ive had it with "mechanics"

took my boat to a "volvo technician" and had the outdrive redone since I couldnt do it myself... (tried and failed)

get it all back and he hands me a "extra" shim and says, no idea where it came from...........

are you freaking kidding me????????


now that im done venting....


the shim is the same size (circumference) as the one that goes between the upper and intermediate housing..

http://www.volvopentastore.com/mall/image/view/7/8/8703_1.png

#8 is the one im talking about....

my thoughts were that shims were not supposed to be stacked... or 2 shims in one location... i dont remember there being 2 shims together....

is there any other place that size shim could go?

im at the mercy of you guys... I cant sleep, ive blown so much to get this thing finally done right...

Re: ive had it with "mechanics"

Were you trying to re-seal it? That shim is in there to set the clearance in the gears. I'd go back there and talk to his boss,make em do it up right,and stand behind their labor. If not shimmed properly you are looking at an early failure.
Hope you get it resolved!
Grub

Re: ive had it with "mechanics"

When you say they "Rebuilt" the drive, what did that mean. People use it in a lot of different ways. from just a reseal, to a complete rebuild with new bearings and gears.
There can be more than 1 shim in an area, max of 3 I believe is recommended. If the drive was reshimmed, the wear in the gears can create using more or less shims in a certain area.
The space where your #8 shim goes is measured using a depth micrometer on the bearing in the upper, and the surface it pushes against in the lower. From there the preload is adjusted by adjusting the number of shims to get a .002 to .004 preload.

They may not have needed that one shim if they actually measured things.

There are also similar (close in size but won't fit) on the upper and lower gears on the upper gear box, and those on the top cap.

Re: ive had it with "mechanics"

sorry, i was a little upset, but i just took my boat back and said fix it... they said, well theres no way of checking where that went, without testing the whole outdrive.... either way, i unloaded my boat and left it... videoed the whole thing, for insurance and gonna see what they do.... im 90% positive that came out of the *8 area, so wish me luck.....

Re: ive had it with "mechanics"

Are you saying something is wrong with the drive after they rebuilt it? If so, shim or not, they would back their workup I would think. But if you are taking it back with nothing verifiably wrong, then, what exactly do you want them to do with it now, especially since they went in after you tried and failed and found your extra parts maybe?

Re: ive had it with "mechanics"

Yeah, just because there is an extra shim doesnt mean that the job wasnt done properly. Like Don said, there can be up to 3 allowed if it came out of that position.

Re: ive had it with "mechanics"

I'm assuming re-seal. If that's all that was done I'd think that anything that came out would go back in. Unless part's were replaced,then you have to re-shim. I know when I used to rebuild them we would have left over shims from the kit's, and hang em on the wall for future job's. no need to give em to the customer,they don't need them.
Grub

Re: ive had it with "mechanics"

well all handled, they apologized for the problem, it was missing from the spot i thought it was, all said and done back at my house for the rest of the journey....

oh and they forgot to grease the intermediate bearing that i originally when in there for!!!!! was wondering why there wasnt a grease fitting on the housing or look like it was touched...

man BBB here i come..... i found a much better guy and hes mobile... said he used to work for them and it wasnt pretty... great guy fixed up all my problems and found they didnt even pressure test it either....

don youll love this one... they reused the orings, and charged me for new ones... i know because the old ones had my blue silicone on there from the last time i hacked the job....

all said and done this guy learned the hard way...

thanks again guys for all your help with this matter and letting me vent...

Re: ive had it with "mechanics"

Gee whiz,glad you got it resolved! I never re-use gaskets or o-rings, not worth the risk.
Happy boating! Our water is rather hard right now so all I can do is drive my truck on it.....
Grub

Re: ive had it with "mechanics"

I'm glad you got some results Bruce, but I want to make point in your behalf that others seemed to miss:

Brucetafer said:

...a "volvo technician"... hands me a "extra" shim and says, no idea where it came from...

Click to expand...

Any Volvo technician who doesn't know EXACTLY what that shim is for isn't a Volvo Technician. I wouldn't let that guy change the oil in my lawnmower...