Replacing prop shaft on a volvo 2003 sx-m

[blurry]

Hi there. Unfortunately this is my first post, so hello to everyone! We picked up our first boat, a 2003 Monterey 200LS with a 4.3 GL-B and a SX-M 1.79 sterndrive about 2 months ago. This weekend while heading in to dock we were 2/3 of the way through the marked entry area into the creek and the stern hit something underwater. A little disappointing as we were near center between the red and green buoys. The difference this time for the others is more on center (it was dark and we were running with a flood light), had two extra passengers. after entering the creek we pulled a large stick that was stuck in the stern.

the boat had a good vibration to the dock. In the morning pulled the prop, yup, bent. replaced with a rebuilt prop available locally. I did notice a bit of "rainbow" reflection in the water behind the stern.

The boat now has a slight vibration at slow speed which goes away at higher speeds. The slight vibration seems to have lessened a bit. I pulled the boat to look at the prop shaft and it is ever so slightly bent (maybe a 1/16th - no runout dial on hand). Bellows look good. All lines look good.

I just ordered the clymers manuals. I had a SX-M manual on my phone and now I cant find it.

Can the drive shaft be replaced without pulling the stern?

thanks!

 

[skydiveD30571]

Re: Replacing prop shaft on a volvo 2003 sx-m

Where exactly was the stick that was stuck in the stern?

First off, do yourself a favor and head to the stickies on this forum and get the FREE official Volvo Penta service manual for the sx-m drive. The clymer's manual is very very vague and will not help you much with what you want to know.

Yes the propeller shaft can be removed without pulling the whole drive, but honestly I think it would be smart to pull it anyways. It doesn't take very long if you have basic hand tools. Especially since you mentioned you noticed a film on the water behind the drive. If it's grease from the stick puncturing the bellows, which is very possible, then water is getting into your bellows and you'll be asking for more trouble.

Take an extra hour or so and pull the drive and check inside the u-joint bellows for water. Good luck!

 

[dypcdiver]

Re: Replacing prop shaft on a volvo 2003 sx-m

Pulling the drive is only a 10 min job for one person. If you can see an oil film then where ever it is coming from will also leak water into somewhere it should not get to, the results of that will be very expensive. Far easier to replace the propshaft with the drive on the bench in the workshop.

 

[blurry]

Re: Replacing prop shaft on a volvo 2003 sx-m

Thanks for the help! I didn't personally pull the stick, not sure of where it was. Visually the bellows look good. I would love to pull the sterndrive, I'm a fan of wrenching and taking things apart Caveat on this is I know nothing about boats or how to remove. Googling around it sounds like it should be in gear before removing and needs to be aligned when re-installed.

Unfortunately the link for the sx-m factory manual leads to file deleted- does anyone have another copy?

 

[Don S]

Re: Replacing prop shaft on a volvo 2003 sx-m

Googling around it sounds like it should be in gear before removing and needs to be aligned when re-installed.

When you are goggling around, make sure you are comparing apples to apples. In your example, that fwd gear thing is for Mercruiser Alpha style drives only, has nothing to do with Volvo.

http://boatinfo.no/lib/volvo/manuals/sx_dp-s_drive.html#/0

 

[blurry]

Re: Replacing prop shaft on a volvo 2003 sx-m

When you are goggling around, make sure you are comparing apples to apples. In your example, that fwd gear thing is for Mercruiser Alpha style drives only, has nothing to do with Volvo.

http://boatinfo.no/lib/volvo/manuals/sx_dp-s_drive.html#/0

Thanks. removal doesn't look too bad. what is the weight on the sterndrive? The manual uses a hook...is this an excuse to buy more tools?

 

[dypcdiver]

Re: Replacing prop shaft on a volvo 2003 sx-m

Extra tools not needed apart from 5/8 AF combination spanner and a 3/8 or 7/16 spanner for the shift cable outer, a pair of pliers for the split pin and a 3/8 or 5/16 for the nut on the end of the shift cable, plus a screwdriver to release the circlips on the trim cylinders. Almost forgot the 3/8 socket for the bolts that hold the rear cover on the drive.
Look up the "building an outdrive stand" in the Adults only section in the stickies at the top.
It is a task that you or someone should do every year as part of the service, it is the only way to get grease into the "U" joints.
I understand your trepidation, but it really is easy.

 

[skydiveD30571]

Re: Replacing prop shaft on a volvo 2003 sx-m

If you're in a hurry to get this done and get on the water, you can pull the drive off and set it aside by yourself. I did mine myself. You won't want to travel very far with it because it is quite heavy (I'd guess 80-100 pounds) and pretty awkward too. As dypc said it is smart to build a drive stand so that you can easily do this every year. In my case I pulled mine off in the middle of July so I did it by hand and plan on building a stand over the off season. Good luck!

 

[blurry]

Re: Replacing prop shaft on a volvo 2003 sx-m

If you're in a hurry to get this done and get on the water, you can pull the drive off and set it aside by yourself. I did mine myself. You won't want to travel very far with it because it is quite heavy (I'd guess 80-100 pounds) and pretty awkward too. As dypc said it is smart to build a drive stand so that you can easily do this every year. In my case I pulled mine off in the middle of July so I did it by hand and plan on building a stand over the off season. Good luck!

Thanks. I'll be pulling the out drive and going through everything, look forward to learning from the forum!