VOLVO PENTA 290 Single prop SP-A2 BURNED GEAR LUBE

[MegaViper]

I have a 24' boat. It has a newer 5.7L motor and Penta 290 SP-A2 drive. On the Gulf at Boca Grande it was leaking gear lube out of the top seal in a few minutes at about 1 mile. It was black and smelled like a sewer. I studied up on the unit for days before attempting the fix.. I replaced the seals in the upper gearbox, put the shims back exactly as they were, plus changed the shift shaft seal, as well as changed the U-joints in the drive shaft. I changed the bellows too.

Now it doesn't leak anymore. No water intrusion either after running it for 10 miles this time on Charlotte Harbor. As soon as I got the boat on the trailer out of the water I check the dipstick and started to open it partially. Black stinky gear lube came out and pressurized air so i closed it real fast not opening it all the way thank God. I took it straight home to drain it and the lube shot out 3 feet. The gear lube shot out under pressure.and It's once again black smelling like a sewer. There was no water in it. The upper bearings looked good when I had it apart changing all of the seals in the upper gearbox. My risers seems pretty cool at like 200F I would guess. i can touch them but not keep my hand on them forever. I was thinking that maybe the exhaust gases were heating up the gearbox. I took the cover off of the raw water pump and the seal behind it and the impeller looked like new.

What do you think it could be? A lower leg bearing?

 

[Bondo]

Now it doesn't leak anymore. No water intrusion either after running it for 10 miles this time on Charlotte Harbor. As soon as I got the boat on the trailer out of the water I check the dipstick and started to open it partially. Black stinky gear lube came out and pressurized air so i closed it real fast not opening it all the way thank God. I took it straight home to drain it and the lube shot out 3 feet. The gear lube shot out under pressure.and It's once again black smelling like a sewer.

Ayuh,..... Welcome Aboard,..... Whatcha usin' for gear oil,..??

I've gone to full-syn. oil in all drives,....

A hard run drive will build pressure, as most aren't vented, 'n those that are, are restricted vents of sorts,....
'n, All gear oil Stinks,.... That's one way I tell what oil is in what bucket many times,....

There may be nothin' wrong, but I don't do Volvos,.... Others will comment,....

I'd fill it back up with quality 75W-90 syn. gear oil, 'n go for another ride,....
Check the new oil, the followin' mornin',.....

 

[Scott Danforth]

volvos run full-syn

I agree, all gear oil stinks

 

[MegaViper]

I took the lower unit off and apart. The lower needle bearing was bad and the needles cut in half like flat. A lot of metal fragments in the strainer.
Got it all back together and just put synthetic lube in today.I changed all 3 bearings on the verticle shaft I will take it out soon. I tested it for 30 seconds with it on the trailer. Seems good so far. We have had a lot of rain in sw Florida for days now. I will probably take it out Tuesday.

 

[MegaViper]

It works great now. The lube doesn't get hot and turn black and smelly. No heat pressure either. i can pull the dipstick as soon as I get out of the water and it's nice gear lube no pressure anymore on it from the heat. YEA HA! Now I need to change a bell housing bearing. Then it should be all good to go.

 

[bruceb58]

The SP-A2 can use engine oil as well.

 

[MegaViper]

Thank you for the help with my AQ260 SP-A2 290 drive. I have a question. Does anyone know which way the seals in the flywheel housing go? I know the front one like faces inwards I think. But not sure about the aft one. I'm almost thinking that it faces outwards. Do the bearings matter which way they go? I don't believe that the bearings matter. I have it all apart. Going to replace the bearings and seals in the morning. Ironically my NEW from Amazon long nose C clip remover broke in half and it was heavy duty and I can't get the aft clip off just yet with the outer aft race. It got the fronts out. I got the inner races off of the carrier shaft with the help of a blow torch and vice.