VP 290DP - water tube seals?

Hello, all;


I am just about to get my VP 290 DP drive back after a complete dis assembly and reseal job. Only one new part was needed, cost for the whole thing was $1150... not cheap, but since the drive is new to me, good insurance.

The guy doing the job called to let me know he's not going to replace the seals on the water tube in the intermediate housing, because the seals did not come with the kit he bought that had all the oil seals and also he would have to charge me extra labor.

I'm guessing I can test the intake tube and swivel for air leakage by plugging one end and pulling a vacuum? Maybe block all the water intake slots on the drive and see if I can hold a small vacuum there?

He suggested if I had problems with those seals I could also replace the system with a through hull strainer, apparently this is common?

I guess my question is: Does anyone think I should have those seals done? Can I test them and be sure they're in good shape? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a through hull strainer for water intake - will the drive need extra cooling?

Thanks,
Erik

PS: I'm finishing my project in the rebuilt/restore forum soon... I've taken pics all the way, so expect a few gigantic posts from me soon in my thread there.

Re: VP 290DP - water tube seals?

The guy doing the job called to let me know he's not going to replace the seals on the water tube in the intermediate housing

Click to expand...

That was nice of him, unless I am misunderstanding what you are saying, there are no seals on that tube.

Re: VP 290DP - water tube seals?

Glad to hear it's coming together. Could you tell me who worked on your outdrive. I'm wondering if it's the same guy I'm thinking of. PM me if you'd rather.

It sounds to me like he pulled the lower and upper and didn't want to pull the intermediate apart. may have been referring to the needle bearing seals at the retaining pawl, but those don't seal water/air out of the tube.

Re: VP 290DP - water tube seals?

I think he meant this, maybe:

Shown as part 30 in the diagram here:

http://www.volvopentastore.com/Intermediate-Housing-Dp290/dm/store_id.366--view_id.319726

Is the tube #23 the pivot tube? That one has the bearing, so that's my guess.

From the impression he gave me, he's basically skipping new seals on the water intake, and he said if it ends up sucking air I could just use a hull mounted intake instead. Sound reasonable?

Erik

PS: The Twin City Marina service manager is doing the work. First time I've used them, and I can't offer a recommendation. All I can say is that I dropped the drive off in early Feb, and he's servicing it now. He says he's giving me a deal only charging $1000 for it. He was far less than excited when I brought it in, and he recommended I switch to a Mercruiser drive. If there weren't so few shops that will work on these I'd have walked away because of that.

Re: VP 290DP - water tube seals?

30 is the oil tube, 23 is the water/pivot tube. The only reason you would have leaks in 23 is if the lower bearing, and the upper bushing had a lot of slop in them. Seal 64 and 26 are the ones that prevent water/air leaks and both of those are replaced without taking the tube out.

Re: VP 290DP - water tube seals?

the pivot tube, 23, is sealed at the ends by an oring at the bottom, and the water intake fitting gasket at the top. Both are common maintenance parts. So far you've got me worried.

The threw hull intake conversion shouldn't be necessary and is not good advice, imo.

I hope it all works out and I'll be following your build. Haven't seen many updates lately...

Re: VP 290DP - water tube seals?

Thanks for the info, guys.

I'm guessing he just meant that he didn't get the seals for that tube so he left it alone. I had specified in the work order that he replace all the seals, so he might have wanted to be totally clear about what he wasn't going to do.

I suppose I'll find out, I'm pretty sure I can test the intake without too much trouble.

I've been saving up pics for a big update, spending all my time on work on the boat instead of typing... I'm just about done with construction I think, working on cosmetics and seats at the moment.

Erik