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VP-270 Intermediate repair advice

T

Texascrew

New member
Hi, I have found the problem of my cooling/overheating problem. The intermediate housing steering bushing that is right below the cooling neck is shot. I have removed the upper trans and lower trans/prop, with the part completely removed and what I have read so far.......this repair is really going to require a press and 2 special tools. I can buy the tools online and I even have a press at work. My question is should I really attempt this cause i know this is really soft and easy to damage. I took the part to the local boat shop and they will give it to the guy who does it monday. I will get a call for the estimated charges then. MY question is CAN it Be done by a novice with lots of caution and the right tools?
anyone done it and failed.....lessons learned? what is a fair price for the boat shop Mechanic to charge?

Boat is 93 Bayliner Capri 1750 with aq125/270

does anyone know of a good Boat shop I can ship this to for repair. (as a last resort)

last but not least .......someone who has done it......step by step instructions and hints?

Unit is in very good condition and has no corrosion at all, been a fresh water boat all its life.

Thanks in Advance.
Rick
Great Falls MT:cool:
 
Once the transmission and lower unit have been removed, and when the Intermediate housing has been removed from the transom sheild, the rest is a piece of cake.
However, you are correct, the pivot tube is rather soft, and can become damaged easily if not careful.
The upper section must be near perfect for the beaded gasket (seq #29) and the lower section must be near perfect for the OEM O-ring (seq #24).

Parts:
New plastic bushing, new needle bearing cage, two new needle bearing seals, 2 O-rings at transmission, 3 O-rings at lower unit, 1 dip stick and 1 drain plug O-ring. (no fill plug gasket on the 270)
You may need one or two of the white plastic ring spacers (seq #16) top/bottom of the Rev Latch bearing sleeve.
The latch unit can be removed without removing the anti-rotation pins.

This is a great time to clean up and check the Rev Latch assembly. Corrosion can affect the Lock Brace action.

He's a trick that will work when removing the pivot tube.

The pivot tube offers a mild press fit into the Intermediate housing in the center area where the exhaust passes through the housing..... not necessarily a hydraulic press fit, but a fairly snug fit.
The fit at the upper bushing and lower needle bearing will not prevent removal...... it's the center section fit that will give you trouble.
You'll find some corrosion that will cause the tube to be difficult to remove.
I use heat in the exhaust opening as to expand the aluminum.

While warm, gently apply pressure to the upper section of the pivot tube with a brass or aluminum shaft.
Support the suspension fork from either side of the needle bearing area, and press downward.
The tube will remove from out the bottom.

Clean all surfaces, and look at the lower needle bearing surface.
If damaged any, place the better area forward against the new needle bearing cage.
If severely damaged, replace the pivot tube.

Grease these surfaces, and the re-assembly will be easy.
Note: the grease port for the needle bearing cage is Volvo Penta's idea of humor. This port does not direct grease into the correct area.
Pre-pack the needle bearing cage prior to re-assembly!

If I had this on my work bench, the total time required to R&R the tube and install the new upper bushing and needle bearing cage, is approx 3/4 to 1 hour. IOW, this is NOT a 2 or 3 hour job.
Nothing out of the ordinary is required. Soft brass or alumium tools should be used.

I always install the Intermediate housing by itself, then I hang the lower unit, I then install the transmission last.
Much much easier this way.

5972_1.png

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YOU SIR ARE A GOD! THANK YOU VERY MUCH......(my wife wants to send you cookies). :) btw.. I was told by all (3) of the Boat shops here in town they were not interested in repairing this. I took it to each one and showed them the problem and explained what needed to be done as I know it. In the end I was sent to a machine shop who was quite nice about it but had never done one. He was willing to try but would not accept any liability if he broke it. I would rather try it.
I will update as soon as i can.
Thank again, Rick G
 
