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New boat, nightmare!

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lovestotroll

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My dad, 86 and blind, bought a 1989 sport craft with a AQ 151c/290 VP. Impeller changes, spark plugs changed, oil changed, bellows replaced in 290. apparently when my brother went with him to look at boat and bye it, the sellers had the water source connected to a tube that goes directly to the raw water pump, bypassing the outdrive or muffs. It ran for 15 minutes without any smoking or overheating. Now, if we try to connect muffs and hose to outdrive, it will not pull water and starts smoking immediately. No water coming out the outdrive at all. Not sure where to look first. ANY advice Would be greatly appreciate!!
 
Gettiing a Volvo drive to behave on muffs is tricky. In addition to applying water via muffs, you have to block the small hole in the skeg right under the "gills".... If that does not fix the problem, make sure that the hose to the input of the raw water pump, is connected thru the transom to the drive and that the fitting on the drive that actually connects to this hose, if OK, i.e. no pin holes from corrosion which would cause a vacuum leak check for a bent/blocked degraded "S" hose between the transom shield and the drive.. When you get the problem identified and fixed replace the raw water pump impeller... they don't like to run dry. Also there is also a possibility that the raw water pump is not working and the seller get the engine to cool directly from the force of the hose..... Actually, I prefer immersing the drive up to the water inlet gills in a big tub and filling it and keeping a garden hose free running into the tub, that way you test everything.
 
I guess my brother glued the new Bellows on, so in order to pull outdrive again, he is worried about tearing them but in order to inspect S tube, clamps and O rings. He is insistent that we should replace the raw water pump before inspecting the other component.
 
Yeah, we read that after. He believes the raw water pump is bad. It has pitting on impeller housing and when he took hose from raw water pump and placed it in a pail of water, it sucked nothing. My brother thinks switching pump to an electric one that Is belt driven would be cheaper and a better replacement. Do you think it’s a good idea or we should keep it stock? if my dad could find someone to work on this locally, I think he would take it in.
 
Keep it stock... Not all changes are better. Volvo's direct driver raw water pumps one of best setups in the industry. And I HAVE to ask this question... Did you use the correct , i.e. inlet side hose, when you did the pump test? Most likely either a worn raw water pump impeller or a sheared impeller drive key.
 
lovestotroll said:
My brother thinks switching pump to an electric one that Is belt driven would be cheaper and a better replacement.
Click to expand...
Ayuh,..... Yer brother should stay away from boats, 'n wrenches,......

Bob is dead on,..... The stock pump is near perfect,....
 
Lol, Bondo..yeah you’re probably right! Capt Bob, I have NO idea which side of hose he used when testing pump. We replaced impeller and it came with a new gasket and key…hope it’s not faulty now from all this lack of water…any recommendations for a mechanic that works on older model VPs in Northeast Ohio area? You guys are great! Thank you for your inpu!!
 
Does minor pitting in the housing or wear marks from impeller spinning on inside of impeller housing effect suction and performance? I thin he’s just got to bite the bullet and take outdrive off again and inspect hoses, o rings and whatever else he needs to look at. Is there a schematic of this outdrive anywhere online? We do have a Solec Manual but didn’t see schematic for VP 290.
 
lovestotroll said:
Does minor pitting in the housing or wear marks from impeller spinning on inside of impeller housing effect suction and performance? I thin he’s just got to bite the bullet and take outdrive off again and inspect hoses, o rings and whatever else he needs to look at. Is there a schematic of this outdrive anywhere online? We do have a Solec Manual but didn’t see schematic for VP 290.
Click to expand...
Not a fan of SELOC manuals, however, if you PM me your email address, I'll send the the file for the Volvo OEM shop manual.
... BTW... minor pitting and some wear not an issue. You don't have to remove the drive to look at the hoses.
Personally after meeting a discarded dry cleaners bag some years ago, I converted to thru hull raw water pickup with a strainer. I also at the same time plumbed in a T so I could flush my engine ( I run in sea water) and for easy winterization. After several boats I had being converted to this setup, I settled on this GROCO strainer. A mushroom thru hull (1-1/4") and a bronze shutoff and a T and a reducer and a garden hose valve finish the parts list. I use the mid size strainer hole size with my 5.7L 260 HP engine.
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lovestotroll said:
Does minor pitting in the housing or wear marks from impeller spinning on inside of impeller housing effect suction and performance?
Click to expand...
Ayuh,..... There's a fine line between minor, vs: worn out,.....
When I can see or feel wear, I replace the offending parts,....
 
