Volvo Penta Gimbal Transom Plate Help

clarktar

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Jan 27, 2020
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I am new to this forum! I am neck deep in a complete rebuild of a 24 ft. skip jack fly bridge I bought. First boat, and man, did I NOT choose wisely. I was recommended to come over here from Bloody Decks. So I am hoping some of you Volvo gurus can help me along the way...

I took off the Gimbal Transom plate assembly (gimbal housing from outside of board and the steering ram/bracket from the inside of the boat. The part number on the transom plate assembly on the outside of the boat is 3851968. I am wondering if this is compatible with some other assemblies. for example, here are two links to ebay of different assemblies. They sure look the same but I have no way of knowing if they are compatible with my unit (which again has a part number of 3851968. Mine is the DP-S (duoprop).

s-l400.jpg
[h=3]Volvo Penta SX-M SX Transom Shield Gimbal Housing Assy Complete W Steering ram | eBay[/h] Transom Housing Shield Assy Complete. Volvo Penta SX-M. With Power Steering ram and all hardware. 34850 Forest Blvd. Countryview Marine. Local pickup is free. Fresh water.
www.ebay.com
s-l400.jpg
[h=3]Volvo Penta SX-M DP-SM Transom Assembly Gimball Bell Housing DUO PROP SX 1.95 | eBay[/h] <p dir="ltr">Good used transom gimbal housing assembly CLEAN!! This is off a MINNESOTA FRESHWATER BOAT WITH LOW HOURS 211 HRS ON BOAT . This came off of a DP-SM WILL ALSO WORK WITH SX-M. PLEASE NOTE THIS HAS THE LATE STYLE HYDRAULIC TRIM CYLINDER HOSES 1998 - 2006. PLEASE CONTACT ME WITH ANY...
www.ebay.com
Appreciate any help. Going full rebuild on my boat and learning as I go.
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
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welcome aboard.

lets start with some serial numbers and what your specific problem is.

first, what is the serial number of your drive and transom sheild
second, what is the year of your boat
what is the issue you are having that makes you believe you need to buy a whole transom shield assembly off of ebay.
 

GA_Boater

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Here is a link to a thread where I have been documenting everything. Might be helpful?

Why don't you just answer the questions Scott posed?

what your specific problem is.

what is the issue you are having that makes you believe you need to buy a whole transom shield assembly off of ebay.​
 

clarktar

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Jan 27, 2020
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Why don't you just answer the questions Scott posed?

what your specific problem is.

what is the issue you are having that makes you believe you need to buy a whole transom shield assembly off of ebay.​

I missed that part....

Specific problem: The gimbal seems frozen when I try to turn it one direction. It hardly moves. Also there is a small linkage type fork that goes from steering ram to the gimbal assembly and it looks to be in very bad shape....

2) there is a time component here. This is now holding up most of my project and I rather not spend many hours taking apart the old gimbal assembly and trying to diagnose and get it back to spec. I am a novice and all of this takes me a very long time plus I have no reliable parts dealer near me making it a bit more frustrating. Couple that with the fact that I only have Saturday and Sunday to work on the project, and that means time away from my wife and two children (I am gone Mon-Fri for work) therefore I value my time pretty high. If I can save time, and parts money, buy spending a little more on something that I can bolt on and continue making project progress that becomes appealing (sure there is a financial limit to that idea...).

Thanks GA Boater for pointing out I did not answer all of Scott's questions. Thank you Scott for the inquiries.
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
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we all only have weekends when the wife(s) let us work.

its your money, however how do you know you dont have a 5 minute fix for your problem (disconnect the steering ram and look). you have no way of knowing if the used fleabay parts are any good either

most problems can be fixed with maintenance

use your serial number and do a parts breakdown on volvopentastore.com. then compare the assembly part numbers if you want to blow lots of money on a different transom shield assembly that may or may not need the bit of maintenance your current shield needs
 

clarktar

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we all only have weekends when the wife(s) let us work.

Thats an assumption. Some folks also get to work evenings. I travel for work Mon-Fri, so I don't see the family for 5 days and also can not work on boat after work Mon-Fri like some.

its your money, however how do you know you dont have a 5 minute fix for your problem (disconnect the steering ram and look). you have no way of knowing if the used fleabay parts are any good either

Because I disconnected the steering ram from the gimbal assembly and the ram functioned as it should (I manipulated it by hand and from the steering wheel). It was not a five minute fix or test. The pin that coupled the steering ram to the fork that goes into the gimbal assembly was stuck and I had to get a hack saw and grinder to cut it in two places to remove the pin.


use your serial number and do a parts breakdown on volvopentastore.com. then compare the assembly part numbers if you want to blow lots of money on a different transom shield assembly that may or may not need the bit of maintenance your current shield needs

Thanks. I might do that.
 
Last edited:

GA_Boater

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Because I disconnected the steering ram from the gimbal assembly and it turned just fine. It was not a five minute fix or test. The pin that coupled the steering ram to the fork that goes into the gimbal assembly was stuck and I had to get a hack saw and grinder to cut it in two places to remove the pin

After cutting the pin, the drive swivels freely. Is that right?

Seems like the power steering actuator could be the fault.
 

clarktar

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After cutting the pin, the drive swivels freely. Is that right?

Seems like the power steering actuator could be the fault.

Not the drive, the steering wheel moved freely, thus the steering ram was moving freely. I did not try to move the gimbal itself side to side once I disconnected the steering ram/plate. But when I removed the entire gimbal/transom assembly from the boat I don't recall it moving side to side freely, and I was twisting and pulling on it in a variety of ways to get it off the boat so I think I would have noticed if it started moving side to side freely. That being said, I will try to move it side to side now that it is off the boat and see if it moves to both sides freely.
 

Bt Doctur

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Aug 29, 2004
Messages
19,093
Had a local boat with the same issue at the jersey shore. Only they broke the rack steering figuring out what was wrong.
With all the steering components removed the drive still would not move L or R , not even a hair. Was at the point of applying heat and solvent to the bushing /steering pin area when I was pulled off the job.Never found the cause.Suspected severe corrosion buildup at the steering pin bushing ,crushing the bushing and jamming the steering
 
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