Update, I was able to use your advice and instructions and complete the repair. It went well although the tube was quite hard to get out, I may not have used enough heat....but it finally came out after really hitting it hard with heat. I was super cautious about how much pressure i applied with the press and really just moved it in very small increments until it was out. ( ( did not want to stress the exhaust cavity ). put it all back together and ran it for 6-7 hours today. I was pulling my kids on tubes the entire time and the temp stayed just past the 180 mark but not quite to the next mark...about 210? anyway never smelled any anti-freez or saw my temps climb. UNTIL for no good reason it overheated....I had just checked the temps and in less than 5 min it maxed out and blew antifreeze out of the cap. I smelled oil burning right before that and told my wife 'smells like oil is burning...but temps are good' Then BAM she over heats. we shut down to a Idle and it took a few mins but the temps dropped back to normal and we cruised easy like back to the docks with out overheating. At the time I pulled the engine cover and checked the water impeller housing for cool water circulation. It was cool to the touch and i think it was pulling water correctly. I am stumped for now.
 
It sounds to me like you got a piece of plastic (a shopping bag?) in the water intake grids. That situation has happened to most of of us at some point.
 
The ole plastic bag has caused this many times for many owners.

Also, look closely at the two thrust surfaces within the sea water pump (the cover and the deep surface within the pump body).
If the thrust surfaces are grooved, the impeller may not be working to it's full potential.

Look at the impeller cam also.
Worn cam, and the impeller blades may not seal against the cam correctly, nor be flexed enough to properly flow enough cooling water.


From the sea water pump forward, a water leak is very easy to detect.
On the suction side from the drive up to the sea water, is another story.
You can try two things:

Although I'm not a big fan of pressurizing a suction line to check for suction leaks, you could do this.

Or.... you pull the suction line from the pump, and put a shop vac on the suction side, and tape off the intake grate at the lower unit.
At each connecting point, you can use shaving cream.
If there is a suction breach, the shop vac will cause the shave cream to disappear at the pin-point location.

Be sure to follow this with a nice after-shave Cologne.


Edit:
Glad to hear that you were able to remove the pivot tube successfully.

Did you replace the upper pivot tube bushing????
This bushing maintains center on the pivot tube.
A bad bushing will cause the tube to oscillate within the suspension fork.
If the tube oscillates any, the water neck fitting special beaded gasket seal may breach suction.

BTW and FYI...., the gasket "bead" faces downward against the pivot tube.




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Texascrew said:
I hope so...
Click to expand...

New season, boat runs well and does not overheat at all, now I have a really loose shaft on the part that goes from the engine compartment thru the hull, the 'steering helmet' I think. I am ready to pull the lower unit again :( and remove this part and replace the bushings.
 
Texascrew said:
New season, boat runs well and does not overheat at all, now I have a really loose shaft on the part that goes from the engine compartment thru the hull, the 'steering helmet' I think. I am ready to pull the lower unit again :( and remove this part and replace the bushings.
Click to expand...
That would be your collar steering fork bushings.
No need to remove the entire drive. Just remove the transmission for this work.


I just recently posted on this..... here's a Copy/Paste:


One bushing is directly above the V-ring seal, and one at the very top..... each just oposite of the splined area.

attachment.php




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I marked up this image above..... (it's not my photo.)
Normally we use wooden wedges at the exterior area to drive the fork downwards.

DO NOT use a socket to help drive the collar steering fork out! You will expand the aluminum!
If need be, use an aluminum drift punch of almost equal diameter (grease zerk removed)..


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One more thing here:

The collar steering fork "spindle arm" is what controls Port/Stbd lock-to-lock steering stops.
The spindle arm ID splines and the fork OD splines are such that the two can index in as many positions as there are splines....... (with limitations).

Point being..... when going back together, be sure that you index this so that the fork/helmet can make an equal angle turn in either direction.
It's very easy to get one spline off, and not notice this until out of the water again.

Make sure that the "pinch" bolt is a grade #8, that it threads completely through the spindle arm threads, and that the threads are greased.


Not mentioned in any OEM service manual.... but the pinch slot is often too short.
If this slot is extended some, the pinch bolt will have a greater advantage when squeezing down on the collar steering fork splines.



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