Volvo Penta XDP Service Bulletin - Bellows
- Thread starter Type-A
- Start date
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2007
- RO Number
- 27046
- Messages
- 204
Thanks for the information Russ, sure sorry to hear about all the trouble you have had with the XDP's, mine have been trouble free so far but I will check the serial number range to see if they are included in the "bad" group.
No problem Tom. Glad I could pass on the info that wasn't available to me BEFORE we bought this boat. I sure hope to h*ll that either Cruisers and/or Volvo steps up and covers the rest . . . I have a buddy that's got a '05 Rinker 270 and he was taking on water thru bellows and/or o-ring (Bravo III) and Rinker stepped up and said even though it's out of warranty we'll cover it all 100%.
Ken,
It doesn't help that the previous owner had the outdrives painted with bottom paint. Jeeze! So that'll be one of my off-seaon projects, removing the bottom paint from the drives and if need be I'll repaint them to match what they looked like from the factory.
It doesn't help that the previous owner had the outdrives painted with bottom paint. Jeeze! So that'll be one of my off-seaon projects, removing the bottom paint from the drives and if need be I'll repaint them to match what they looked like from the factory.
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2002
- RO Number
- 10314
- Messages
- 851
WOW, that looks worse than my 20 year old OMC Cobra! Was that a salt water boat before you bought it? It looks like the bellows was leaking for a long time, I had a small bellows leak one year (happened just before the end of the season) and because I caught it early the ujoints and shaft had almost no corrosion on them (salt water). New bellows and I was back in business. Still running the same ujoints 4 years later. I see there is no way to even grease those, another feature I do not like. This was supposed to be the latest and greatest from Volvo for salt water use. Enough to make you go to OBs or straight IB!
boating_rob
Active member
- Joined
- Jun 19, 2006
- RO Number
- 21873
- Messages
- 1,090
I have to see if they are the replacement for what was replaced already. Time to call another mechanic. And the fact that it has to be done by Nov 1st is B.S. That means more time lost on the water to get it done before the off-season rush of everyone pulling their boats and winterizing.
I Agree the resale value is going to hurt on this just like the OMC Cobras. Thank You Volvo.
I Agree the resale value is going to hurt on this just like the OMC Cobras. Thank You Volvo.
It seems the early versions of the XDP's (mine) are the problem. I am still working with my dealer to resolve an odd shift problem and hopefully this will be the end of my nightmare. I wonder if early adopters of axius, zeus, and IPS will also suffer from new technology?
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2002
- RO Number
- 10314
- Messages
- 851
It really is a shame that some manufacturers do not work out problems before putting the product out, and in this case I wonder if maybe it was a problem with whoever is supplying the bellows to Volvo, maybe they didn't make it exactly to their spec, who knows. I hear that was what caused the problems with the OMC Cobra shifting, the supplier changed something in the cables and the drives were not engaging all the way, and they would jump out of gear and the dog clutches were wearing out. Took them a long time to figure it out, first they changed the angle of the dog clutches but it really was the cables. Too bad it hurt their reputation and cost them money and sales. That plus the Ficht debacle put them out of business. The ironic thing is once the cable is replaced and adjusted right, they shift great (so much so I feel no need to have a cone clutch) and can last a long time even in salt water.
Let's hope Volvo covers the early failures and it doesn't ruin the rep of the saltwater drive which is a good idea in concept.
Let's hope Volvo covers the early failures and it doesn't ruin the rep of the saltwater drive which is a good idea in concept.
I have a 2004 XDP drive. The first two seasons were trouble with shifting. I found out the hard way about a redesigned shift mechanism. Why Volvo doesn't alert the owners rather than the dealers I don't know. Once I had that repaired, it has been trouble free. I did not know about the bulletin for the bellows. I change the U-joint bellows every other year weather it needs it of not. If you install the bellows clamps as per instrucions at 2 o clock, you will damage the casing on the shift cable. I install mine at 12 o clock and it has been fine.
UPDATE:
We have about 12 hours (so far) on the repaired drives. I have a little water in the bilge - no where near what I had before. So with this little bit of clean water, I'm going to make sure that all of my fresh water fittings are good. The water that we boat in is definately NOT clear. I've got my fingers crossed that the worst is behind me!
We have about 12 hours (so far) on the repaired drives. I have a little water in the bilge - no where near what I had before. So with this little bit of clean water, I'm going to make sure that all of my fresh water fittings are good. The water that we boat in is definately NOT clear. I've got my fingers crossed that the worst is behind me!
I have a 2006 Chaparral Signature 290 with 4.3L OSi Ocean Series engines and XDP drives. I had a bellows lwak and had water intrusion on my port drive last July, less than 1 year in the water. Volvo replaced the drive, gimble bearing, drive shaft and u-jounts under warranty.
I just had the boat hauled after a full year in salt water. The drives looked great, zincs great. The service guy just called and told me that both bellows (the supposed new ones) had leaked. No water in the drives, but both sides will need new u-joints, gimble bearings and bellows. he also found that the inside of the bellows was rubbing against the u-jount when the drives are trimmed to normal running angles, and was eating up the inside of the bellows. He thinks it happens because the hose for the engine water intake is pushing against the bellows, causing it to rub on the u=joint. He has a call into Volvo to see if this is a new issue.
I hope these bellows problems are resolved, as the XDP drive is a great idea and works great when it doesn't leak...at least I would expect Volvo to extend the warranty on the drives at least another 4 years as a good faith gesture.
I just had the boat hauled after a full year in salt water. The drives looked great, zincs great. The service guy just called and told me that both bellows (the supposed new ones) had leaked. No water in the drives, but both sides will need new u-joints, gimble bearings and bellows. he also found that the inside of the bellows was rubbing against the u-jount when the drives are trimmed to normal running angles, and was eating up the inside of the bellows. He thinks it happens because the hose for the engine water intake is pushing against the bellows, causing it to rub on the u=joint. He has a call into Volvo to see if this is a new issue.
I hope these bellows problems are resolved, as the XDP drive is a great idea and works great when it doesn't leak...at least I would expect Volvo to extend the warranty on the drives at least another 4 years as a good faith gesture.