ric wrote:
It's a $4 part and SUPER pain in the ass to take out/install.
VOLVO!! Why do you use cheap ass plastic parts when they should be metal?!!?!?!Edit: I just got a call from a buddy that's an aircraft mechanic. He said he should be able to find something in metal that will work and never break again. The dealership said they break every year or 2 because the plastic gets brittle and as soon as you lift the drive it breaks off. It's their most common part they fix on boats with SX-A drives, so much so that they can't even hold one in stock.
Part #9

Ric,
The earlier SX drive also used a "plastic" part for that application; it's held in place with a plastic nut, rather than being screwed into the tilt housing. I've never heard of one breaking on the SX. That nut on mine has never come loose. I think ithe failure is probably because they didn't design the later plastic part properly ( or the hole it screws into !) My guess is that the plastic part becomes slightly loose due to creep, then each each time the drive is tilted up or down it's flexed with most of the strain at the point where it enters the tapped hole, which ulimately results in fatigue failure.
Or, maybe they are overtightened which results in deformation and reduced resisance to fatigue.