On an AQ 151c/290 VP, there is a "water neck" fitting that should be considered a "wear item".
The AQ 151 water neck is aluminum, and is subject to corrosion and should be routinely replaced.
(see image below)

As for an electric seawater pump...... let your brother know that the OEM seawater pumps are RPM driven and regulated.
In other words, the seawater demand is regulated by engine RPM.
I would NOT suggest changing this! The OEM works great when all is in working condition.

As for the seawater pump body....... yes, the bore must be in excellent condition as well as the impeller cam.
The impeller vanes need to make full contact with the body bore and the cam.
If the impeller has been left in the pump body for a few winters, it may be bad by now.
Always remove the impeller during the winter lay-up.

Make sure to use the correct impeller.
The correct impeller will sit proud of the housing by approx .010" .

DO NOT lubricate the impeller with a petroleum based lubricant.
Use glycerin that can be purchased from a pharmacy.

Ditto Sandkicker re; the Seloc manuals. Too many errors.

As for the thru-hull seawater pickup, the AQ series drives do not rely on seawater for transmission (upper gear unit) cooling.
You can go with a thru-hull if you want to.
The only downside is surface water debris, whereas with the stern drive seawater intake, it is well below the water line.

We replaced impeller and it came with a new gasket and key…
Click to expand...
Your Volvo Penta OEM pump impeller drive shaft is splined...... no key required.
1688661455831.png


Sherwood pumps require a key.


As for the drive shaft bellows....... these seal against the snout via a bead and bead grove.
No sealant is required.
Use ONLY OEM Euro style clamps.
The other style clamps (with the worm screw cuts) can pull on the material during tightening.

1688662283988.png


water neck fitting.jpg



Lastly, since you saw smoke while running the engine, you may have blistered the interior of the exhaust-manifold-to-down-tube-rubber-connector.
I would pull this apart and examine it.




.
 
This is the impeller we purchased. First one we got had splines, didn’t fit..too small. My dad is so disgusted, he is searching for someone local that works on these. I will pm my email for that shop manual..may help!?! Thank you all very much! I will keep you posted! 😊

IMG_2594.png
 
Lovestotroll, my error, and I stand corrected. Your seawater pump impeller is keyed to the impeller shaft.

All others with the Johnson or Jabsco pumps use the 12 splined shaft.


FYI, when you replace the water neck fitting and the new beaded gasket, the bead will face downwards against the pivot tube.
Lube this area with a water proof grease.

Also, check for any excessive play between the pivot tube and the black plastic bushing within the suspension fork.
If excessive, the upper bushing will need to be replaced.
 
Ooops, I got timed out.

FYI, when you replace the water neck fitting and the new beaded gasket, the bead will face downwards against the pivot tube.
Lube this area with a water proof grease.

Also, check for any excessive play between the pivot tube and the black plastic bushing within the suspension fork.
If excessive, the upper bushing will need to be replaced.
If NOT replaced, the bead will eventually stop sealing against the pivot tube, and will breach suction.
 
Rick, are you going to be in the Ohio area anytime soon? Lol, this is WAY above my brother’s Pay grade. We really need a mechanic to take this beast to. Also, does the scoop screen have anything to do with the raw water pump and sucking water into motor? Can these be eliminated so don’t have to mess with it?
I tried to send Capt. Bob my email off forum but not sure I did it right. He was going to send me the OEM Volvo shop manual. If I need to, I can post it here. It’s [email protected]

Thank you Rick, I will relay what you said about water neck fitting and the pivot tube. (Hopefully he knows what these are ).
Donna
 
Donna, for the most part, this schematic will work for the 250, 270, 275, 280, 285, 290 etc. and has similarities to the C and later drives.
Early water neck fittings are aluminum (subject to corrosion).
Later they went to a plastic water neck fitting.



1688817731389.png
 
Wow..... the forum software gives us only a few minutes to add or edit before timing us out.

Donna, regarding finding a Marine mechanic with Volvo Penta AQ series experience...... it is very tough these days..... especially in the mid-west and on East coast.
Most of the old timers (such as myself) have long since retired, and the young guys have never worked on them.
The young guys are somewhat intimidated by them.
Trust me....... if you have decent mechanical skills, these are among the easiest systems to work on.

