Volvo 270 outdrive oil

[baylinerbooger]

Hi All,

I'm a new (old) boat owner and this forum is great! My question is about the oil in the drive of my 1982 Volvo AQ125A/270. The manuals I've been able to find say to use engine oil, but when I drained my old oil out it was 90 weight. The guy who had the boat before me was obviously not into maintenance based on the other problems I've found and corrected, and I saw at least one forum that stated that not all Volvo 270s use engine oil, so my question is how do I know for sure? Thanks in advance!

 

[bekosh]

Re: Volvo 270 outdrive oil

Hi All,

I'm a new (old) boat owner and this forum is great! My question is about the oil in the drive of my 1982 Volvo AQ125A/270. The manuals I've been able to find say to use engine oil, but when I drained my old oil out it was 90 weight. The guy who had the boat before me was obviously not into maintenance based on the other problems I've found and corrected, and I saw at least one forum that stated that not all Volvo 270s use engine oil, so my question is how do I know for sure? Thanks in advance!

I don't have a Volvo, but I can say for certain that you want to use regular engine oil.
The 90 weight WILL kill the drive eventualy.
A freind of mine had that problem this spring. He had been using 90w on the advice of someone from a West Marine Store, and it worked fine for a couple of years. But this year he went out real early in the season, April, with a water temp around 50*. The 90w oil was so thick it couldn't get to the top end of the drive and when the bearings welded themselves to the case it tore his drive shaft in half.
Here is what it looked like...

 

[jastacey]

Re: Volvo 270 outdrive oil

I'd just run a good grade of 10w-30 oil or straight 30 oil, or what ever the owner manual call fo , you can go to Volvo's website, and download an owner's manual to find out what weight of oil you'll need, myself, I've got a 280 drive and I use a good grade of 30 weight oil, as I don't run in cold water.

 

[Don S]

Re: Volvo 270 outdrive oil

A straight 30W oil is best. In the Volvo manual that state "Same as engine" assuming you are using the engine oil they recommend.

 

[baylinerbooger]

Re: Volvo 270 outdrive oil

Thanks to all - I put 10W30 in it and it shift nicely in and out of gear. I'll have to get it in the water and check everything out next. Those pictures of what the cold 90 weight did sure tell the story better than words! Thanks again!