Hole in motor behind starter on Volvo Penta MD22L

[miyva]

Hi

Well i'm baffled, i bought this boat a month ago and i just noticed this Motor seems to run fine adn start fine. Anyone ever seen this before?

Cheers

[ontherocks83]

can you get a better picture with more lighting? Can't really tell what I'm looking at.

[Wood]

I had an old Mustang that looked like that. Through a bendix gear.

[glenn.225]

Well looks like the starter has been replaced, so it could of been from a previouly failed starter drive. I also have seen damage like this from a loose flexplate bolt.

[miyva]

Originally Posted by ontherocks83

can you get a better picture with more lighting? Can't really tell what I'm looking at.

[miyva]

Originally Posted by glenn.225

Well looks like the starter has been replaced, so it could of been from a previouly failed starter drive. I also have seen damage like this from a loose flexplate bolt.

So this is a dry area part of the motor? and can still be run like this?

[DeepFrz]

Its in the bell housing. Just get a small mirror or borescope and check that there are no loose pieces of metal in that area that could damage the ring gear. Nasty of the PO not to flag that and you may have recourse for a fix.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by miyva

So this is a dry area part of the motor? and can still be run like this?

There is no fluid in that part of the engine, it’s just the flywheel and ring gear.

Seeing as the starter is new or rebuilt I’d expect that a massive failure of the bendix knocked out that hole.

[miyva]

Well i'm just trying to make sure it's safe. from what i can see it's not an easy fix, would have to take out the motor if i'm not wrong.

[a64pilot]

It’s the bell housing, it will be fine as long as it doesn’t finish breaking, which it could do as it is what transmits the torque from the engine to the transmission.
If it were mine, I’d replace it, but in all honesty it could run fine forever just as is, or break next time you take the boat out.
Gut says stop drill the obvious crack at least
You can usually pull the transmission, then the bell housing, and since your there consider replacing the drive plate or at least inspecting it.
Or stop drill the cracks and hope for the best.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by miyva

Well i'm just trying to make sure it's safe. from what i can see it's not an easy fix, would have to take out the motor if i'm not wrong.

It looks like you could replace the bell housing in place, but it would require creative bracing and gymnastics

[DougR]

What has been said is correct........
It's a dry area of the engine, nothing in there but the flywheel, damper plate and the starter nose...
But then why is the flex mount, the transmission, and part of the flywheel housing covered with a whiteish looking oil? And an oil pad below the engine. Perhaps the rear seal is leaking?.....

A close look at the broken housing shows several cracks radiating from the damaged area, and we also see that the flex mount support bracket is bolted to the housing in the immediate area of the fracture.

If it was mine I would start to look for a replacement housing, or contemplate getting that one repaired.

[miyva]

Originally Posted by DougR

What has been said is correct........
It's a dry area of the engine, nothing in there but the flywheel, damper plate and the starter nose...
But then why is the flex mount, the transmission, and part of the flywheel housing covered with a whiteish looking oil? And an oil pad below the engine. Perhaps the rear seal is leaking?.....

A close look at the broken housing shows several cracks radiating from the damaged area, and we also see that the flex mount support bracket is bolted to the housing in the immediate area of the fracture.

If it was mine I would start to look for a replacement housing, or contemplate getting that one repaired.

The pads bellow is me, i'm cleaning the engine. But yes i notice a kind of lube inside the hole. I will look into getting this fixed.

Cheers

[skipperpete]

Did you find any pieces of metal in the bilge? How did this get missed by the surveyor[emoji844]

[ontherocks83]

Originally Posted by miyva

Attachment 202073

Attachment 202074

Attachment 202075

Thank you

Originally Posted by a64pilot

It’s the bell housing, it will be fine as long as it doesn’t finish breaking, which it could do as it is what transmits the torque from the engine to the transmission.
If it were mine, I’d replace it, but in all honesty it could run fine forever just as is, or break next time you take the boat out.
Gut says stop drill the obvious crack at least
You can usually pull the transmission, then the bell housing, and since your there consider replacing the drive plate or at least inspecting it.
Or stop drill the cracks and hope for the best.

What he said