Steering Bushing replacement for Volvo Penta 275

[clemsparks]

Hey all,

I had a problem that I thought was related to the steering bushings in my Volvo Penta AQ131D/275A.
I figured I?d contribute with a visual walk-through of the process involved in replacing the bushings. It?s not a hard job, but it will probably help others to see it here before tackling the project. I think worn bushings are a common problem on these Volvo Penta setups.

First, remove the steering ?Protective Helmet? from both the mid-housing and the steering yoke.

Remove these two bolts:




Use a pair of bolts to remove the button in the other two holes as seen below (note, I think there may be different thread sizes required for different drives?Mine are ?-20, for reference)







Unbolt two bolts on either side of the yoke (note: There?s a nut on the inboard side of each bolt):


At this point, the steering helmet can be removed.

Now it?s time to go inside the boat and remove the Yoke. [I removed the grease zerk from the top of the Yoke (I?m not sure if this is necessary for removal, but it was necessary for installation)].






Thanks,
Clem

 

[clemsparks]

Re: Steering Bushing replacement for Volvo Penta 275

The steering “Spindle Arm” is connected to the “Steering Yoke” via a splined interface and a pinch-bolt that clamps the Arm onto the Yoke. Loosen (or remove) the pinch-bolt from the lower end of the arm (a ground cable was located under the head of the bolt on my setup).






At the top of the arm, you can release the steering cable by removing the cotter pin if you intend to remove the Spindle arm from the boat for cleaning/inspection.



Now you can go outside the boat and lower the Yoke from the transom “Shield.”




Back inside the boat, you can move the Spindle Arm to the side (or remove it completely) and the Steering Yoke bushings can be removed from the transom Shield. The top bushing slides downward for removal and the lower bushing slides upward for removal.



In addition to the two bushings, there is a soft rubber seal on the yoke shaft that should be inspected and/or replaced.




Clean and inspect your parts, and reassembly is the reverse of removal.

Reassembly did get tricky, however. I first tried installing the Steering Yoke with the grease zerk installed, and that did not work. I ended up having to partly install the yoke, then slide the bottom bushing down into its space. Then insert the Spindle Arm in place. Then I had to slide the yoke up…but not all the way up into position and install the grease zerk. Then I raised the yoke into its final position and tightened the pinch bolt.

I’m learning that the bolt needs to be very tight. I don’t know the spec (and would appreciate if someone can post it here) but it is hard to get it tight enough with standard combination wrenches, due to the position you have to be in to reach them way back in there.


Thanks for looking,
Clem

 

[clemsparks]

Re: Steering Bushing replacement for Volvo Penta 275

I did this procedure without removing the drive bellows. I would suggest that if you are doing any maintenance that has the drive bellows removed...it would be a good time to check and/or replace the steering bushings. It will make the installation of the steering yoke much easier, I expect.

For instance...installing the grease zerk was quite a hassle. If the drive bellows had not been in the way, I could have probably installed the grease zerk before the yoke was installed.

 

[K-2]

Re: Steering Bushing replacement for Volvo Penta 275

Nicely done! Thank You for posting that.

Excellent camera work, quality pics make things so much easier.

 

[captmello]

Re: Steering Bushing replacement for Volvo Penta 275

Nicely done! Thank You for posting that.

+1, thanks for sharing your project.

 

[film842]

Re: Steering Bushing replacement for Volvo Penta 275

+1, thanks for sharing your project.

Let me jump in too. Thanks for the work. This comes at the right time for me.

 

[melzac65]

But, but, my steering arm (290) doesn't seem to have the pinch bolt feature. Can't figure out how to release it. Any suggestions? thanks