Volvo DP-SM dirty water/buildup inside when removed

cdiltz13

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Joined
Apr 27, 2012
Messages
7
Purchased a 2004 Larson 240 this spring, and the previous owner said it had been "a few years" since drive had been removed/serviced/aligned, so asked my marina to perform this for me. Mechanic at marina said it was really difficult to remove and then dumped dirty/rusty water when he finally did. I'm going to stop by and talk to him again on Monday to get his full diagnosis/recommendation, but want to be informed when I do. I stopped today and took a few pictures (attached).

My first thought was a hole in the drive baffles, but as you see there is not any obvious rust on the u-joints, etc. It appears all of the dirty/rusty buildup is in the area around/between the cavities for the drive and exhaust - almost as if there was a leak between the pivot housing and drive. From service manual, looks like there is supposed to be sealant/gasket between them. Maybe the last time the drive was off, someone neglected to replace/reseal, resulting in some rusting of the two halves together and seepage of dirty water into that cavity?

If anyone that's used to working on stern drives could take a look at the photos and let me know what they think might be going on, I'd appreciate it. I plan to have them replace u-joints and gimbal bearing while the drive is off and since there is water in there, but also want to get the inside cleaned up and make sure water doesn't get in again.

drive.jpgtransom.jpg
 

cdiltz13

Cadet
Joined
Apr 27, 2012
Messages
7
Re: Volvo DP-SM dirty water/buildup inside when removed

Here's a follow-up. I talked to mechanic today and we did find water inside the drive bellows, indicating a leak - either through a hole/tear or it may have slipped off of the pivot housing. The gimbal bearing is shot, but the u-joints look/feel great - no rust, looseness, etc. So, we are going to replace the gimbal bearing and drive bellows, clean things up a little inside, and get it back in the water! I'll post updates if anything changes/deteriorates/improves!
 
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