Help with DPS-B 1.95 outdrive

boatsaltfun

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I've got dual 2014 Volvo Penta V6 225HP 4.3L and DPS-B 1.95 outdrives, about 270 hours on each. I recently changed the gear oil on both drives. I used Volvo Penta 75W-90 Synthetic GL-5 and pumped oil in from the bottom fill hole. I accidentally overfilled the starboard drive and stupidly did not drain the excess. I went on a 6-hour trip and the engines and drives worked great the entire day. I left the boat in a wet slip for two days and upon firing up the engines again, I noticed the starboard engine being somewhat unresponsive. The drive would engage at idle but would refuse to increase RPM, the engine would not go above idle. I tried a few times and the same thing would occur. I decided to trim the drive up, turn the engine off and not use it until inspection out of the water. With the boat on a work cradle, I checked the gear oil level and noticed it was quite low. It was missing about one quart, which means it must have leaked. Upon draining the gear oil I noticed a very small amount of emulsified oil, the rest was clear amber. I can rotate the props by hand and they spin fine with no unusual sound or vibration. I performed a pressure test and a vacuum test and both held with no leaks and no drop in pressure. I don't know what I should do next. Should I refill with new gear oil and try running the drive? My concern is I am afraid of causing damage to the internals if something is wrong. Or should I hire a mechanic to check out the drive before use again? What would you do? Thanks in advance, I appreciate the help.

-Mickey
 

alldodge

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The drive would engage at idle but would refuse to increase RPM, the engine would not go above idle.

With the engine not going above idle, need to check the motor. Is throttle linkage still connected?
Is this a drive by wire or does it have a cable connected to the throttle body?
Can the motor be reved up in neutral?
 

boatsaltfun

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With the engine not going above idle, need to check the motor. Is throttle linkage still connected?
Is this a drive by wire or does it have a cable connected to the throttle body?
Can the motor be reved up in neutral?
Thanks for the quick reply! The throttle linkage uses a cable and is connected. With the engine off, I inspected the cable and linkage on the engine with someone pushing the throttle control into forward, neutral, and reverse. It seems to be operating properly. I have not tried to rev up while in neutral, I will try that next.
 

alldodge

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Remember there are 2 cables. The one on the shift plate just shifts the drive. The throttle cable goes straight to the TB
 

boatsaltfun

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BRICH1260

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Being that you are a quart low, there could be some drive damage as your upper gears and clutch would not have much lubrication. I would pull the drive and see if you can turn the input shaft manually. If it does not turn by hand at the input shaft, then you probably have upper end damage. Perhaps since you overfilled it originally, you may have blown out the upper oil seal and may have dumped your oil into the bellows.
 

boatsaltfun

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Alldodge, today I tried to rev the engine while in neutral. The engine falters or dies as soon as I try to rev it. I tried several times and the same thing occurs, the engine struggles to rev up and just cuts out. It does however turn on and idle. So my problem seems to be with the engine and not with the drive. I tried the same thing with the port engine and it revved beautifully.

Brich1260, I was thinking along those lines and want to be cautious but pulling the drive out is beyond my skill set, I've never pulled an outdrive out. Do you have a rough idea of how much I should expect to pay for that?
 

alldodge

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I would get the motor scanned for codes
Being a 2014 its probably a CAT motor. It may be a fuel pressure isuue or other but need to scan to see what shows up

Has the fuel filter been replaced this season?
Could remove the fuel filter and dump contents into a clear container to see if there is any water
Connect a fuel pressure gauge to the high pressure side to see what you have

What is the motor serial number?
 

boatsaltfun

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Alldodge, the motor serial number is A320215. I replaced the fuel filter a week before the trip (less than a month ago, OEM filter). On the trip, I burned over 100 gallons of non-ethanol fuel. I'll remove and dump filter contents into a clear container next and try to scan for codes. Thank you for your help.
 

alldodge

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Its probably not the fuel or filter, but never hurts to check

That is wierd, I enter your SN and it shows up as a V6-255-A but not parts show up under it. Hey @muc have an idea?
 

boatsaltfun

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Turns out getting a Volvo Penta mechanic that has diagnostic tools around my area (Merrit Island, FL) isn't easy. After calling over half a dozen shops, I was finally able to schedule an appointment with one but they can't touch it until February 24th. So I guess no boating for me for at least six weeks.

I'll check the fuel and filter in the meantime. If the engine has a fault code, would replacing the part clear the error or do you need the computer hooked up to clear it?
 

alldodge

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Yes, if the motor is fixed the fault will no longer be an issue

Go to a local auto store and see if you can rent a fuel pressure gauge. Connect it to the fuel rail. Pressure should be in the 50-60 psi range

And TB is Throttle body

vp.jpg
 

alldodge

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I just noticed something, remove the flame arrestor and take a pic of the TB and post
 

BRICH1260

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You might consider purchasing a Rhinda diagnostic tool, not cheap but they are real nice to have. It would show any engine codes being thrown into the ECM. I bit the bullet a couple years ago and use mine frequently.
 

boatsaltfun

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Brich1260, I thought about that and may go down that road in the future. I was looking at the TechMate Pro. My concern with the tool was not knowing what to do with cryptic errors. With your tool, can you get error codes on the stern drive?

Alldodge, I'll be testing the fuel pressure tomorrow and taking photos.
 

BRICH1260

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The tool is for the motor only. In my opinion, you need to figure out if the stalling issues are in the engine or the drive. I think you still need to pull the drive and see why you lost so much oil. Is the drive locking up the engine or are they separate issues.
 

boatsaltfun

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The motor immediately stalls when revved in neutral so I assume it's a separate issue unrelated to the drive. I am going to try and resolve the motor issue first and then deal with the drive.

The drive is puzzling as it passed pressure and vacuum tests. I rotated the shaft for 5 minutes @5PSI then rotated the shaft for 15 minutes @15PSI, similar for vacuum. Didn't lose any PSI with either test. If a seal had blown, I would think the tests would have caught it. I share the same concern about the upper gears and clutch and the low oil situation. I will likely end up pulling the drive.
 

Horigan

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Maybe try shifting while under pressure or vacuum. That way you exercise the shift seal.
 
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