Freshening up a Volvo 280...

[AZ_Ron]

Hi All... We've got a Volvo 280 outdrive on our new (to us) boat. It's powered by a 302 Ford. Everything seems to work, outdrive seems to work normally, no noise, clicking, growling, anything like that. The P/O had not gone through anything as the owner prior to him had given him a long list of what he'd done. The outdrive has not been gone through for at least a season. I'm figuring I'd be ahead of the game by freshing is up, replacing Orings, bellows, etc. I'm a very competent mechanic and technician and don't have any qualms about doing it myself. I got a Clymers manual with the boat, but am going to by the factory manuals before I take the first bolt out.
I guess my main questions are...
1) What parts would you all recommend I purchase as normal replacement parts? (This is barring the need for replacing anything with 'serious' wear, just the 'normal' stuff)
2) Would it be to my advantage to convert to synthetic oils/greases, or go with the usual Volvo recommended lubricants?

Any advice, good or bad, is GREATLY appreciated. I LOVE forums, as they have saved me HUGE amounts of grief and cash!!!
Thanks so much to ALL of you for being here!!!

Ron

 

[jastacey]

Re: Freshening up a Volvo 280...

The first thing I'd do is check the drive's oil ( it's 30 weight ) to see if there's any water in it, but get the o-ring for the dip stick and the drain plug, as those are consumable items, I'd loosen the band clamp closest to the drive, and take a look at the u-joints and to see if there is oil in the bellows or water ( if you got water then ... well you'll have to renew all the seals and bearings in the bell housing ) the u-joints might have zerk fittings and they might not ( it depends if the were replaced ), but if there not noisy, I'd make that a winter project, but if you want to renew the bellows and u-joints, just remove the shift cover, undo the helmut attachment, remove 2 nuts and 2 bolts, undo the shift linkage, you may have to use a thin putty knife to seperate the upper gear box from the intermediate housing, lift up & out, and that's about it to deal with the bellows/u-joint renewal ..... get the factory shop manuals ... as the aftermarket one's leave/omit quite a bit of info, there are a few zerk fitting for the steering and intermediate drive shaft inside the boat, behind the motor, I don't know much about the ford bellhousing ... so I can't comment as to where the lube points are ..... you'll need to find a local parts dealer for most of you parts .... NAAPA can order some stuff ( they have a marine catalog ) and you can get some stuff from iboats also, these drives are very durable and kinda easy to work on ... at least I think so. Other will chim in with there view of things, but you'll get really good info/help on this board.

 

[AZ_Ron]

Re: Freshening up a Volvo 280...

Thanks! From all I've been reading (And that's been A LOT!!!) I think I made a good choice as it sounds like the 280 is built like a tank, and pretty easy to service/work on.

Ron

 

[jastacey]

Re: Freshening up a Volvo 280...

As to the issue of using newer oils ( man-made, vs. old fashion mineral oil ) that's a can of worms, that can and will be debated till the end of time, the Volvo manual say's 30 weight engine oil, they didn't use the gl-5 spec oil till the Duo prop was intoduced or shortly there after, I''ve been running straight 30 weight engine oil for a few years and haven had any issues, and I don't plan on spending the extra $$$$, for something that would have little payback in terms of performance or longevenity.

 

[Coors]

Re: Freshening up a Volvo 280...

No Clymer, only oem manual will show you.

 

[AZ_Ron]

Re: Freshening up a Volvo 280...

Thanks Coors... Yep, that was one of the first things I figured out after being on these forums for less than 15 minutes... get an OEM manual!!

Ron