Keep in mind that heat is your friend when it comes to disassembling components with stubborn fasteners.
Propane or Mapp gas ONLY.
NO Oxy-Acet!

Unless you buy me a round-trip airline ticket, put me up and feed me, I have no plans to be in the Ohio area...... sorry!



.
 
Lol, didn’t think so! If the raw water pump needs replaced entirely, would it be leaking water? And is there a way to rebuild and place impeller in backwards? Trying to figure if it’s the next logical step to getting water to engine and buy another raw water pump? I am stuck thinking since the marina where it was purchased had it sucking water directly from hose, bypassing the outdrive, that these pumps and the impeller was working. and the problem lies in lower unit somwhere. OR Could it be the oil cooler, thermostat and or the heat exchanger? If you were here..what is #1, #2, #3…sequence of what you would troubleshoot? It Is tough to find a knowledgeable mechanic for this!
Thank you!
 
lovestotroll said:
Lol, didn’t think so!
1...... If the raw water pump needs replaced entirely, would it be leaking water? 2...... And is there a way to rebuild and place impeller in backwards?
Trying to figure if it’s the next logical step to getting water to engine and buy another raw water pump? 3..... I am stuck thinking since the marina where it was purchased had it sucking water directly from hose, bypassing the outdrive, that these pumps and the impeller was working. 4..... and the problem lies in lower unit somwhere. 5.... OR Could it be the oil cooler, thermostat and or the heat exchanger? 6..... If you were here..what is #1, #2, #3…sequence of what you would troubleshoot? It Is tough to find a knowledgeable mechanic for this!
Thank you!
Click to expand...

1..... Not necessarily. The pump body cavity could be pitted. The Cam could be worn out. The impeller may have taken a "set".

2.... When new, the impeller is bi-directional. In other words, it can be installed either way.
Once removed, stored and then re-installed, it should be installed for the same rotation direction.

3..... We should ONLY bi-pass the seawater path when trouble-shooting. Otherwise, use the OEM system.

4.... Have you replaced the water neck fitting and the special beaded gasket?
Have you checked the upper pivot tube bushing for excessive play?

5.... It would not be a bad idea to check each of them.

6....
Water neck fitting.
Beaded gasket.
Pivot tube bushing.
Pivot tube lower O-ring seal (shown in the schematic at the very bottom of the pivot tube)
All seawater path hoses.
Seawater pump.
Incoming seawater screen.
Heat Exchanger.
Exhaust Manifold mixing chamber.

Imagine being the seawater (river, lake or ocean), and you are following your path through the system.
Leave no stone un-turned.

Use the tried and proven P of E .... process of elimination.
Test, check, find or eliminate, and replace one item ONLY at a time.
Move on the next suspect item ONLY after the previous item has been explored.

The P of E, when used systematically and methodically, will not let you down.
 
Thank you Capt! He is stuck at trying to figure out if raw water pump is working. He is eliminating any possible problems in outdrive first by P of E of cooling system without involving outdrive. He disconnected the rubber tube from copper pipe that lead to the raw water pump and held it into a pail of water and after starting engine, it didn’t suck water at all. Then hooked garden hose to inlet to try to prime it, and it built pressure and still Wouldn’t turn impeller. Also, all this time he was trying this previously, he didn’t have the outdrive all the way down. Now it is and water gushed out of outdrive. Now engine won’t start and battery needs recharged. Thank you so very much for sharing your knowledge and your recommendations. I think we are going to order a rebuilt raw water pump and go from there, i will give you progress when we get it and put it in.
Thank you again!!
D
 
There will also be a drive cushion/coupler that may be in need of replacement.

This part connects the pump shaft to the engine's counter-shaft.

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He found coupling and we ordered a rebuilt raw water pump, which hasn’t been installed yet because apparently my brother put a molded rubber hose in place of copper intake pipe that was missing when boat was purchased and thus, the sellers bypassing outdrive. We are trying to locate a replacement cooling pipe from elbow of intake to raw water pump. see plenty for the aq170 but not for aq151. Having a hard time finding an original part number or diagram of where the connect, gasket/O ring specs…this seems impossible since motor is 1989 and very limited info out there! Any help would be gravely appreciated!!
 
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