2001 volvo 4.3 outdrive leaks

[boat beast]

I just had both my DP outdrives serviced due to the shift cables siezed and a small water leak through the starboard out drive hole. The shop replaced the shift cables,u-joint bellows,yoke seals,yoke carrie o-rings,ram bushings,gromet bushings, and new GL5 oil.

I picked up my boat and paid $1,700 and headed for the ramp......Now both outdrives leak and the owner of the shop came down to the boat and says he thinks its the exhaust y pipe and wants to remove both motors at a cost of $2,000 just for labor.

I looked with a mirror and light and I don't see the water comming in from the exhaust y pipe. It looks as though the water is comming in from deep back in the transom hole.

Please help if you have any ideas as to what could be the cause of the leaks, now that it leaks on both motors.

 

[cr2k]

Re: 2001 volvo 4.3 outdrive leaks

Maybe leaking around your bildge plug?

But wait isnt the Y pipe way back in the transom hole?

 

[Don S]

Re: 2001 volvo 4.3 outdrive leaks

It looks as though the water is comming in from deep back in the transom hole.

Could be a rotten transom.

 

[boat beast]

Re: 2001 volvo 4.3 outdrive leaks

Could be a rotten transom.

Thanks..I will check the transom with a moisture meter. But being a 2001 and spending most of its life on a trailer I doubt its transom rot.

The leaking port engine started after the shop worked on it.

Please keep the good ideas comming

 

[Don S]

Re: 2001 volvo 4.3 outdrive leaks

Hard to say without actually looking. Pull the outdrives and see if there is any water in the bellows. They did very little else that would cause a leak.

It looks as though the water is comming in from deep back in the transom hole.

That also doesn't tell me much. What transom hole are you referring to????

Since they changed the shift cables, are the hoses that the shift cables go into tied up so they are above the engine?

 

[boat beast]

Re: 2001 volvo 4.3 outdrive leaks

That also doesn't tell me much. What transom hole are you referring to????

Where the drive shaft,shift cable,trim wires,water,and exhaust y pipe come through the transom...behind each engine.

Since they changed the shift cables, are the hoses that the shift cables go into tied up so they are above the engine?[/QUOTE]

Yes, they are.

I see a little bit if water on the top of the steering arm of both engines.

 

[boat beast]

Re: 2001 volvo 4.3 outdrive leaks

Confused here, is the shop saying both Y pipes suddenly started leaking? Sorry but I doubt it and no I would not have the engines pulled, especially at $2K for what should be 4 hours work (tops) to pull the engines. (Assuming they can be lifted straight up to remove them.) I'll be blunt here, assuming the shop charges $100 an hour they are charging you for 20 shop hours and there is no way it will take that much time with that boat.

My take, pull the outdrives off and see what is wrong. I would talk to the shop owner/manager and tell him you want the drives taken off and insepected for mistakes when they were serviced. If they did something wrong they foot the bill, if it is something new you foot the bill. (I would be right there when they took the drives off.) If he is unwilling to do that, tell him you will take it to another shop, have them document what they found wrong and if its the original shops fault they will recieve the bill for fixing it. (Or a summons to appear in small claims court.)

Finally, I would find another shop. $2K to pull those engines is, well I can't say it in polite company.

First off, thanks for all the imput and yes the shop is telling me that both y pipes are "probably" the cause of the water leaking in. and yes I thought that 20Hrs. was a bit too much time to r/r the motors.
I will have another shop take the motors out to find what the problem is.
Again Thanks.....

 

[Don S]

Re: 2001 volvo 4.3 outdrive leaks

Did it leak before all the drive work?

 

[boat beast]

Re: 2001 volvo 4.3 outdrive leaks

Confused here, is the shop saying both Y pipes suddenly started leaking? Sorry but I doubt it and no I would not have the engines pulled, especially at $2K for what should be 4 hours work (tops) to pull the engines. (Assuming they can be lifted straight up to remove them.) I'll be blunt here, assuming the shop charges $100 an hour they are charging you for 20 shop hours and there is no way it will take that much time with that boat.

My take, pull the outdrives off and see what is wrong. I would talk to the shop owner/manager and tell him you want the drives taken off and insepected for mistakes when they were serviced. If they did something wrong they foot the bill, if it is something new you foot the bill. (I would be right there when they took the drives off.) If he is unwilling to do that, tell him you will take it to another shop, have them document what they found wrong and if its the original shops fault they will recieve the bill for fixing it. (Or a summons to appear in small claims court.)

Finally, I would find another shop. $2K to pull those engines is, well I can't say it in polite company.

First off, thanks for all the input and yes the shop is telling me that both y pipes are "probably" the cause of the water leaking in. and yes I thought that 20Hrs. was a bit too much time to r/r the motors.
I will have another shop take the motors out to find what the problem is.
Again Thanks.....

 

[boat beast]

Re: 2001 volvo 4.3 outdrive leaks

Did it leak before all the drive work?

Yes, the starboard engine had a small drip. The shift cables and small drip were the reasons I brought the boat in for work.

 

[Don S]

Re: 2001 volvo 4.3 outdrive leaks

I have seen a few boats that to get the engines pulled and put back in for 2000 bucks would be impossible, let alone finding the leaks and fixing them. Boat manufacturers make it almost impossible at times to do the simplest of jobs. Had a 20' Campion with a 4.3 that had to have the engine pulled to change the spark plugs. The engine was just as easy to get out as the plugs were to get at.

I have also run into a few cases where you couldn't tell where the leaks are coming from and actually had to pull the engine. Put the drive back on, and put it back into the water to find the leaks.