Volvo penta SX M Outdrive opinions?

[Seaman84]

I have a 2004 Glastron sx195 Volvo Penta 5.0 GL-E, SX-M drive. Last summer I had a problem with loud vibrations when turning, So it turned out to Be the gimbal and bellows, and the dealer blamed it on a crack around the outdrive from the previous owner, they said someone had dropped it. So it ended up costing me 900$ I really don't want to go through this again.

The dealer put some black sealant around where the "Crack" was, but it was done sloppy, anyway it doesn't seem like it's fully reliable, the Outdrive works fine now, I just don't want to go through that mess again.

I also looked at the records of previous owner and he had to replace the Gimbal and bellows also, Is this common on these Outdrives?

My friend has a baja w/ 496 Mercruiser and Bravo one, and he never has problems, he sometimes even uses the same oil from last summer for the present summer on the outdrive, I don't Know, I need Advice.

Pulling the outdrive Seems very complicated & I don't Have the right tools for that. any advice is greatly Appreciated

 

[Don S]

Re: Volvo penta SX M Outdrive opinions?

How about a picture of the sealant area so we know where you are talking about. Sealer of any kind isn't needed on the drive or transom shield. Is your dealer a Volvo Penta certified shop or just a bunch of boats for sale with a bunch of hacks to patch up mistakes? Sure sounds like a bunch of hacks.

 

[Seaman84]

Re: Volvo penta SX M Outdrive opinions?

How about a picture of the sealant area so we know where you are talking about. Sealer of any kind isn't needed on the drive or transom shield. Is your dealer a Volvo Penta certified shop or just a bunch of boats for sale with a bunch of hacks to patch up mistakes? Sure sounds like a bunch of hacks.

Exactly what I was thinking, I just need this outdrive to be reliable, The dealer says they are a Licensed Volvo Dealer, It's Called Fun Country's RV & Marine, Here in Sunland Park New Mexico Here's a link to the Dealers Website - http://www.funcountryrvs.com/

And here are some pictures, Let me know what you think Don, I honestly think they did a Sloppy Job.

 

[Don S]

Re: Volvo penta SX M Outdrive opinions?

The drives are reliable, it's your shop that isn't. They are worse than a bunch of hacks to do that to any drive, they are butchers. I wouldn't take anything to that bunch of losers.

You probably need a new bellows that wasn't replaced the first time, and no amount of sealer like that is going to fix it.

Replacing the bellows and gimbal bearing (and probably ujoint now) along with checking the yoke and input shaft seal is needed. Along with cleaning up the sealer, new seal ring for the drive, gear lube. 4 hrs of labor max, plus parts from a good shop and you are back in business.

Changing those bellows every 5 or 6 years as preventive maintenance is all it would take to prevent gimbal bearing and ujoint failure. Takes about 1 hour or less to change just the bellow.
The drive should also be coming off yearly just to grease the coupler splines (or you will be pulling the engine to replace the coupler) along with checking alignment at the same time. It's just how things are done to prevent expensive failures.

 

[Seaman84]

Re: Volvo penta SX M Outdrive opinions?

The drives are reliable, it's your shop that isn't. They are worse than a bunch of hacks to do that to any drive, they are butchers. I wouldn't take anything to that bunch of losers.

You probably need a new bellows that wasn't replaced the first time, and no amount of sealer like that is going to fix it.

Replacing the bellows and gimbal bearing (and probably ujoint now) along with checking the yoke and input shaft seal is needed. Along with cleaning up the sealer, new seal ring for the drive, gear lube. 4 hrs of labor max, plus parts from a good shop and you are back in business.

Changing those bellows every 5 or 6 years as preventive maintenance is all it would take to prevent gimbal bearing and ujoint failure. Takes about 1 hour or less to change just the bellow.
The drive should also be coming off yearly just to grease the coupler splines (or you will be pulling the engine to replace the coupler) along with checking alignment at the same time. It's just how things are done to prevent expensive failures.

Exactly, they did a horrible job. never going back again. Thanks for your help Don Really appreciate it, Will Be getting to the Outdrive, Is there a guide on how to Do the Maintenance for this outdrive? Or a video on it, Im not gonna lie, Im pretty Nervous of pulling the outdrive, Seems very Complicated but I have to get it done.

 

[skydiveD30571]

Re: Volvo penta SX M Outdrive opinions?

Don why would someone put sealer right there? It's like they assumed it to be a watertight area.

 

[Don S]

Re: Volvo penta SX M Outdrive opinions?

