Volvo Penta 2003T water leak

[Rustic Charm]

Hi Volvo Penta bros'

I'm really starting to dispise this engine. But I'm a few years away from affording a new replacement.

Anyway, after having the damn thing out if the boat all winter, replacing as many external seals and gaskets as I thought I needed to, the damn thing leaks (of oil) worse than it perviously did. Looks like I'm going to have to take the turbo out to stop an irritating oil leak underneath it.

And, I now have a water leak. Can someone have a look at the picture and tell me where the water is leaking from? It's not the raw water pump ( the round thing bottom left). It's coming from where the engine stop rod and accellorator is, but I don't know what this box does. So before pulling it apart I thought I'd ask for advice.

[Rustic Charm]

A better picture of the leak

[Vasco]

Have you checked the transmission cooling? Or the pencil zinc on the side. Can't tell anything from the pics.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Rustic Charm

A better picture of the leak

from the photo it looks like the leak is coming from your raw water strainer!

although the rust coloured stain would indicate that this is a leak from the head gasket or thermostat housing,and is not a salt water leak,but a coolant leak.

edit. inside the box is the fuel control rod assbly,and connection to the engine governor.

most common source of leaks is from the lipseal on the inner side of the impeller pump housingwhen the spring inside the lipseal fails.

[Paul L]

On the top of the water pump is a small brass/bronze bolt that holds the inner shoe. It is notorious for corroding away and then spraying a small stream of water up when the engine is running. A possibility.

[manitu]

workshop-manual
http://nf.broach.se/motorer/volvo-pe...shopmanual.pdf

.manitu

[Moody guy]

Apart from the pipe running from the gearbox to the raw water pump there are no other sources of water on that side of the engine (except maybe the head gasket )
There is a multitude of connections on the other side which could leak.
Funny enough although many owners complain about water leaks I never had any on my 2003T during the five years I had it.

There is a rubber seal on the bottom of the turbo on the oil return line to the crankcase.
You need to be a bit of a contortionist to get to the two small bolts holding it on unless you have good access to the rear of the engine.

Harold


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[Moody guy]

Have just seen Paul L post.
Think he is probably spot on.
Harold


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[deblen]

Hi
I have the 2003 non-turbo version plus the service & parts manuals for turbo & non-turbo versions.I have also had mine stripped apart,except for pistons & crank.
Volvo Penta Schematic Part Diagrams
Here is a link to parts manuals.
From ur pic,I can see salt on the bottom edge of the "Regulator" cover(Volvo speak for Governor assy)
There is no RW or FW in the governor to leak out.
I suspect ur RW leak is the RW pump seals & the RW is being blown back along the port side of eng.
If you remove the pump(3 bolts & it pulls right out),u will see drain hole between pump body & drive gear end.If u see salt there,u have found leak.
P/N for turbo RW repair kit shows 876060-& includes new shaft,all seals & bearings-just about everything except housing.Check that ur pump shaft is splined,where impeller goes on.My 2003 non-turbo is same pump,except shaft has a "screwdriver" slot for impeller.
I have rebuilt one by just buying the seals-the shaft & bearings,etc.were in perfect condition.
These engines are "hated" mostly because of the rubber ring seals used on the push-in plumbing connections.I learned the hard way to buy new rubber rings(plus spares),lightly sand the pipe ends & the sockets(a plumbers copper pipe cleaning tool is great) & use petroleum jelly(Vaseline) for assy.Also,make sure the pipe (with seal on it) is inserted ALL the way to bottom,& STAYS that way until mechanically fastened in place.Some juggling is involved!I also found there is a sequence to follow,especially from t-stat thru heat x-chngr,when assembling these pipes.Very difficult removing & re-installing a pipe "in the middle",without loosening & jiggling components such as exhaust ell,H Xchngr,T-stat hsg,etc,in order to get pipes fully bottomed in their sockets.Many sermons....
Hope this helps / Len

[Scout 30]

Hi Vasco. I'd love to know where the pencil zinc is.

[deblen]

Vasco There is no pencil zinc in FW cooled 2000 series & no need of one-the antifreeze contains all the protection required-same as a car.
There is a pipe plug instead.It is located at the front stbd side of block,just behind alternator,& is a great chance to install a temp guage sender,to go with existing idiot lights.
RW cooled models have a pencil zinc,in place of this plug.
Zinc p/n is 838929
Cheers / Len

[Scout 30]

In my experience the biggest problem with this engine is the lack of a zinc because now the aluminum & brass oil cooler thinks that it's his job to be a zinc & so he goes about dissolving. I know this because I have a dissolved oil cooler sitting on my work bench. I also have a donor motor in my garage that this happened to. Luckily mine started leaking at the dock & I caught it while there was still plenty of oil left in the motor. The replacement part from Volvo is about $1,800 so I bought an aftermarket cooler from Lenco. Something else to be careful of is the foam air filter. My turbocharger sucked it right into the motor. Although the motor just thought it was fuel it screwed up the turbo charger which costs way more than the oil cooler. I tried to get it rebuilt but was told it couldn't be done so I found a donor motor with a good turbo that I'm putting on my engine.

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by atoll

from the photo it looks like the leak is coming from your raw water strainer!

although the rust coloured stain would indicate that this is a leak from the head gasket or thermostat housing,and is not a salt water leak,but a coolant leak.

edit. inside the box is the fuel control rod assbly,and connection to the engine governor.

most common source of leaks is from the lipseal on the inner side of the impeller pump housingwhen the spring inside the lipseal fails.

Good morning everyone, well at least on this side of the world.
Thanks all, much appreciate the input.
Atol, the photo doesn't really indicate it but the strainer in the back ground is well away from the engine. The photos just bring it into the frame.

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by Scout 30

Hi Vasco. I'd love to know where the pencil zinc is.

As Deblen has said there is no pencil zinc in a fresh cooled engine. Though I'm not confident this is wise given that just about everyone with even fresh cooled VP find their oil cooler at least and often their Water cooler disintegrating. I've replaced both mine now with after market stand alone ones. Didn't have a choice die to the cost.

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by Paul L

On the top of the water pump is a small brass/bronze bolt that holds the inner shoe. It is notorious for corroding away and then spraying a small stream of water up when the engine is running. A possibility.

This is worth me checking out. My water pump is definitely now leaking but I thought it was a small drip so I was going to tackle it when I confirm this other problem. But it could be the problem.