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Old 19-05-2018, 00:50   #1
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Rotate Volvo Saildrive Leg

Bit off an odd one, can’t find much online.

I have a Volvo MD 2030 and a 120 saildrive in my shed. My boat currently has a working MD 2003 and a 120 saildrive.

Plan is to check out the spares and store them for the time the 2003 pegs out.

All good, only issue is the boat they came out of had the saildrive in front of the motor, so the leg is rotated 180 degrees from the normal setup.

Doesn’t look too hard to rotate the leg on the saildrive gearbox, but the gasket and adaptor plate are not symmetric, everything else is.

Anyone done this? Any surprises?
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Old 20-05-2018, 03:52   #2
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Re: Rotate Volvo Saildrive Leg

OK, I unbolted the saildrive leg from the gearbox, removed the adaptor plate and rubber donut, here is the wash up.

donut is dated 1998, in great condition.

the leg bolts to the gearbox in both directions

BUT, the adaptor plate is a problem.

it is an aluminium plate that clamps the donut to the gearbox, and the leg is bolted on over it.

it has a hole cutout over the saltwater cooling water cavity on the leg,

it isn’t a simple reverse option, as it is held on by three bolts in a triangular arrangement.

so, options are

get an adaptor plate off a saildrive that is set up the normal way.

 drill three bolt holes and blank off the others, this isn’t simple as there is a rubber O ring sealing the apex bolt, and the heads are recessed into the adaptor plate.

I can’t just rotate the leg, so the cooling water hole is over a blank space in the front of the plate and use a separate saltwater cooling seacock, as there is also a vent in the plate that communicates between the lower prop shaft and the rest of the gearbox, which would let saltwater into the gearbox.

As there is no rush I will have a chat to the local VP dealer in case he is wrecking a normal saildrive, and get new bolt holes machined if there are no other options.
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Old 20-05-2018, 03:55   #3
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Re: Rotate Volvo Saildrive Leg

Quote:
Originally Posted by olaf hart View Post
OK, I unbolted the saildrive leg from the gearbox, removed the adaptor plate and rubber donut, here is the wash up.

donut is dated 1998, in great condition.

the leg bolts to the gearbox in both directions

BUT, the adaptor plate is a problem.

it is an aluminium plate that clamps the donut to the gearbox, and the leg is bolted on over it.

it has a hole cutout over the saltwater cooling water cavity on the leg,

it isn’t a simple reverse option, as it is held on by three bolts in a triangular arrangement.

so, options are

get an adaptor plate off a saildrive that is set up the normal way.

 drill three bolt holes and blank off the others, this isn’t simple as there is a rubber O ring sealing the apex bolt, and the heads are recessed into the adaptor plate.

just rotate the leg, so the cooling water hole is over a blank space in the front of the saildrive, and use a separate saltwater cooling seacock. I could also weld a plate over the cooling water hole just for insurance.

 I am attracted to the last option, I am always cleaning marine organisms out of my saildrive leg.

As there is no rush I will have a chat to the local VP dealer in case he is wrecking a normal saildrive, and get the hole welded shut if there are no other options.
could you drill new water intake holes on the back side of the leg,the drive shaft is sealed centrally?
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Old 20-05-2018, 03:57   #4
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Re: Rotate Volvo Saildrive Leg

Can’t find the delete function
Please ignore post no 2
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Old 20-05-2018, 04:06   #5
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Re: Rotate Volvo Saildrive Leg

Quote:
Originally Posted by olaf hart View Post
OK, I unbolted the saildrive leg from the gearbox, removed the adaptor plate and rubber donut, here is the wash up.

donut is dated 1998, in great condition.

the leg bolts to the gearbox in both directions

BUT, the adaptor plate is a problem.

it is an aluminium plate that clamps the donut to the gearbox, and the leg is bolted on over it.

it has a hole cutout over the saltwater cooling water cavity on the leg,

it isn’t a simple reverse option, as it is held on by three bolts in a triangular arrangement.

so, options are

get an adaptor plate off a saildrive that is set up the normal way.

 drill three bolt holes and blank off the others, this isn’t simple as there is a rubber O ring sealing the apex bolt, and the heads are recessed into the adaptor plate.

just rotate the leg, so the cooling water hole is over a blank space in the front of the saildrive, and use a separate saltwater cooling seacock. I could also weld a plate over the cooling water hole just for insurance.

 I am attracted to the last option, I am always cleaning marine organisms out of my saildrive leg.

