Thanks to the forum!

[johnbo]

I had the day off today, so I decided to pull my outdrive off and do the annual lube and inspection. Last year was my first with a I/O and while I thought that I had done a good job shortly after buying the boat on the bellows/gimbal/U-joints/etc, I figured that this time would be when I found if I had done the job right or not. We put about a 100 hours on the boat last season. so it was due, based on both the year end and the hours of use.

Pulled the drive off and onto my homemade cradle and found to my relief, no sign of water or anything foriegn in the bellows. Gimbal felt fine, took a couple of pumps on the (EP Moly) grease gun to fill the bearing up. Took about the same amount for the U-joints, they felt fine. Replaced the O-rings and the water passage seal. Checked the alignment, which was spot on. Regreased the splines with Sierra spline lube. Cleaned up the mating surfaces and applied some sealant to the threaded studs (as per the Volvo manual).

Slid the drive back on, torqued everything down. Started the drain process for the gear oil. Oil was still as clear/translucent as it was going in. (Valvoline Full Syn 75W90). Will refill (from the bottom) in a couple of days. Its going to take a couple of days to drain (even with the dipstick pulled) as its about 40F in my barn.

Total time, a bit under 4 hours, including backing the boat into the barn and trying to find the O-rings that I bought last year. Still have a little work to do with filling the drive. (Drain plug tied to the ignition key to remind me).

I feel much better about the work that I did last year and very happy with the advice and council that I received over the past year from this list.

Thanks to everyone,

johnbo

 

[Don S]

Re: Thanks to the forum!

Ain't it great when everything works, you know you've done it right, even after the harrassment of the grumpy old men around here

 

[johnbo]

Re: Thanks to the forum!

I wouldn't call it harrassment, but directed encouragment!

As uncertain as I was about last year being a first timer, I still felt very comfortable with the boat, because I understood not only how it was supposed to work, but also how it was put together and what I was doing to it when I drove it. The only way to learn that is by doing. With the suggestions and admonishments that I and others received from you and the other senior 'staff' here, I had a great opportunity to learn.

As an engineer (electrical), understanding how something works also tells me how and why it will fail. And what I can do to prevent failures. In the case of a couple of boaters I helped out last year on the lake, I can even start to teach.

Thanks,

johnbo