2012 volvo penta vibration issues at 20 hours

[55evinrude]

Hello everybody. My 2012 four winns H200 is at 22 hours and needs the 20 hour service done. I would do it myself but will just have them do it because there is bad vibration issues that need to be fixed under warranty .

now the vibrations have been getting worse as time goes on and it only does it at minimum speed (not even on plane) and it's mostly when you turn left or right ..a bit when your going straight. but its bad like shake the whole boat..not nice. and it is like a really bad growl when taking off. once on plane and going fast no vibrations or nosies at all.

I already pretty much know what the vibrations means.... now the first day we bought it we hit a little log in the water going at idle and it only barely nicked one blade on the prop. could that cause it??? I dont think so.... i think it sounds like u-joints are shot. maybe the dealer didn't align the engine properly?? you guys let me know what you think? thanks

Nathan

 

[Don S]

Re: 2012 volvo penta vibration issues at 20 hours

You should have contacted them immediately when you noticed the vibration. It's new, and under warranty for 3 years.

now the first day we bought it we hit a little log in the water going at idle and it only barely nicked one blade on the prop. could that cause it???

It's possible. Did it vibrate before you hit the log?

 

[55evinrude]

Re: 2012 volvo penta vibration issues at 20 hours

yes i realized i should have contacted them sooner but the vibrations were minimal until this weekend. the dealer have been very good about warranty so i will call them tomorrow and get it settled.

and honestly i dont know if vibrations were there before hitting the log because the fist day we bought it we hit the it within the first 2 minutes of having it in the water. (hit the log backing up at the launch ramp at our marina)

Nathan

 

[bnicov]

Re: 2012 volvo penta vibration issues at 20 hours

Are you running a stainless steel or aluminum prop?? If you nicked a stainless prop you probably did some damage further up the line since the stainless is a lot tougher than aluminum. Hopefully it's just an adjustment issue that's covered under warranty.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: 2012 volvo penta vibration issues at 20 hours

I think you should have the dealer look at it under warranty.

I would love to see what your prop looks like. Care to take a picture and show it? I never run with dinged props. If a prop is dinged up badly enough to cause a vibration, it can also damage the bearings in the lower unit.

 

[55evinrude]

Re: 2012 volvo penta vibration issues at 20 hours

I am running the stock aluminum prop. and the nick is sooo small like 3 mm at most. i cant take a pic right now as i live 3 hours away from my boat (cottage). but the mechanic at the dealer seen the nick and said that it wouldn't cause issues.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: 2012 volvo penta vibration issues at 20 hours

Yes, that is pretty small.

 

[55evinrude]

Re: 2012 volvo penta vibration issues at 20 hours

yes thats what im saying. I think it is the u-joints but i dont see how the boat is only 1 month old! and i dont trim the drive up while its running so it's not my fault.

Is it possible the engine is just out of alignment or does that not cause to much vibrations?

thanks everyone for your input!

Nathan

 

[Don S]

Re: 2012 volvo penta vibration issues at 20 hours

Did it vibrate before you took it out. Just sitting at the dock waiting for it to warm up, or on muffs? If ujoints or alignment were your problem, it would have showed up any time the engine was running. Have you started it out of the water to see if it still vibrates?
The prop blade may only have a small nick in it, but if it bent the blade, it would cause a problem and may not even be noticable.
We can probably sit here and guess at what it might be for weeks for what ever good that will do, but until you get it checked out you will never know what it is. For that matter, you could have an engine running problem, maybe a plug wire fell off, or a spark plug not firing and it would vibrate. I've had lots of customers tell me how good there engine runs to find them with no compression on a cylinder or two, or broken spark plugs, dead wires etc.

 

[55evinrude]

Re: 2012 volvo penta vibration issues at 20 hours

I warmed it up for about 5 mins when we first bought it at the dock and there were no vibrations. than we backed up and nicked the log . i have never felt any vibrations in neutral at idle. and i have never run it on muffs only in the water.

Your theory about the bent blade could be true but i dont think so as it was such a lite strike. we put the engine in neutral as we seen the log and it striked it just before out of gear. but im going to call the dealer and just get them to get it fixed asap.

I doubt the engine is the problem the 305 purrs like a champ and does 55-60mph all day long. starts right up. thanks Don!

Nathan

 

[Don S]

Re: 2012 volvo penta vibration issues at 20 hours

The ujoints and coupler spin any time the engine is running. If it's not vibrating now in neutral and out of the water or in the water when in neutral then its not the ujoints or alignment.

