volvo 260A/280upper and 290 dp leg

[josephsiracusa]

hi i have a volvo sterndrive its a tophalf of 280 with bottom half 290 duo prop. just bought it this year,,,,, though i am confused on what oil to use? do i use same engine oil or does this use gear lube? old owner says he was using sae 30.in this drive..though not sure , any answers out there? when i drain the oil how can i tell if it is gear lube or engine oil?

 

[captmello]

Re: volvo 260A/280upper and 290 dp leg

DP outdrives of that era use gear lube.

 

[josephsiracusa]

Re: volvo 260A/280upper and 290 dp leg

DP outdrives of that era use gear lube.

Not sure if i have explained well.This 1984 bayliner 28 ft contessa came with a 260a engine and a 280 single prop sterndrive. 5 years ago he upgraded the sterndrive. He kept the top half 280 and installed to it the bottom half from a 290 duo prop. So the top half of drive is a single prop 280 and the bottom half is a 290 duo prop. I looked up volvos owner manual and they call for a 280 single prop to use same engine oil and for 280 and 290 Duo prop use gear oil. its confusing because the top half of drive is from a single prop 280. i called vovlo penta in british columbia and spoke to a technician in tech support and said clearly use only engine oil because most of the lubrication is at the top of the drive and that specific top half of 280 wouldnt handle gear oil as it was designed for motor oil. and as for the bottom half 290 duo prop they say the engine oil will work fine... .>>>This upgrade was done 5 years ago and his mechanic also said to continue to use motor oil. For the last 5 years it has worked without problem with motor oil with a total of 300 hours used. Ive used it about 20 hours this season and it seems to be perfect? now i need your opinion as i have explained now .? what do you think?

 

[Walt T]

Re: volvo 260A/280upper and 290 dp leg

Sounds like you've answered your own question. Motor oil is fine, some prefer gear lube. Capt Mello is right but Volvo started saying motor oil was okay later.

 

[diesel1960]

Re: volvo 260A/280upper and 290 dp leg

15W40 diesel motor oil is recommended.

 

[GilligansIsland]

Re: volvo 260A/280upper and 290 dp leg

15W40 diesel motor oil is recommended.

I never heard that. I converted to duo and only use GL5 or 75/90 gear lube.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: volvo 260A/280upper and 290 dp leg

I use synthetic gear lube in my DP.

 

[captmello]

Re: volvo 260A/280upper and 290 dp leg

i called vovlo penta in british columbia and spoke to a technician in tech support and said clearly use only engine oil because most of the lubrication is at the top of the drive and that specific top half of 280 wouldnt handle gear oil as it was designed for motor oil.

Volvo used the same upper gear box on the outdrives. To say the top half won't handle the gear oil because it was designed for motor oil is ridiculous.

My understanding is that motor oil is recommended in the single prop outdrives and Gear lube for DP outdrives.

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: volvo 260A/280upper and 290 dp leg

The 280 needed 30wt.
Thats what we put in all the Volvos we worked on.
That included.270 275 280

 

[Walt T]

Re: volvo 260A/280upper and 290 dp leg

My DP has had motor oil in it for 18 years. Gee I should probably change it huh?

 

[captmello]

Re: volvo 260A/280upper and 290 dp leg

The 280 needed 30wt.
Thats what we put in all the Volvos we worked on.
That included.270 275 280

My DP has had motor oil in it for 18 years. Gee I should probably change it huh?

90w gear lube is what is called for in the Old DP's. If there is more current documentation on this, calling for the use of "Same as engine" for the DP's, please post it, or at least reference it. Personal results are not necessarily correct.

I think a good reference website should have current, OEM info. everyone sharing their personal experience, right or wrong, causes the site to lose credibility.

Imo. carry on.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: volvo 260A/280upper and 290 dp leg

+1 to captmello

refering to a thread from one of our favorite guru's http://forums.iboats.com/volvo-pent...replacing-lube-volvo-penta-290-dp-555765.html

and from the Volvo operators manual that I downloaded from Publication search - Publications / Manuals : Volvo Penta

for a 290 - it recommends same oil as engine. for the 290dp, it recommends GL5 gear lube. Since the 290 and 280 share the same upper gear case and the dp drive puts more load on it, I would highly recommend following the manual.

Hence the reason I am using a synthetic GL5 marine gear lube. It was also recommended by the VP shop that rebuilt the drive for the prior owner of my boat.

