of the "Vire" seal sold by Fairways, I'd love to hear from them.
Plevier
Well-Known Member
Yes. Well that's what I do anyway. Lots of air comes out every time.
I did once forget for about 10 minutes, it survived OK but the air hadn't dispersed, it still came out when I remembered and burped it.
My previous boat - lift keel First 29 - had a permanent vent pipe built in at the top of the log immediately behind the seal - so I didn't need to on that.
PeterGibbs
Well-Known Member
With tender care and lubridcation, they last quite a number of years. Catastrophic failure is highly unlikely, but checking the pliability of the material each year will indicate if failure is incipient. Clearly if any significant leaks are observed, it's time to replace.
PWG
Red Admiral
Well-Known Member
Failure of VP rubber stern seal
I know of only one failure - on a 19' open motor boat. Bought on a trailer and launched at its new home port it returned from its first trip with a steady stream of water from the VP stern gland. The new owner had not been made aware of type of gland nor the need to bleed it when launched. On inspection when hauled out it seemed as if the lips had become hot and partly melted allowing the air to bleed out and the water to rise inside the stern tube so cooling/lubricating the gland and preventing total seizure with possibly catastrophic failure. As it was, the influx had been adequately handled by the fairly small bilge pump.
Without this level of abuse the piece of kit appears to be relatively bombproof. Mine is now twenty years old and the spare looks as if it will stay in its box for some time yet.
I know of only one failure - on a 19' open motor boat. Bought on a trailer and launched at its new home port it returned from its first trip with a steady stream of water from the VP stern gland. The new owner had not been made aware of type of gland nor the need to bleed it when launched. On inspection when hauled out it seemed as if the lips had become hot and partly melted allowing the air to bleed out and the water to rise inside the stern tube so cooling/lubricating the gland and preventing total seizure with possibly catastrophic failure. As it was, the influx had been adequately handled by the fairly small bilge pump.
Without this level of abuse the piece of kit appears to be relatively bombproof. Mine is now twenty years old and the spare looks as if it will stay in its box for some time yet.
Kwik Decision
Well-Known Member
Volvo have moved the goal posts on this one. When we got our boat the PO had fitted a Volvo seal in 2002, and the instructions said it should be changed every 7 yrs. In 2009 I bought and fitted a new one, and this time the instructions said change every 5 yrs!
Two schools of thought here:
1) it is very unlikely to fail catastophically, therefore don't change it until it starts to show signs of ware / leaks.
2) in the extremely unlikely event that your boat sinks due to the failure of a part which the manufacturer says should be changed every 5 yrs, and which is older than that, your insurance company may refuse to pay the claim, therefore it is worth spending £60-70 replacing it every 5 yrs
Two schools of thought here:
1) it is very unlikely to fail catastophically, therefore don't change it until it starts to show signs of ware / leaks.
2) in the extremely unlikely event that your boat sinks due to the failure of a part which the manufacturer says should be changed every 5 yrs, and which is older than that, your insurance company may refuse to pay the claim, therefore it is worth spending £60-70 replacing it every 5 yrs