help with a Volvo Penta outdrive

[krazylegs]

hey guys and ladies I'm a newbie to boating. My buddy and I bought a used boat for our nights on Clearlake catfishing. We replaced the lower bellows for the exaust. When I replaced to lower, I found that the upper bellows had several cracks and tears in it. Nothing happened two trips out. But after our last trip alot of gray liquid was dripping throught the tears in the upper bellows.

So, why would the gray liquid (water mixed with oil I think) decide to drip out now; even thought the tears have always been in the upper bellows? Did the seal give out? if so, which seal? How hard would it be to fix? and if you guys could help out with any other tips it that would be cool as well.

FYI- I have a Ford 302 motor with a Volvo Penta 270 outdrive not sure what year the model number was missing when I bought the boat. (no, the boat is not hot, well at least I don't think it is

Sorry for the long post. I just wanted to also let you guys know that I will be ordering a book on the outdrive, and I want to maintain the boat to the fullest to ensure pleanty of cats in the years to come. Thanks Krazylegs

 

[captmello]

Re: help with a Volvo Penta outdrive

Yes the seal in the upper gear box is most likely bad from water getting into the bellows.

You'll need to pull the upper gear box and see what you find. Here's a link on how to pull the upper.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=309095

If the bellows has been torn for long, and it's been run that way for long, you may have some additional issues like the ujoints and intermediate bearings in addition to the upper gear box seal.

I'm guessing this is a 35 year old boat so it's going to need some work.

Pull the upper and see what you find and we'll go from there.

BTW, welcome to Iboats, and good luck!

 

[krazylegs]

Re: help with a Volvo Penta outdrive

Thank you so much for your assistance! I will try to have this fixed before summer closes. I just hope that it is not to hard to pull and fix. Krazy

 

[captmello]

Re: help with a Volvo Penta outdrive

It's not that difficult. Take your time. If you get stuck, just ask.

 

[PiratePast40]

Re: help with a Volvo Penta outdrive

Just thinking out load here, but you might want to consider doing a pressure test before you remove the gearbox from the outdrive. That way you'll now for sure about the seals before you tear it apart.

 

[krazylegs]

Re: help with a Volvo Penta outdrive

Okay, would l need to go to a repair facility to conduct the pressure test? Or, is that something that I can do at home. Sorry in advance for the seemingly dumb questions. I just want to do it right and get back on the water before the summer is over. Thanks for all the replies. Krazylegs

 

[Shouldn't Have]

Re: help with a Volvo Penta outdrive

for a pressure test i rigged up a bike pump with a built in pressure gauge. I bought a new lower unit oil hand pump. Took the screw fitting and hose and clamped it to a connector that is designed to fill inflatables and hooked that to the bike pump. After you drain the lower unit oil, screw in the fitting and pump it up to about 18 lbs. Let it sit and see if it leaks down. Good luck.