Vibration while Turning 2007 Volvo-Penta 4.3L SX-A

[DonJG]

This seems unusual....not a normal old U-Joint/Gimbal Bearing event.

Vibration Problem while Turning 2007 Volvo-Penta 4.3L SX-A

I bought my latest boat (Chaparral with 4.3 Volvo-Penta SX sterndrive) new in 2007; it now has about 50 hours total. Before, I had an ?87 Sea Ray for 20 years. The Sea Ray never needed a U-Joint or gimbal bearing replacement; I checked alignment and lubed it regularly. My boat lives in an on-shore boat house and is only in the water when I drive it. I?m in the Midwest; all boating is fresh water on one lake. I mention this background for what comes next.

Here?s what happened with my 2007 boat. For the 20-hour warranty inspection, I took the Chaparral back to the dealer at the end of the 2007 season. They changed the sterndrive oil, engine oil and whatever else they do for this inspection. It was winterized and stored until spring 2008. May 2008, I put it in the water, checked engine oil and drove it for about 20 minutes. Coming back to dock, I couldn?t get it out of gear. I almost hit the dock before I was able to get it out of gear. I put it in the boat house and checked the sterndrive lube level (which I should have done first thing but it had been dealer serviced as I mentioned). Well, the sterndrive lube was WAY above the high fill mark. The dealer?s service department had really overfilled it! VP owners?when the manual warns you not to overfill the sterndrive, they really mean it. It can make it difficult to get your boat in or out of gear. I drained the excess lube (about a quart) and verified that everything worked OK (Volvo-Penta Tech Support told me to do this and doubted there was any real damage). Everything was fine for a year and a half until last September, 2009. During the last run of the season, I noticed a definite moderate vibration while turning left or right under medium or higher power. This can be a classic sign of gimbal bearing/U-Joint problems. I winterized the boat, drained the sterndrive lube (no water, no metal, perfect appearance) and replaced it with the right spec oil. But, I had no time to investigate the vibration issue further because my mother was in very bad health.

Now, mom is gone and the boat gets my attention. A few days ago I pulled the sterndrive which came out nicely (alignment appears good). There is NO sign of water getting past the bellows. The gimbal bearing feels silky smooth as well as the U-Joint. Spline is rust-free and well greased; engine coupler looks great, etc. I am baffled. But, I?ve heard that it?s not always possible to feel a bad U-Joint by hand. This boat was a few months past the 2-year warranty when this vibration problem started last fall. The dealer and I had a serious confrontation in 2008 when they overfilled the sterndrive; I will not have my boat serviced by them under any circumstance. So, it looks like it?s on me. I believe I?m capable of this service (experienced advice welcome) and have all the VP manuals.

I am seriously considering replacing a lot of parts to get the sterndrive to a known ?new? state. This includes a new gimbal bearing, u-joint, and both bearings in the pinion bearing carrier. But, before I do all this, does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions? I even wondered if Volvo-Penta had a bad batch of u-joints or bearings back in 2006 or early 2007 (when my boat was built). Thanks in advance.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Vibration while Turning 2007 Volvo-Penta 4.3L SX-A

Ayuh,... Any Dings in the prop,..??

From your story, I kinda Doubt it's the gimbel bearing, nor any of the other parts you're doin'...

 

[DonJG]

Re: Vibration while Turning 2007 Volvo-Penta 4.3L SX-A

Prop is what came with the boat new in 2007 and is perfect. It's a 4-blade aluminum prop. Vibration disappears when not in a turn even at full throttle.

 

[Don S]

Re: Vibration while Turning 2007 Volvo-Penta 4.3L SX-A

I would be replacing the prop or getting it checked by a prop shop, before thowing a bunch of money into drive parts. I've seen blades bent a little without any nicks or dings, causeing a vibration. Especially on 4 blade props.
Not sure how they overfilled by a quart. From the full mark, it won't even hold a full cup, let alone a quart.

 

[JustJason]

Re: Vibration while Turning 2007 Volvo-Penta 4.3L SX-A

I would try calling volvo first and see if they will warranty anything for you. Sometimes they might if your a few months out... all depends on the guy you get on the other end of the phone.

Other than that, you can pull apart the ujoint and look at the rollers inside of them. Are they completely round or are they tapered at 1 end? Are they greasable ujoints or permalube? If greasable when was the last time they had grease?
Another thing to check is the steering pin. Have 1 guy hold the steering wheel and you rock the drive back and forth. Is it real tight or is there some slop in it?

Welcome to iboats!

 

[DonJG]

Re: Vibration while Turning 2007 Volvo-Penta 4.3L SX-A

Thanks, all for the suggestions. I will have the prop checked and the steering linkage. One of my thoughts was if anyone had experienced problems with early failure of bearings and u-joints that aren't related to water damage, etc.

As far as my estimate of how much the sterndrive was overfilled by the dealer, I may have overestimated it by judging how much was in the drain pan (didn't actually measure it). But here is a photo I sent the dealer and Volvo-Penta of the oil level on the drive dipstick. It was WAY overfilled.

