SD40 Saildrive Removal

[dgale]

We have our Voyage 440 cat hauled out at Shelter Bay Marina, here in Panama to do bottom paint - and service the saildrives.... The starboard one has developed a leak, about ½ litre per hour into the boat.

I am assuming it’s the diaphragm seal around the leg itself. I have
the replacement, but the instructions that come with it are useless,
as is the SD40 manual for this job. Any advice for how to get the saildrive out and replace the seal? Can we unbolt and drop the sail drive down through the hull, or do we have to pull it up into the boat (means (re)moving engine!)?
The port side seems fine, but should we replace that one too while the boat is out of the water? In addition to changing the oil, is there any other preventative maintenance we should do while we’re out?
Any advice will be very much appreciated!
Thanks,
Derek Gale
s/v Idyll Island

[kiltym]

I have SD20's, they should drop out down the bottom of the hull, not up through the boat. You have to seperate the upper and lower portions of the SD to do this, lots of bolts on the upper portion going down into the lower as I remember.

Sorry I cant be of more help though, I only watched. I would call a Yanmar mechanic and have a 10-15 minute conversation with them.

I would change both seals (boots) on both saildrives if you have never done either SD before, otherwise its just a matter of time and another unexpected haul out. I know there are bands (big hose clamps) that also need to be replaced, and some type of adhesive. The thought of a mistake was a bit to risky for me so I hired someone.

Other maintenance, I always remove the cone and the prop (and spacer and other little parts), clean it all up, and re-grease and re-assemble. Just makes it easier later if you need to take anything apart. Check the zincs obviously. Make sure the o-ring on the oil plug at the bottom is in good shape so that when you re-fill there is a good seal to keep water out/oil in (I use a dab of liquid gasket as well as its not worth the risk to me).

By the way, I hate saildrives .