Volvo Penta AQ Upper Part 1 Teardown and Info 

The uppers are all the same, the main difference for the smaller 4 & 6 cylinder units is the lower unit gear ratio, is a higher ratio. 2.15 is common for the 4's

@@TheAyrCaveShop With exception to the E transmission, all of these series transmissions are of the same reduction. The s/p lower gear units offer three reductions: 8 cylinder = 1.61:1 reduction, 6 cylinder = 1.89:1 reduction, 4 cylinder = 2.15:1 reduction. RicardoMarine

@@markemery49 Yes I forgot to note that , Thanks !

Thanks Robert, Great meeting you as well. This is such an awesome community... ATB..Dean

Thank You...Dean

Hi how can i get the file volvo penta aq calculator.xlsx

Paul, Sorry no video on that. Be sure to always replace both "wear washers" (the plastic bushings with the flanges) they are the name implies a ware item. with the amount of work involved you don't want to do it again. Not a bad idea to change the tilt pin bushings also, but they last longer. ATB....Dean

Worn thrust washer could add to the issue. But be sure to check shift cable alignment shifting fork clearance or something sticky with the tilt reverse latch. That's an odd problem.

Thanks for viewing and commenting, It's most likely the shifting cone clutch is highly glazed causing slip under high load. It requires disassembly of the upper gear unit but the deglazing process is quite easy. I cover that process in part 3 @ 6:15. The output shaft thrust washer is most likely distorted as well, I always replace the factory brass washer with a steel one. The other thing is your at the power limit for a 280 upper gear unit. Volvo upgraded the upper units for that reason, the modern engines were getting too powerful. When you can, go a little lighter on the throttle coming out of the hole, your drive will thank you for it. You can upgrade to the stronger 290-A upper unit, they still use the same shifting cone clutch but the gears are bigger/stronger. Might be a better way to go depending on the condition of your unit. To match a 290-A upper (note: a 290 is not the same as a 290-A, the -A is the upgrade) MOST IMPORTANT 290-A's used two different bottom bearings; the later units used a larger diameter bottom bearing (with less rollers) these will not fit 280/290 intermediate housing, look for the original style bearing (more rollers, like in this video). You also need to match the input U-joint spline most later 280's and up used the fine spline. The steering boss will also be 2-bolt style. The top covers come is two styles "flat and sloped" the covers are interchangeable but shims need checking. With the exception of a 290-E (quite rare) all the upper units are 1:1 gear ratio. So don't worry if the tag shows a different ratio. Gearing happens in the lower unit. We have the steel washers on eBay see the video description for the link. -Dean

Removed transmission, disassembled, there did appear to be some glazing on the gear cups so I took some emery cloth and gently went around the inside of the gear cups until it was slightly dull. Long story short, couldn't find the valve grinding compound I know I have somewhere. But, I reassembled and am still hitting 6000 RPM'S. So I ordered a new VP cone clutch. I figured it was worth a try & couldn't hurt with the age of the drive. Is it possible to switch the forward & reverse gears? And if so would I need to recalculate the shimming? I figured this might be a good idea beings the reverse gear has less use. Also I tried using engine oil this time for about 30 minutes run time, but it doesn't appear to make a difference so i'll be going back to 90 weight when I install the new clutch this week. Thanks for your detailed video, help & response.

@@schon1972 Yes you can flip the F&R gears...But Re-shimming is required.. email me for the spread sheet dean57ayr@gmail.com

I don't know a lot about the 4-cyl AQ151's I know they have cylinder head problems, most due to water corrosion. Be sure to check all the basics and the raw water impeller..

usually 4140 non hardened

@@TheAyrCaveShop Hello . The surface of the upper and lower gear bowls looks polished. I'll fix it with diamond paste. In the video, you do just a few lapping movements. Is that really enough?? The retaining spacer ring (which was made by a local turner) looks like new now , but issue didnt gone . And I thought - maybe the turner, taking the size from the "squashed" ring, made a mistake and the ring turned out to be not high enough? How critical is a 1-2 mm miss? May I ask you about the height of the​ thrust spacer ? Thanks a lot

@@sergeishuvalov9910 Sergei, Yes only lap with the paste just enough to dull the glaze. There's no need to overdo it and add ware the the surfaces. Be sure to CLEAN CLEAN the surfaces of all the lapping paste. I mean really clean it, scrub with soft brush, solvent and also soap and water. The paste can imbed into the metal pores, especially the brass.. The thrust washer height; when assembled measuring under the upper nut, thrust clearance should be 0.1 mm(0.004") to 0.4 mm(0.015") with 0.2mm(0.008") as ideal.

​@@TheAyrCaveShop__ Dean, Thanks for the detailed and informative answer. I carefully rinsed and blew out the mating parts with compressed air and solvent. I hope it's really CLEAN.. The turner mistakes by 1mm, (brass was flattened) but the retaining half-rings lay securely and I think that the added 1mm flat hardened washer creates the correct height. * Thanks again for the detailed advice and the very helpful series of videos. And especially I'd like to thank for the clear sound and "non-shaking" frame of the video. Really nice to watch and listen !