 

[Dave1251]

Re: Vibration while Turning 2007 Volvo-Penta 4.3L SX-A

Unless you find the root cause of the vibration, why would change any parts. You are planning on spening a lot of time & money and might not correct the problem.

I am not sure how an overfilled drive from 2 years ago would cause this vibration. If you do not want to go back the original dealer, then go to another dealer who will find the root cause and fix the problem rather than just change parts until the problem goes away. It's alot cheaper in the long run.

 

[DonJG]

Re: Vibration while Turning 2007 Volvo-Penta 4.3L SX-A

One main reason for starting this thread was to learn if there were other known failures of u-joints and bearings unrelated to old age or water intrusion. Or, if there were other causes of vibrations only while turning besides the usual gimbal bearing or u-joint problems. I think the recommendation to look at my prop more closely is a good one. I will order a new prop (I need a backup one anyway) before replacing other parts. I am still hoping that somebody sees my thread and relates something else, perhaps out of the norm. For example, the u-joint is supported between the gimbal bearing and the pinion bearing housing. Inside the pinion bearing housing are bearings (my manual shows a set of two tapered roller bearings) that need a very specific preload. Too high a preload and pinion bearing damage may occur; too low and excess play in the pinion bearings might behave like a bad gimbal bearing or u-joint, etc. Perhaps someone has experience differentiating between gimbal bearing, u-joint or pinion bearing issues without a complete tear-down. I am hoping for other theories or suggestions, and I appreciate them all.

But, I absolutely agree with the importance of determining the actual cause of the problem. I've spent a fair amount of time on this forum reading posts before I started my thread. I only listed the history of the over-filled lower unit for thorough background information (just in case). I frankly doubt the over-filling of the lower unit is related to today's vibration problem. The unit shifts well and there has been no water contamination in the sterndrive or inside the bellows so far.

Any theories are welcome, and thanks!

 

[senza170]

Re: Vibration while Turning 2007 Volvo-Penta 4.3L SX-A

Hi, firstly, sorry to hear about your mother.

Now, from an engineers point of view, I can understand your wanting to change all the bits and pieces inside the leg so that you know in your own mind that everything is sound. I'm the same with these things. However, I would say that until you have good evidence that something is wrong inside, for example metal filings or emulsified oil, then I wouldn't strip the guts out. It's not so much the unnecessary cost, it's having the right tools for the job. If you haven't got a well equipped workshop with all the special tools, or the means to make the special tools, you could get into trouble. You dont want to have it blow up after you've rebuilt it and cause damage that may not have existed in the first place!!

I wouldn't have thought that there would be any significant wear in any bearing within. How fast is the vibration? A bearing would give a faster buzz or drumming noise, the prop would be a deeper, slower vibration. Thinking further, no bearings within the leg are affected by turning, i.e they aren't loaded any differently in a turn than in a straight line. This brings us back to which components are affected in a turn...other than the steering linkage, it's the u.j. and input shaft, and the gimbal bearing!!
I'm not sure of the anatomy of these volvo-penta units but........
If it were me, I'd also get the prop checked, I'd replace the u.j. anyway seeing as they are easy to do usually, and if it's easy to get at, I'd change the gimbal bearing too. It always makes sense to replace parts which you aren't sure about if you've taken something apart.
If you are going to replace any bearings which need loading up, like the taper roller bearings you were talking about then make sure you have the means to do the job!!
Hope this little piece of my mind helps

 

[DonJG]

Re: Vibration while Turning 2007 Volvo-Penta 4.3L SX-A

Thanks, senza170, for your thoughts. Looking for metal in the sterndrive makes sense. So far, I haven't seen any evidence of that so going deeper into the sterndrive is probably not justified. As far as tackling tougher service jobs, I own a commercial machine shop so making any special tools or having the right place to work is not a problem.

Here's what I've decided to do. First, replace the prop with a new one. If vibration is gone, I will celebrate, go boating and send my original prop in for a proper rebuild. If vibration is still there, I'll replace the gimbal bearing, u-joint and may even do the pinion carrier bearings because the "non-serviceable" u-joint requires the removal of the pinion bearing carrier anyway. It seems to me that any stress in the drive shaft area is distributed between the gimbal bearing, u-joint and the pinion carrier bearings. But, I have decided there is no point going deeper into the sterndrive than that now. If anyone has experience (damage, wear, etc.) with pinion carrier bearings, I'd love to hear about it. There is plenty of experience on iboat about gimbal bearings and u-joints, but not as much about pinion carrier bearings. It could be there, but I'm new to forums and not too good digging the right stuff out. Any tips on diagnosing and servicing the pinion carrier bearings (or a link) would be appreciated.

Thanks to all who share their ideas and experience.

 

[senza170]

Re: Vibration while Turning 2007 Volvo-Penta 4.3L SX-A

Well good luck with rectifying your vibration. I'd be surprised if it is more than the prop, and even more so if it's more than the u.j. Are you going to let us all know how you get on?

I'm fairly new to these forums too. And you are lucky to have your own machine shop behind you, my brother and I are agricultural engineers and we work out of an old farm workshop here in sunny England, just south of London.
Anyway, all the best.....