As there is no rush I will have a chat to the local VP dealer in case he is wrecking a normal saildrive, and get the hole welded shut if there are no other options.
Quote:
Originally Posted by atoll View Post
could you drill new water intake holes on the back side of the leg,the drive shaft is sealed centrally?
No, the front cavity in the saildrive leg vents the lower gear case with the rest of the gearbox.

I missed the vent in my second post, I thought it just communicated with the central shaft, but went back to check and found it vents from outside the central shaft, which in the case of a reversed leg would mean venting seawater into the gearbox!
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Old 20-05-2018, 04:17   #6
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Re: Rotate Volvo Saildrive Leg

Quote:
Originally Posted by olaf hart View Post
No, the front cavity in the saildrive leg vents the lower gear case with the rest of the gearbox.

I missed the vent in my second post, I thought it just communicated with the central shaft, but went back to check and found it vents from outside the central shaft, which in the case of a reversed leg would mean venting seawater into the gearbox!
that would mean that the oil gallery has to line up with the gear box.

so the legs must come in either foward drive or reverse drive configurations ie with the water and oil galleries reversed?
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Old 20-05-2018, 04:25   #7
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Re: Rotate Volvo Saildrive Leg

Looks to me like the legs are all the same, the gearboxes are all the same, the adaptor plates are different.

My boat has a normally positioned saildrive, the water gallery is in front, ie opposite the prop side.

This reversed saildrive has the water gallery in the same place wrt the prop.

The cooling water channel on the gearbox end is circular, so would work which ever way the leg is attached.

If the adaptor plate was held on by two or four bolts, rotating it would be no problem, but it has three!
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Old 20-05-2018, 05:08   #8
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Re: Rotate Volvo Saildrive Leg

I also have an older Volvo saildrive leg but with no water connection. Can you include a picture of the issue?
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Old 20-05-2018, 10:05   #9
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Re: Rotate Volvo Saildrive Leg

Quote:
Originally Posted by olaf hart View Post
Looks to me like the legs are all the same, the gearboxes are all the same, the adaptor plates are different.

My boat has a normally positioned saildrive, the water gallery is in front, ie opposite the prop side.

This reversed saildrive has the water gallery in the same place wrt the prop.

The cooling water channel on the gearbox end is circular, so would work which ever way the leg is attached.

If the adaptor plate was held on by two or four bolts, rotating it would be no problem, but it has three!

When the time comes, can you not simply use the adaptor plate from your current set-up on the 'spare' set-up?
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Old 20-05-2018, 13:58   #10
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Re: Rotate Volvo Saildrive Leg

Quote:
Originally Posted by olaf hart View Post
Looks to me like the legs are all the same, the gearboxes are all the same, the adaptor plates are different.

My boat has a normally positioned saildrive, the water gallery is in front, ie opposite the prop side.

This reversed saildrive has the water gallery in the same place wrt the prop.

The cooling water channel on the gearbox end is circular, so would work which ever way the leg is attached.

If the adaptor plate was held on by two or four bolts, rotating it would be no problem, but it has three!
probably best to identify the parts diagram for the alternate adaptor plates and go from there
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Old 20-05-2018, 14:41   #11
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Re: Rotate Volvo Saildrive Leg

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When the time comes, can you not simply use the adaptor plate from your current set-up on the 'spare' set-up?
Certainly an option, it’s an earlier model 120 and not sure if it will fit, knowing Volvo...
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Old 20-05-2018, 18:47   #12
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Re: Rotate Volvo Saildrive Leg

Your observations are correct....The 120 saildrive was delivered only in the "normal" configuration and a "reverse" kit was available to rotate the drive. The kit mostly consisted of the different adapter plate to match up the passages and a gasket or two.

When the 120 drive was replaced with the MS25s drive this continued as the lower leg of the MS25s was the same as the 120 s.

When the current production 130 saildrive went into production this was changed, and the drive was offered in both a standard and a reversed configuration. The "reverse kit" was discontinued because the drive was made symmetrical and could be rotated without the need for a different intermediate plate.

Your options are to source an original plate, or find a trashed drive that isn't rotated, or wait for the 2000 series drive to die and take the plate from it.

As an aside, good on you for noticing this....it wouldn't have been the first time a drive was reversed and filled with water.

DougR
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Old 20-05-2018, 19:04   #13
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Re: Rotate Volvo Saildrive Leg

Thanks Doug, I just cross posted your comments on a parallel thread I was running on Sailing Anarchy, hope you don’t mind...
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