Get another prop and put on it and see what happens. Volvo isn't going to pay warranty time for bent props.

 

[55evinrude]

Re: 2012 volvo penta vibration issues at 20 hours

Thanks Don! I talked to the dealer and I am dropping it off tomorrow and they will lake test it and get whatever the problem is fixed!

Nathan

 

[55evinrude]

Re: 2012 volvo penta vibration issues at 20 hours

well dropped it off at the dealer will have to wait a few days for it to get fixed. but at least it's free lol. I talked to a mechanic at my marina and he looked at the prop and said the little nicks on the one blade are nothing. heres a couple pics. thanks

Nathan

 

[55evinrude]

Re: 2012 volvo penta vibration issues at 20 hours

well here's an update, I talked to the mechanic today and he said they took it to the lake and drove it around and he did feel the vibrations also. they pulled the drive and the engine alignment was dead on, the u-joints were in great shape. so he said they pretty much checked everything and it all checks out.

so he named a couple more things it might be one I cant remember what it was and the other was possibly the rubber in the engine coupler on the back of the engine isn't balanced properly or something like that....personally I've never heard of that but I'm not sure lol.
He said he will have to personally call volvo and see if they are going to pay for extensive work to be done, as the engine needs to come out if it is that coupler

What do you guys think? anything else it could be?? thanks

Nathan

 

[55evinrude]

Re: 2012 volvo penta vibration issues at 20 hours

well im back again. boat now has 35hrs on it and vibrations are still there. the mechanic at the dealership has been very nice about the whole situation (picking up the boat from the lake with his trailer and dropping it off) and wanting to get the issues resolved to get us back on the water. He now has tried putting a brand new outdrive on the boat to see if that did anything... he told me that did nothing for the vibrations . He has now got the "ok" from volvo to pull the engine tomorrow and put in a new engine coupler! what do you guys think could that be the issue? I hope so!

Woops almost forgot to add. I did some more testing myself... The vibrations are there in neutral when the wheel is turned all the way and throttle between 1500-1900rpm. They are still there in gear like before

 

[bruceb58]

Re: 2012 volvo penta vibration issues at 20 hours

The vibrations are there in neutral when the wheel is turned all the way and throttle between 1500-1900rpm.

That doesn't surprise me at all.

 

[55evinrude]

Re: 2012 volvo penta vibration issues at 20 hours

That doesn't surprise me at all.

yea the reason i didn't notice it in the first place is because i never fast idled the motor and turned the wheel. So what do you think it could be? He says the alignment was dead on and since the new drive was put on it has new u joints so that cant be it, gimble bearing is good also. do you think he's rght about it being the coupler? I just dont understand how a new boat could already have a problem like this. He says "it may not have been perfectly balanced from the factor" . thanks

Nathan

 

[bruceb58]

Re: 2012 volvo penta vibration issues at 20 hours

If I turn my drive completely to one side it will have a vibration as well, even with brand new u-joints, gimbal bearing and perfect alignment. I went through this same thing when I bought my boat with 70 hours on it. I had a vibration and changed all these and it stayed the same. Anything is possible and its nice the dealer is doing this for you.

 

[55evinrude]

Re: 2012 volvo penta vibration issues at 20 hours

If I turn my drive completely to one side it will have a vibration as well, even with brand new u-joints, gimbal bearing and perfect alignment. I went through this same thing when I bought my boat with 70 hours on it. I had a vibration and changed all these and it stayed the same. Anything is possible and its nice the dealer is doing this for you.

Yea I did think to myself that it could be normal as somebody told me (cant remember who) that the vp turn more than merc therefor more vibrations from the u joints. well I will just have to see what happens, I talked to the mechanic today and he said they are still waiting for the part but i asked him how he knows that it is the coupler. He told me he has seen this problem before on these and it is always the coupler, He had also said that he noticed a very small vibration when in a straight line which tells him that it is the coupler also. Thanks

Nathan

 

[bruceb58]

Re: 2012 volvo penta vibration issues at 20 hours

My boat before my current one had wood floors and my current model is all fiberglass. When I first ran my new boat it felt like there was more vibration because it didn't feel like my previous boat. Now that I am used to my boat, I don't notice it anymore. I figure the difference was the fiberglass floor didn't dampen the vibration like the wood floor on the previous boat.