Volvo trim rams

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harbourbank

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The trim rams on my 290DP drive work OK, but the seals at the outbord end of the rams have had it. Should I get them rebuilt now by a hydraulic specialist or will they keep on working?
 
I have just had mine replaced,cost for the parts was £299.00 plus vat each from Keyparts, which is £100.00 each cheaper than I was quoted from my local Volvo dealer. Only one of mine was leaking but we noticed that the other ones had slight pitting to them, so rather than risk having to have it craned out midway through the season if it failed, we decided to change them all. Incidently mine where only 4 years old not a very good lifespan. I have since found out that a company called Coastal rides do a reconditioned ram for a £100.00 exchange plus vat, hope this helps you to make the right decision.
 
That's interesting , thanks.

We hope to replace the rods today, provided the requisite seals turn up.

These are having to be made, as Volvo refuse to supply them as spares - surprise, surprise!! /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

Good luck with refitting the rams, as it's been said on here and our local V agent confirms that that can be an absolute pig of a job.
 
Good luck if you can repair the rams in-situ. Replacing them is not straight forward. The first problem is access to the lock bolt on the securing pin which is located on the transom shield inside the engine compartment.
The second problem is that the pin is usually well and truly stuck and you will to inject grease into the transom shield from outside the boat to force the pin out. A special tool is available from Volvo for this purpose which you fill with grease, attach to the transom shield and twat with a hammer.

Novio - should get more than 4 years from the rams. If the rams are pitting check the earthing strap between the ram cross-over pipes and the transom shield and then using a multimeter check that there is good electrical continuity between the rams and the anode on the transom shield.


Eddie
 
I had mine rebuilt last year for £30 each which included all new seals and rechroming/metal spraying. I just took them to a local hydraulic specialist.
 
I've just found the same problem and was recommended new rams. I was also told that the VP "grease hammer" doesnt always work that well. Labour and VP bits were looking like mega bucks so in the end I had a tool made to get the end caps off with rams left in situ. Just waiting for the seal kits to arrive now, so...fingers crossed.
 
We don't need to remove the ram "casing" from the transom - the difficult bit as you describe - (even the local Volvo folk didn't want to have to do this).
We can just replace the "pistons/rods" and seals, after having them repaired by welding and re-polishing.
It will be interesting to see how long they last /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
 
Let us know how you go on,you could rent out the tool if it is successful repair. The mechanic took two days to get the rams off and fit the new ones, in the end he had to drill them from outside the transom shield and use a chisel to brake them as the access from behind the engines was near on impossible, he had to take the air filters off and the elbows, to get at the locking bolts,he then managed to get some mole grips and wd40 on the pins to loosen them.He tried the Volvo tool that you fill with grease,but they were stuck solid,volvo recommend that you move the engines or cut the transom to get at these bolts.Did not fancy either of these options.
 
I don't know how long the "grease hammer" tool has been available but 3 or 4 years ago the volvo engineers removed the engine and transom shield off my old boat and took the shield to their workshops to change the rams using a subtle amount of heat I think. Cost best part of £2k. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Eddie
 
There is another tool that I have used with success: a threaded connector that screws into the same hole, and allows a grease gun to be connected.

10,000psi of grease pressure, and "pop" (hopefully the plug emerging, not your transom shield cracking).
 
There should be a cut out either side of the trim ram pins in the transom to allow in situ removal....it is a pig of a job to do, I ended up making up a puller that screwed in to the back of the pin and with that and plenty of wd40 got mine out last season. I have since been told by a VP engineer that the grease hammer option has never failed him. The grease gun option (rather than hammer) will only work if the boat has never been in salt water.
 
Thanks for all that. I have managed to free off the pins, so it looks like removal won't be too much of a problem. I am encouraged that you imply that seals are available on the hydraulics market and are not solus to VP
 
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