Volvo incompetence

[mikeod]

This is a copy of email I sent to Volvo. Anyone else have similar issue? Beware if you have similar engine.

I own a sailboat with a d2 75 installed. When I got the boat 2 years ago the engine had 100 hours, it now has just over 700 hours. I am traveling down the coast from RI to the Bahamas. It recently began having an exhaust leak where the turbo bolts to the manifold. Upon inspection one of the studs has broken off. I have since disasembled it and found that the flange on the turbo had cracked from the uneven torque after the stud sheared. A Volvo dealer quoted me over 3100 dollars for the part. With gaskets that is about 25 percent of the cost of a new engine.I REPEAT 25 PERCENT OF ENGINE COST FOR A PART THAT NOT A MAJOR ENGINE COMPONENT. That is absolutely ridiculous. That exact same part can be bought elsewhere for 1000$. Can you justify that. Upon further inspection I have found that the studs holding it are stainless steel. In my experience stainless is not good for such an application because it work hardens and fractures. I also asked a Volvo dealer who is a diesel and turbo shop who said he would not recommend putting stainless studs back in. Another turbo shop I spoke to said the same and the bolt supplier where I got hardened steel studs said the same. I had to remove the adapter casting that the turbo bolts to to drill out the broken stud and found that there was a very small coolant leak that has been seeping for a long time between the adapter and the manifold. Looking at the old gasket it is a metal gasket with rubber inserts around the coolant passages. There is clear tape over the rubber parts so they don't fall out before installation.When it was assembled they did not remove the tape from the gasket surface and just poked a hole where the coolant passes. Beacause of this the rubber portions of the gasket could not seal against the mating surface and therefore leaked. I am spending thousands of dollars repairing things I believe we're totally preventable. I was warned about Volvo when I bought the boat and by many other sailors since. What is Volvo going to do to prove them wrong and make me a satisfied customer. Take note I am dead in the water and the parts I did order the dealer needs to get sent to him and then ship them to me doubling the time till I get them and can finish repairs so I can continue to my destination.
NOT GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE
Mike O'Donnell

[geoleo]

Yep-Volvo suks

[Paul L]

. A Volvo dealer quoted me over 3100 dollars for the part. With gaskets that is about 25 percent of the cost of a new engine.I REPEAT 25 PERCENT OF ENGINE COST FOR A PART THAT NOT A MAJOR ENGINE COMPONENT. That is absolutely ridiculous. That exact same part can be bought elsewhere for 1000$

Maybe you could post the part number and source for the non-oem part so others can take advantage of your research.

Sure sounds like a frustrating time with a relatively new engine.

[mikeod]

It's an IHI turbo and the manufactures name and part # are right on it so no trick finding it. Volvo will probably start grinding off the part #'s. The scotch tape left on the gasket is the most obvious of there negligence now I have corrosion between the stainless studs and the aluminum manifold. I would like to replace them but I'm sure they would break and I'm done drilling studs for now.

[mikeod]

The best price for turbo I found was through a Perkins dealer and he wasn't getting direct from Ihi he said he was 3rd in handling it so Volvos markup is BS

[jsc7]

The smaller Volvo marine engines are known for being maintenance prone and expensive to repair. Hey, just be glad it uses fresh water cooling. If it was a salt water engine it would be like 10x worse.

[geoleo]

a dock mate had a volvo in his boat he needed a hose that had another smaller hose made with it. Volvo dealer said price was $410+tax..... Together we fabed a custom one with a brass pipe T and hoses from Oreily Auto parts for $17! Worked puuurfect

[DougR]

Sorry to hear of your problem. What was Volvo's response to your e mail?

DougR

[mikeod]

I just sent it today. So I won't hear back till Monday at least. I have called and reamed out whoever answers the phone on there special breakdown line and they had someone higher up call me back and gave them an earfully. She told me I had to email but being busy tearing half my engine apart I just got to it so we will see. Like they say about a car made on a Friday. Maybee everyday is Friday at the Volvo factory.

[mikeod]

As to the salt water cooling. It has a salt water cooled intercooler on the intake. Can't wait to see what happens when that lets go and sprays salt water into the intake. That should be fun. I'm not a fan of turbos and all the extra bs they bring.

[boatpoker]

I've got a buddy who re-powered his Bayliner 4587 with two new Volvo's 6yrs ago. One of them has been perfect and one has been a disaster. Volvo made many trips to try and get it right and never could. At the end of the 5th year they refused to try anymore saying it was out of Warranty !

I previously had a boat with a Volvo ...... never again. Service and parts are insane.

[BlackHeron]

Volvo-Penta...

'Nuff said.

[ErikFinn]

I do not remember hearing (or reading) much good about Volvo boat engines, I think mostly related to spare part prices and yes the prices are piracy on the high seas, it is no secret.

[newhaul]

I have recently purchased an md2b . It is still in great shape. However I am looking at purchasing an md3 that is on local craigslist as a parts engine. Was told it needs a ring job and would be good go . ( want it just for parts) . Its cheap) good idea or should I bail on volvo ?

[jimbunyard]

Unless you want to litigate, it seems likely you'll just have to suck it up...

Unless you want to repower, which hardly seems likely at 700 hrs, it's best to learn about whatever shortcomings the engine model has or might have and do whatever PM needed to prevent problems before they happen.

Unfortunately, that can include things that are not generally seen as 'preventative maintenance'. On my Tamd41 it included replacing as many of the oring sealed connections as possible with threaded or soldered and hose clamped connections, replacing all the electrical system; more reliable starter, Delco alternator and homemade engine wiring harness, and removing the inadequate and leak-prone built in raw water strainer with a bronze Perko unit. I am about to take off the various aluminum upper engine covers and have them anodized in an effort to cut down on a pretty bad corrosion problem (but the engine is old and has not been run as much lately as it should). I also remote-mounted the oil filter and drilled and tapped the (stainless steel!) oil pan for a standard NPT fitting for a remote oil drain...

It might be prudent to look at the aftercooler now before it has a chance to spray seawater into the intake; we had problems with both internal leaks around the aftercooler hsg/aftercooler/coverplate, repaired by welding the hsg and liberal use of silicone on the square oring gaskets sealing the three parts. The persistent external leaks were fixed by taking pieces of the original oring sealed copper tubing, soldering them into the bronze cover, and replacing the tubing with standard hose and clamps.

As for the turbo, at 700 hrs it shouldn't need replacing; the exhaust volute may be available by itself, either new or used. Call one of the myriad of turbo services available and tell them your story and you might get lucky.

I used to get really good service and prices from a place called MJM, in Alabama, but I found out the old guy I always dealt with (the owner) died a couple months ago. The business is still open though, 800-331-0616, and might be a good starting (and maybe ending) place...