Volvo Penta 3.0 trim tab replacement?

J

joeyholzer74

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Sep 3, 2011
Messages
32
I have a 02 volvo penta i/o. The boat pulls really hard to the left and very hard to turn to the right. The people on this great forum said to adjust to trim tab, but come to find out there is no trim tab. After looking it over some more, and actually finding where the trim tab would go i noticed there is a little while plug in the hole where the trim tab would/should go. Can anyone tell me where i can find one of these tabs to fit? Why wouldnt this boat have a trim tab already installed?
 
wellcraft19

wellcraft19

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jun 21, 2011
Messages
201
Re: Volvo Penta 3.0 trim tab replacement?

What outdrive do you have? Is is a SP (similar to 290) or the newer SX drives?
With a 3.0 engine we assume it is a signle prop drive.

And, personally I call the little "tab" a trim fin, since I prefer to call "tabs" the ones that control the boat up/down.
 
J

joeyholzer74

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Sep 3, 2011
Messages
32
Re: Volvo Penta 3.0 trim tab replacement?

i wish i could give you more information on the outdrive, it is a single prop, but i do not know if its a SP or SX. When i find out more info on it i will let you know, the boat is in the shop right now, just bought it 2 weeks ago.
 
V

veeru

Cadet
Joined
Mar 15, 2011
Messages
21
Re: Volvo Penta 3.0 trim tab replacement?

I had the same problem with a Glastron running a VOLVO penta 5.0 Gl (2008) model, with an SX-A drive. Boat ran fine for 1st 12 hours then would pull to the left if hands off the steering and it was a real struggle to keep it straight. Most people recommended going through the drill of looking at the steering components. Found nothing wrong with it. Few recommendations were to check trim tab but there is NO TRIM TAB on this gearbox.

Finally saw a small puddle of oil in the water and on dry dock we traced it to the starboard side trim tab cylinder. While we have not fixed the problem completely we did notice that each time the oil was topped up the steering improved. Waiting for someone to supply a refurbished cylinder as its an O ring leaking the oil. I feel confident that the trim cylinder leak is causing some for of mis alignment when the boat is UNDERWAY which leads to it pulling to the left violently.

Also tested the boat on dry dock with engine running. Surprisingly the steering is nice and smooth when engine is off on dry dock and we move the steering from lock to lock. . However Steering becomes harder when tested lock to lock with the engine running on dry dock. Checked the pump and it seems to be pumping oil, no hose leaks anywhere. COULD it be the STEERING rack??? The boat has a brand new teleflex steering rack and pinion system which is perfect when checked with linkages taken off, drive moves smooth when disconnected to everything so a big MYSTERY.

I will update you if I have sucess on steering issue with the cylinder leak as the missing link.
 
V

veeru

Cadet
Joined
Mar 15, 2011
Messages
21
Re: Volvo Penta 3.0 trim tab replacement?

PS my boat has a mechanical TELEFLEX rack and pinion from steering to the transom and then the transom has a power assist steering pump that is in theory supposed to make steering and life easier by using the hydraulics to assist. Did you check your trim tab cylinder. V hard to trace an oil leak but have a look UNDER the piston with transom up. You may see the ocassional drop of opil. If you are using genuine oil it is even harder to trace as it is light yellow. We used red oil as a tracer to find the leak.
 
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