www.iFourWinns.com

Thanks for the tips!

_________________
1996 4 Winns Horizon 170 SOLD
1997 4 Winns Sundowner 205 SOLD
2000 4 Winns Horizon 230 CURRENT
Tow Vehicle: 2007 Toyota Tundra Limited SOLD
1999 Chevy Tahoe 4x4 SOLD
2003 GMC Yukon XL 2500 6.0

For a drive up to ca 1999, (or maybe later, depending on when they switched from U/Js with grease "zerks" to the sealed for life ones, the joints are replaceable., The pre-change ones used exteral circlips/ snaprings on the outside of the bearing housings, later ones use internal circlip in the driveshaft yokes. You can still get early type replacement U/Js ( maybe not from Volvo Penta anymore though); easy to change, just like on a car propshaft. Later ones don't seem to be available; you have to change the whole driveshaft ! Nice way for VP to make a lot more money ! I noticed the (later) U/Js on mine mine are made by Rockwell, They are actually removeable ( not staked in), I'll try to X-reference them this winter.

Graham

These are things I check every year when I take the drive off at the end of the season...
Gimble, you turn it with your fingers and feel for roughness, it should be smooth as glass when it turns...
U-joints, you can check for play/backlash, and also when you grease em (if they are grease-able) look for signs of water or rust coming out.
Given that you are getting noises from this area I'd also check for water in that drive bellows, that causes corrosion which will rust the gimble and ujoints if it goes on long enough.

I had read that Volvo decided to take make a simple u-joint replacement into a dealer or shop only job since a do it yourselfer is not going to be able to r+r a driveshaft....bad business practice, like the way they blew the design of the OSI and the in-the water trim pump on the newer drives. They have made some really questionable moves as of late....

_________________
88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

_________________


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

Looks like they took their design cues from the Starwars white armour !

Graham

Just got word that it needs new bellows, gimble bearing, and a u-joint. About 1k to fix it.

_________________
1996 4 Winns Horizon 170 SOLD
1997 4 Winns Sundowner 205 SOLD
2000 4 Winns Horizon 230 CURRENT
Tow Vehicle: 2007 Toyota Tundra Limited SOLD
1999 Chevy Tahoe 4x4 SOLD
2003 GMC Yukon XL 2500 6.0

The performance of the boat should be dictating how much up trim is too much. The boat should either porpoise -- (start bobbing slightly up and down at the bow) or the props should ventilate and loose grip, causing the engine RPM to increase without any speed increase. Learn to sense and feel things as you get experience. My trim gauge has not been functional in years and I really consider them pretty superfulous. When you get the experience to feel what the boat is doing you might have the same opinion.

_________________
DaleG -- West Palm Beach FL
2003 240Horizon -- 5.7Gi -Duoprop

That price sounds typical. Once replaced they should last quite a few years of typical boating. If you go a lot of wakeboarding or water skiing where you are doing lots of tight turns to recover skiers and such, it might be slightly less.
It will help to extend the life if you always make sure the drive is lowered before turning on the engine. (this should happen naturally of course) and if you want to trim up slightly as you do something like beach the boat -- use very very little engine RPM. (the Gimble bearing can be lubed from outside the stern drive and should be on your annual maintance list -- the U joints cann0t be lubed without pulling the drive -- but should be ((unless they are sealed bearings which they probably are anyweay)) whevever the drive is pulled for some reason.

_________________
DaleG -- West Palm Beach FL
2003 240Horizon -- 5.7Gi -Duoprop

This is why I do pull the drive off each year, you can catch problems before they become more expensive...a bit of water in the bellows long enough will rust the gimble, ujoints and the driveshaft where it goes into the input seal, which can also cause a drive oil leak. If you catch it early, you can avoid this in the future. I don't know for sure what Volvo says, but even though the ujoints are permenantly lubed on some models, and the gimble can be lubed from outside, you still should check the bellows and grease the input shaft splines. These can rust into the coupler and result in a drive that cannot be removed easily...

_________________
88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

I'm going to take this as an expensive lesson learned. Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

_________________
1996 4 Winns Horizon 170 SOLD
1997 4 Winns Sundowner 205 SOLD
2000 4 Winns Horizon 230 CURRENT
Tow Vehicle: 2007 Toyota Tundra Limited SOLD
1999 Chevy Tahoe 4x4 SOLD
2003 GMC Yukon XL 2500 6.0

when I purchased our current boat back in '07, I knew it needed some love.

After pulling the drive off, U-joints OK, but the gimble shot. I replaced everything since I was there.
U-joints, gimbal, and bellows ran me about $400 ish. took most of a Saturday afternoon. But I also enjoy working on all my toys, vehicles.

point being, if you dont mind wrenching on your cars on the weekends, boats really are much simpler. Taking a boat to the shop is, or can be, a large pill to swallow. But wrenching on vehicles and/or toys is not for everyone.

_________________
2000 248 5.7L DP
'92, '94 SXI 750, '08 STX 15F, '12 Ultra LX 300
Videos