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: volvo 260A/280upper and 290 dp leg

This came from a friend on another site.
Very good Volvo guy.
Read this thread. Some of these guys don't have a clue.
http://forums.iboats.com/volvo-pent...es/volvo-260a-280upper-290-dp-leg-629812.html

The reason for engine oil in the s/p drives, is due to the gear/bearing design, and mainly due to the slinger pump. These slinger pump impellers are made from die cast aluminum. If heavy gear oil is used in a s/p drive, there is a risk that the slinger impeller drive pins may become sheared off.

With the Duo Prop addition, this oil must be GL-5 gear lube.
There is NO slinger pump in the DP lower unit.... instead, the driven gears pump the gear lube up to the transmission.
There is NO risk to this type of oil pumping with heavy gear lube.

Plus, the DP requires this additional GL-5 lubrication that engine oil cannot provide.
This is NOT an option!



Now.... the one issue that some may run into, it the cone clutch affair.
Some sliding sleeves (that have spent years in engine oil) will not lock up with the heavier GL-5 gear oil.
There's simply too much friction reduction.... and some degree of friction is needed for the eventual lock-up.
The remedy is simple.
The transmission is taken apart, and the sliding sleeve is gently lapped into each corresponding gear cups.
This is not a big deal.
If the transmission is in need of re-sealing, and/or bearing cross replacement, you get to kill several birds with one stone.

 

[GilligansIsland]

Re: volvo 260A/280upper and 290 dp leg

This came from a friend on another site.
Very good Volvo guy.
Read this thread. Some of these guys don't have a clue.
http://forums.iboats.com/volvo-pent...es/volvo-260a-280upper-290-dp-leg-629812.html

The reason for engine oil in the s/p drives, is due to the gear/bearing design, and mainly due to the slinger pump. These slinger pump impellers are made from die cast aluminum. If heavy gear oil is used in a s/p drive, there is a risk that the slinger impeller drive pins may become sheared off.

With the Duo Prop addition, this oil must be GL-5 gear lube.
There is NO slinger pump in the DP lower unit.... instead, the driven gears pump the gear lube up to the transmission.
There is NO risk to this type of oil pumping with heavy gear lube.

Plus, the DP requires this additional GL-5 lubrication that engine oil cannot provide.
This is NOT an option!



Now.... the one issue that some may run into, it the cone clutch affair.
Some sliding sleeves (that have spent years in engine oil) will not lock up with the heavier GL-5 gear oil.
There's simply too much friction reduction.... and some degree of friction is needed for the eventual lock-up.
The remedy is simple.
The transmission is taken apart, and the sliding sleeve is gently lapped into each corresponding gear cups.
This is not a big deal.
If the transmission is in need of re-sealing, and/or bearing cross replacement, you get to kill several birds with one stone.

+1

GL5 or 75w90

 

[josephsiracusa]

Re: volvo 260A/280upper and 290 dp leg

i apreciate all your replies though i am still a bit confused as i do not want to ruin a perfect drive.............the majority of replies and local mechanics opinion all suggest to use 80 90 gear oil or straight 90.......though when i call volvo they say use engine oil.....................the ratio is 20 to 1 to use gear oil........also a local mechanic today told me to use sae 50......what do you all opinion on this oil ?

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: volvo 260A/280upper and 290 dp leg

Re-read my post from the other mechanic.
"Plus, the DP requires this additional GL-5 lubrication that engine oil cannot provide.
This is NOT an option!"

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: volvo 260A/280upper and 290 dp leg

If he wants to risk damage to his Duo Prop drive, he can continue with the 30W engine oil. Otherwise, he should use the GL-5 gear lube as per the correct Volvo Penta information sources.

 

[josephsiracusa]

Re: volvo 260A/280upper and 290 dp leg

ok i am convinced now that this sterndrive does use gear oil. do i use 80 90 or 75 90 or straight 90 ? gl5 or gl4 ? what does volvo call for and why? any suggestions would be apreciated. thanks

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: volvo 260A/280upper and 290 dp leg

GL5 75w90 if you boat in cold water, 80W90 if you boat in warm water

 

[josephsiracusa]

Re: volvo 260A/280upper and 290 dp leg

thanks for the help though my only concern based on your reply is that, when the boat goes in the water spring time, the lake water temp is at 50 f and by the summer it reaches 85 f, so the water temp changes from cold to hot, i wouldnt want to have to change oils between the season as the boat would need to come out of the water, any other help would be great and anyone else who suggests different let me know thanks.