www.iFourWinns.com

Last summer I noticed some small bubbles of oil rising to the surface of the water while sitting at the dock. I moved the oudrive up and down and got a few more bubbles. I checked the trim pump and sure enough the fluid was milky. I changed the fluid and took it out for the day. Upon arriving back at the dock I checked the fluid again and had the same milky hydraulic fluild as before. My guess is that it is either an O ring on one of the hydraulic hoses or one of the cylinders is leaking. If it is a cylinder leaking can the seals be replaced or do I have to replace the whole cylinder? Has anyone had issues like this before.

O' ya I have a 1998 258 Vista 7.4L Duoprop. Thanks!

Technically the seals in the cylinders can be replaced. Volvo has a tool to disassemble them. But if you ask a VP dealer they'll tell you that you just have to replace the entire cylinder. And they're over $200 apiece if I remember correctly. I think someone could make a knockoff of that tool and make a fortune.

You may need to completely flush out the system to get all the water out.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Those cylinders must be gold plated!
Coldwater Lake Marina says that the cylinders are around $600 a piece. They also told me to check the o-rings where the hydraulic hoses attach to the cylinder. I proceeded to break loose one of the fittings so that I could match the o-ring at the store and then replace them next weekend. With the o-ring removed I started to hand tighten the fitting back together so it wasn't disconnected for the week. I'm not sure if there is something on the threads in the cylinder but the darn thing doesn't thread in very far and appears as though it is cross threading, however the threads don't appear to be messed up. Does anyone know what size thread the hydraulic fitting is? I think I need to remove the cylinder and run a tap into the threads in case they are burred up or have junk on them. Just when I thought things were looking up!

One of my trim lines was leaking hydraulic fluid after only 19 hours. Thankfully it was only an O-ring and replaced under warranty. After seeing that price tag, I'm glad!

Same thing with this too, a special tool was needed to get in there. I tried doing it myself but didn't have a tool small enough to fit.

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SOLD! 2006 30th Anniversary Vista 278
"Conch'd Out!"

http://vista278.com

Wow! $600.00 apiece!!! Does anyone know if keeping the drive trimmed up all season so as not to hit bottom at low tide will cause the SS rods to pick up microorganisms that eventually will wear the cylinder seal when you lower the drive?? At $600 apiece, I think I will take my chances of the skeg hitting the muddy bottom with the drive down so as not to expose the rods in the extended position. Ben..Good Luck replacing the seals. Let us know how big a job that turns out to be!

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'04 FW 268Vista "Andiamo"

Someone over at BABC went through this a year or so ago, and fashioned their own tool to disassemble the cylinders. Once he had them apart, he replaced the leaky $0.25 O-ring, put it back together, and all was well. Unfortunately I've run several searches and cannot find that thread. I think it got left behind when they did their software conversion awhile back.

There are two tools you'd probably need if you ever wanted to try to disassemble the trim cylinders on models through '06 (not sure if the changes in the '07's would require different tools). They are:

volvo #3854365 Hook spanner wrench $183
volvo #3854367 Grip tool $65

That's a lotta moo-la for a wrench and a holding fixture. But, compared to a $600 cylinder with a $0.25 leaky O-ring, it's something to consider.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Thanks for the help! I guess at this point I will replace just the trim line o-rings and then give her a sea trial. If I the fluid turns to milk I will have to pull the boat and try disassembling the cylinders. I'll keep ya posted on how it goes.

Given the price of those tools, a discussion with your local dealer about service fees to replace the o-rings might be worthwhile.

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2007 Horizon 200
4.3L GXi/ SX 225 HP

Go to http://www.mactools.com. Search tool: SWF3. This tool will fit the trim cylinder caps. Cost is $49.99. Use a drilled out section of oak to hold the ram in a vise. Order the Trim seal kit from your dealer. Save yourself $600.

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97' 200 Horizon BR 5.7 VP SX
2002 Dodge Ram 1500

Wouldn't a pair of long nosed, bent pliers work too? (like MAC# P18) The trick would be finding a pair with a wide enough gap in the jaws while still being short enough to get in there. But yes, using the right tool is usually better...

Who has a part number for the trim seal kit?

Even if you bought the Mac tool above, and then paid the $65 for the Volvo clamping fixture, you'd be all set tool-wise to do this job for less than $120. That's not bad at all. That Mac tool is only 8" long and I'd be interested to know whether or not leverage is a problem with it.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

I have a 1997 Volvo SX outdrive. First get a shop manual. It gives step by step instructions. Long nose pliers I don't think will work because of the high torque that is needed. You might strip the end cap. The Seal kit # is 3852414-8 or (Bombardier) # 985060. If you are rebuilding both cylinders you will need 2 kits. Don't forget to buy the hose "O" rings. It is very hard to unscrew the ram eye from the end of the ram. Even heating it up didn't help. I was told that the tech's unscrew the large nut at the piston end and remove the end cap that way. Has anyone tried this? Either way, if you screw it up you'll have to buy a new cylinder unit at over $300 each.

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97' 200 Horizon BR 5.7 VP SX
2002 Dodge Ram 1500

Well I got the cylinders off over the weekend and took them to a hydraulics shop here in town. We were able to get the ram out of the cylinder using a spanner wrench. It was tight but not impossible. The guy had mentioned that when the ends get corroded they can be hard to unscrew. Water was still inside the cylinder but hadn't caused any issues. A few new seals and o-rings and we should be back in business. I'll let ya know how much this all costs. I wish I would have had my camera with me to take pictures of the disassembly process.

UPDATE: $200 total. The seal kits were about $25 each and the labor to install was $150 from a local hydraulics shop. Not too bad compared to what they want for new cylinders. Hopefully this weekend I will be able to get them back on the outdrive. The key to diassembly is a good vice so you can hold the cylinger and a good spanner wrench.

Can you be specific as to the spanner wrench you used?

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic