volvo 280 drive maintanence

[sonus]

I have a 1984 22 foot cuddy with a aq200D and 280 outdrivethat I purchased in Oct 2004.It ran great all last summer after I worked through a few small problems and my own inexperience.I want to do the right thing and keep it that way.Does this drive need to be pulled yearly to perform proper maintanence?I have the original manual and all it says is to change the gear oil every 100 hours or at the end of the season;"No further inhibiting of the outdrive is necessary". So, do I just grease the zerks and go,or is there more to it than that?Thanks for any help and for all the great info in the past.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: volvo 280 drive maintanence

I reccomend pulling the drive everyother year to check the ujoints and replace the bellows. other than that keep the bellhousing grease fitting lube(gimbal bearing) and the steering tiller and the rest of the fittings, if in salt water pull the prop every 30-60 days for shaft servicing. a lot of volvos ran an aluminium hub on a stainless shaft and I cut off 10-15 a year. <br /> maybe DonS can chime in with more. I dont see many 280's here anymore. salt water gets them all.

 

[Don S]

Re: volvo 280 drive maintanence

No need to pull the complete drive, just the upper gear box. That way you can lube the zirk on the engine bellhousing and wipe up the excess grease from it coming out in the bellows. Keeps some new grease in those bearings, since the only way to change them is to pull the engine.<br />It also gives you a chance to lube the ujoints if they have zirks.<br />Like rodbolt, I'm very good at destroying props that have never seen grease. Using Never Sieze is about the same as using salt water. I get to cut the props off and sell you new ones.<br />Two years max on the ujoint bellows. They just arent that thick of rubber and a small hole can cost you an engine pull.<br />Gear lube for your 280 is nothing more than 30W engine oil. Not synthetic or multigrade, just plain old 30W oil. Those drives will last forever. Well, ok, close to forever. And remember to use new orings and gaskets every time you remove the drain plugs or the upper gear box. Just because they are orings, dosn't make them reusable.

 

[sonus]

Re: volvo 280 drive maintanence

Thanks for the info guys.I just looked through my Clymers and the upper gearcase removal seems to be within my abilities.Yes, I do boat in saltwater,Long Island Sound,but the boat is trailered and flushed after every trip.It was a fresh water boat until I got it.It was used in Lake Erie and always trailered, never bottom painted.It is in great shape.I have pulled the prop over the summer to recondition and it is off now for the winter.No problems and I grease the shaft to install.As far as the u-joints go,do I glob a bit of grease on them if they dont have zirks?And what am I looking for to inspect them,abnormal or excessive wear and smooth operation I suppose?.Thanks again for the info you have already given,I know sooo much more about the mechanicals of my boat now than I did a year ago thanks to this site!