Volvo 125q / 270 leg flywheel housing leaking water.

Was out on the lake the other day and my haul started to fill up with lake water.
Water was dripping from out of a hole from the lower flywheel housing ring gear bottom cover.
Not sure if a bolt fell out ,or this is a weep hole like you find on a water pump.
Anyways i tried to screw in a bolt ,but could not feel any threads,very hard to reach under .
I did take a piece of rubber and shove it in the hole so you can see it in the picture .
What is the hole ? Should there be a bolt in it ?
Below is a picture. You can see a bolt to the left and a piece rubber to the right.
I have a feeling my seal for the drive shaft is leaking.

If water is entering the hull from this area, it's likely that your driveshaft Bellows is leaking, and the water is coming in through the PDS area!

If so, and if for any length of time, you have quite a task ahead of you.

Drive shaft bearing cross replacement.
PDS removal and bearing replacement.
Possibly a main drive gear sealed surface washer replacement....... of which involves re-shimming and the checking of the rolling torque value.

If this is your water leak, you need only remove the transmission for this work!
Leave the Intermediate housing and lower unit in place.


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RicardoMarine said:

If water is entering the hull from this area, it's likely that your driveshaft Bellows is leaking, and the water is coming in through the PDS area!

If so, and if for any length of time, you have quite a task ahead of you.

Drive shaft bearing cross replacement.
PDS removal and bearing replacement.
Possibly a main drive gear sealed surface washer replacement....... of which involves re-shimming and the checking of the rolling torque value.

If this is your water leak, you need only remove the transmission for this work!
Leave the Intermediate housing and lower unit in place.


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Click to expand...

Thanks for the fast reply.
Leak just started 2 days ago ,hopefully its just the bellows, I hate to replace just the bellows ,then find out later it was the drive seal.
Just a few more questions
Is it hose clamped on ?Maybe it just needs to be tightened.
What is a PDS ?
Should there be a bolt in that hole or is it a weep whole?
Thanks again

Bellows clamps don't just loosen up, you have a hole in the bellows. When was the last time it was replaced? Best to get to work on it, the more time passes the bigger the problem. Best case now is to get some grease pushed thru the intermediate bearing, that might same it's life. Still needs to be checked out though. Crosses in the driveline could be done the same if they're zirked. Get to work, don't wait.

Ditto Gary!

The main drive gear seal that I'm talking about rides on a carbon steel washer affair. This is housed within the bellows area.
If water gets to this seal surface washer for any length of time, it will start to rust. As it rusts, the rust will become abrasive and will eat away at the seal lip.
If you lose this seal, you will start leaking drive oil into the Bellows area.


As as for the PDS bearing........ I will lay you a bet that it has not been replaced recently.
If all goes well, it will take you about one hour to pull the PDS, remove the old bearing, install the new bearing and reassemble.
Buy the bearing from a major bearing supplier, and save yourself money. It will cost you about $24 for this bearing and the new seal.
It would be rather foolish to not replace it.

Boat will not go back into the water until fixed,just need to find a manual on line to view ,is there anything out there or would i need to buy one at a boat dealer.

Your best bet is the OEM but they're pretty spendy and hard to find, can you read Swedish? The Seloc manuals are pretty good. They make a bunch of them, so make sure you get the one with your engine and drive. Seloc #3600 looks like the one. It covers a wide number of engines and drives.

JR, I'll suggest that you assume a worst case scenario. IOW, assume that the bellows has been leaking for a longer period than what you are aware of. This may mean that water has been present in this area for an extended amount of time.
Don't be surprised if you find rust on the inside once you get into this area.
Post photos if you can.

You'll be pleasantly surprised at how easy these are to work on.


You'll first remove the transmission.



Once inside of the flywheel cover bellows "snout", you'll see a seal.
Screw a sheet metal screw into this seal, and use the screw head to pull the seal out.
It will be sacrificed.

Now you'll see two larger expansion style snap rings.
Both must be removed.
You won't find a snap ring pliers that will work as well as a modified long needle nose pliers will.
Tips must be ground round, and tweeked in a bit.
(see picture below)

Once both snap rings are out, the PDS is free to be removed. It may require some persuasion.
If need be, apply heat to the inner bore. Heat will lightly expand the aluminum some.

The PDS w/ the 6206 bearing still attached, will look like this.
Example only.... this is for a Ford F/C and PDS.



Your PDS will look like this one.
(the bearing has been removed)



Here's a 6206

Thanks Ricardo for those picture and info.
Took it apart to find the boot is ripped ,inner bearing sloppy so I removed the two outer c clips and just does not want to pull out . going to try some heat. Hopfuly the inner steady bearing in the flywheel is ok.
Was surprised it is not a sealed bearing, will look for a grease nipple yet .
U joints look good and tight no grease nipples on them ,to bad .
To bad the primary shaft is not drilled and tapped at the end for a slide hammer.

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-JR- said:

Thanks Ricardo for those picture and info.
You are welcome.

Took it apart to find the boot is ripped ,inner bearing sloppy so I removed the two outer c clips and just does not want to pull out .
going to try some heat.
Yes.... heat up the aluminum housing and expand it some. Most often this does the trick.

Hopfuly the inner steady bearing in the flywheel is ok.
That is a centering bearing only. It serves no dynamic purpose. It's a carry-over from the auto engine w/ standard transmission.

Was surprised it is not a sealed bearing, will look for a grease nipple yet .
This will be a 6206 industry standard bearing... open! There will be a grease port on the flywheel cover.
Be sure to pre-fill.


U joints look good and tight no grease nipples on them ,to bad .
These would be OEM, and are likely very old by now. Spicer 5-1306X will be your replacement bearing cross.


To bad the primary shaft is not drilled and tapped at the end for a slide hammer.
Volvo Penta did not thread these..... but Donzi, Holman Moody, Eaton and a few others did.
Wrap a thin piece of brass shim stock around the splines to protect them.
Grap onto the PDS with the largest visegrips that you can find.

Click to expand...

Found a bearing ,but no seal ,or no new bellows . Bearing $20 Seal $30 Bellows $80.
Every one seems to be closed because July 1

Seal does not really do anything except keep the grease in . If I can't find one going to JB weld the hole I made to pull it out and slip it back in .

The grease nipple is in a tight spot ,going to try and make a remote nipple on a hose .
does that grease nipple also grease the end pilot shaft bearing in the flywheel.

The pilot bearing is in the end of the crank and no the nipple won't get grease anywhere near it.

Then I am glad I was able to get some grease to the pilot bearing .

Is the above picture in the right order . seal then the two large snap rings then bearing

or large snap ring seal large snap ring then bearing

The crankshaft bearing is a PDS pilot nose "centering" bearing only! It does not perform a dynamic rotational task. It requires grease for rust prevention ONLY.


The hole in the seal casing is not an issue! Like said..... this seal holds the grease back only!

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