The instruction in the manual makes it sound a lot worse than it is.
You disconnect the trim cylinders from the back of the drive. (pop the caps and snap rings off with a screwdriver)
remove the plastic cover.
disconnect the cable and remove the cable end and lock nut.
remove the 6 mounting nuts
pull drive off the back of the boat.

The drive is heavy, but if you use the trailer jack to raise or lower the bow so the skeg of the drive just touches or just above the ground, when you pull it off you just have to balance it.

There are all kinds of threads on the subject of pulling the drive and doing basic repairs.
Here are a couple.

http://forums.iboats.com/volvo-penta-i-o-inboard-gas-engines-outdrives/dps-m-599501.html#post4174646

http://forums.iboats.com/volvo-pent...imbal-bearing-shift-cable-service-513846.html

 

[Don S]

Re: Volvo penta SX M Outdrive opinions?

Don why would someone put sealer right there? It's like they assumed it to be a watertight area.

You're kidding, right??? How could I possibly know the answer to that question?

Like I said, they are a bunch of butchers. Shouldn't be around boats.

 

[Seaman84]

Re: Volvo penta SX M Outdrive opinions?

The instruction in the manual makes it sound a lot worse than it is.
You disconnect the trim cylinders from the back of the drive. (pop the caps and snap rings off with a screwdriver)
remove the plastic cover.
disconnect the cable and remove the cable end and lock nut.
remove the 6 mounting nuts
pull drive off the back of the boat.

The drive is heavy, but if you use the trailer jack to raise or lower the bow so the skeg of the drive just touches or just above the ground, when you pull it off you just have to balance it.

There are all kinds of threads on the subject of pulling the drive and doing basic repairs.
Here are a couple.

http://forums.iboats.com/volvo-penta-i-o-inboard-gas-engines-outdrives/dps-m-599501.html#post4174646

http://forums.iboats.com/volvo-pent...imbal-bearing-shift-cable-service-513846.html

Thanks Don! really Appreciate those links! I will be getting to it, It doesn't Seem that hard, but it will be worth it, and a good learning Experience, So when I Get ready to remove the drive, how can I take the sealant off? without breaking anything

 

[Seaman84]

Re: Volvo penta SX M Outdrive opinions?

You're kidding, right??? How could I possibly know the answer to that question?

Like I said, they are a bunch of butchers. Shouldn't be around boats.

Exactly, A bunch of rip-offs, Don I also Need to Learn about the Alignment And greasing the Coupler Splines, Do I follow the Same Process?

 

[Don S]

Re: Volvo penta SX M Outdrive opinions?

This thread will give you info on alignment if you need to align it. You basically need to check the alignment and make sure it's not bad.
To grease them, you cover the drive shaft splines with grease and install the drive.

Here is the full manual on that drive. Service Manual

Oops wrong link, now try it.

 

[skydiveD30571]

Re: Volvo penta SX M Outdrive opinions?

You're kidding, right??? How could I possibly know the answer to that question?

Like I said, they are a bunch of butchers. Shouldn't be around boats.

No, I'm not kidding. You know far more mechanics and have a lot more experience around both mechanics and fixing their poor repairs than I do. I think it's pretty obvious to anyone that the "crack" in question is just a gap and not designed to be watertight. I'm not asking you to be psychic, I'm asking how anyone who has seen an outdrive before possibly assumed it was necessary. Have there been drives in the past that were watertight right there? "They are a bunch of butchers" is an acceptable answer, just curious if their logic actually stemmed from somewhere.

 

[Don S]

Re: Volvo penta SX M Outdrive opinions?

So you want me to tell you WHY an idiot does what he does?

I'm a marine tech, not a Psychoanalysts. You need to find Mr Freud to answer that.

 

[skydiveD30571]

Re: Volvo penta SX M Outdrive opinions?

Ok I'll ask again, have there been drives in the past that were watertight in the same area that these mechanics decided to use sealer? I'm not asking anyone to read minds, it's just a question.

 

[Don S]

Re: Volvo penta SX M Outdrive opinions?

No..

 

[Seaman84]

Re: Volvo penta SX M Outdrive opinions?

How about a picture of the sealant area so we know where you are talking about. Sealer of any kind isn't needed on the drive or transom shield. Is your dealer a Volvo Penta certified shop or just a bunch of boats for sale with a bunch of hacks to patch up mistakes? Sure sounds like a bunch of hacks.

No..

Aight Don, Thanks for the links! I'm getting ready to pull the Drive this weekend & ordering the Alignment tool, When I Am Ready to install the drive back & tighten everything, I don't need to worry about the sealant right just leave it how it used to be & it should be good right? Do I do the Grease the gimbal & Coupler splines by hand or a small pump?