Is This What Milky Volvo Penta DP-SM Gear Oil Looks Like?

[kkuhia]

Hi All,

I drained the lower gear oil out of my 2001 Volvo Penta DP-SM outdrive yesterday and the gear oil is a brownish-green color and not a translucent/clear amber color like the new official Volvo Penta synthetic gear oil I was going to refill it with. I bought the boat last summer and the previous owner said they replaced the gear oil every year with Quicksilver brand gear oil which I believe is green not amber.

I've attached a picture of the old gear oil below. Is this gear oil "milky" meaning water has gotten in the drive or is it just the normal color of old Quicksilver gear oil that has been run for a couple seasons (oil was prob last changed in June 2014 based on what the previous owner is telling me)? Any help or advice is greatly appreciated!

Kekoa
"Shaka" - 2001 25' Doral 250SE Pocket Cruiser
2001 Volvo Penta 5.7L GSi PEFS
2001 Volvo Penta DP-SM 1.95

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... That's milky,.... not real bad, but milky,.....

It shoulda been green to black from use,....

I don't do Volvos, so I can't tell ya any likely places to look, but somebody will be along who does,....

 

[GA_Boater]

Looks milky to me also.

One way to tell is to put the juice in a clear container like a Gatorade or Powerade bottle. Water separate, sink to the bottom and be obvious after it sits for a little while,

 

[bruceb58]

My suggestion is to pressure test the drive and make sure first that all the o-rings are changed out. The o-rings on all 3 plugs should be changed every time you change the gear oil.

The drive also needs full synthetic GL-5 gear oil. I use the Volvo lube in mine.

 

[kkuhia]

Thanks for all the responses! I figured it was milky, but I've never had water in my other drive (from my old boat) which was a Mercruiser so I wanted to be sure before I go have the drive pressure tested. I'll put some in a clear bottle as you suggest GA_Boater and see if the water separates out.

I haven't been as active in the Forums for a while, but Bondo it is cool to see you have your own brand of grease now! Does it work well for greasing the prop spline?

Kekoa
"Shaka" - 2001 25' Doral 250SE Pocket Cruiser
Volvo Penta 5.7L GSi PEFS - Duo-Prop DP-SM 1.95

 

[kkuhia]

Another question on this for those of you that may live in the PNW/Greater Seattle area, do you have any recommended marine shops to take the boat/drive to that works on Volvo Penta to get it tested/fixed?

 

[Bondo]

but Bondo it is cool to see you have your own brand of grease now! Does it work well for greasing the prop spline?

Ayuh,.... The original Bondo's Grease can was a Don'S creation when he was learnin' photoshop,....

Since Don's passin', 'n the iboats team gettin' new signatures, Southkogs redid Don's idea for me,.....
My avatar is a gift from Xtraham,....
'n now ya know the story,....

I'm nearly 'puter illiterate myself,....

 

[kkuhia]

Thanks for the story Bondo. I didn't know Don had passed. I'm sorry to hear that. He of course is one of the great iboats legends and I think he was from around here. It's cool that you have his avatar on your Bondo's Grease can.

 

[kkuhia]

Just as an update for everyone. I ended up building the homemade outdrive pressure tester (that I found on iboats of course) and replaced all of the O-rings on the 3 bolts/plugs on my drive (Oil Dipstick plug, Oil Level Check Plug, and Fill/Drain Plug). Then I used my newly made pressure tester and tested the drive for about 20 hours at 10 to 11 psi. The drive held the pressure so I filled it back up with the new Volvo gear oil and put everything back together. I will test the drive tomorrow on the muffs and see how it goes.

Kekoa
"Shaka" - 2001 25' Doral 250SE Pocket Cruiser
Volvo Penta 5.7L GSi PEFS - Duo-Prop DP-SM 1.95

 

[BRICH1260]

I`d fill it with oil and go boating. I`d then pull it out after a few trips and drain the oil and check for water intrusion.