Sorry Paul, I don't know that part number. With Volvo's pricing, you might look for a used helmet on eBay. ATB....Dean

Hi Ben, Check it with outdrive fully down. The dipstick is internal to the output shaft with only small openings, so allow time for the oil to settle. Do not screw it down when checking. level should be between the two marks on bottom flat part of the dipstick. It's important not to overfill. Hope that helps....Dean

@@TheAyrCaveShop Thanks Dean, I changed the oil on both my dp-b this winter filling to the top of the dip stick flat with drive down but just now my port clutch has started to slip occasionally in FWD, somtimes slowly oscillating, but only around 1000rpm and it also goes into FWD gear very softly. No problems above 1200rpm. Checked the gear shift linkage underwater and it is still ok. Reverse still has a positive clunk. I'm wondering if I may have overfilled it slightly somehow as I have read that too much oil can cause this... before I commit to an early lift out, what do you think? If so, will running like this already have already glazed the clutch face requiring repair anyway? Great video series by the way, incredibly helpful, thank you!

@@bensteele2485 Hi Ben, I don't think I've ever run one with a high oil level, but I can see that might cause delayed shifting. You could try sucking out a little oil through the dipstick hole. It doesn't take much to drop the level. You could use a brake bleeder hand suction pump/catch can setup with a thin piece of tubing. Worth a try..

Bill the intermediate shaft (its actually part of the lower unit) should not have any up/down movement with the lower and intermediate bolted together, some side to side is ok at the top, the upper unit holds that in place. Shifting issues are almost always the clutch cones have glazed up or the bottom thrust washer in the upper unit is distorted.

Thank you for the reply I don’t have any up and down motion on that middle section only some side to side. That’s what I thought too on the clutch cons as well. Didn’t think there was any adjustment. Any way of cleaning up the glaze on the clutch con without taking the whole assembly apart?

@@ralphbooth5490 It requires a disassembly. And that's not to difficult to just deglaze and replace the thrust washer. You need a way to hold the spline shaft. like my bench bracket.

Chris sorry for the delay.. The bearings are all standard and can be sourced other than Volvo. except for the latter upper and lower F/R with the tapered outer race. Email me if you need the numbers. Thanks for viewing Dena

I did my MP205...what a beast

Thanks for the view Harold. I ended up with a ton of footage trying to show all the details.

Some of the parts are like gold...save'um !

Measure without the gasket... Also note the gap will very as you work around the cover...you have to take the average

Hi Woody, The most common cause of seal failure is overfilling the gear case. It may not have failed check your level and give it another try. May have just pushed the excess oil past the seal. Also if the seal ring "washer" isn't smooth it can cut down the seal. I like the synthetic seals better. www.ebay.com/itm/264227370192 this is also good kit www.amazon.com/GEARCASE-SEAL-GLM-Part-Number/dp/B004AQZEW4?ref_=v_sp_product_dpx

No, the raw water impeller is on the engine 👍

Very good information !! Thank You 👍

Do you know about the PT sheild steen drive with twin rams and brace and what flywheel cover should be used ?

@@paulcurel1316 Paul, to the best of my knowledge, all AQ series flywheel covers will work with a PT transom shield. The AFT splines of the PDS will be found in two styles.... course spline and fine spline. That will determine which Universal Drive Shaft female yoke is required.

I made my own. It’s just a extra shaft. Coupling welded to a steel plate.

Dave, AQ 160 to 190 in most cases interchange. What to watch out for: around the 190 models the u-joint yoke spline that connects to the engine switched to a fine spline. (yoke can be changed for a matchup) , some lower units had a short shaft that requires a longer coupling. The steering puck can be an issue newer versions are 2-bolt older are 1-bolt and the steering helmets are different respectively, so that's an important factor. When you get into the 290-A's they used 2-diffrent bottom bearing sizes, most are standard bearing that will still bolt up to the older units, but the big bearing units will not. "Big bearings can be spotted by the plastic spacer the holds the balls spaced apart. Standard bearings, balls are tight together." Hope that helps...Dean

Yes the oil level is below the top cover. Be sure to check the shim(s) that sit on top of the bearing. Place the new cover with the shim(s) in place but No Gasket, hold it down with your hand..you should have a .002" gap. (this is the clearance needed to compress the gasket and clamp the bearing) If its good then install the gasket & bolt it down. Don't over tighten..

Thanks Robert ! I'm just a hobby machinist, still learning this stuff. My real trade is HVAC. Did a little commercial fishing also, I hope I don't mess up too bad...Lol

Yes you can email the photo at dean57ayr@gmail.com The Eaton version of these drives is the original design that was licensed to Chrysler and then to Volvo. I have never worked on one, there quite rare. -Dean

@@TheAyrCaveShop sent some pictures

@@TheAyrCaveShop Hello, did you get a chance to look at the pictures?

They didn’t come through. Make sure your sending to dean57ayr@gmail.com Or maybe the file size was too big.

Guy, Send me an email at: dean57ayr@gmail.com Let me know what model you have and the part you need. photos help too.. Dean

@@TheAyrCaveShop ok. I have some photos and numbers. I’ll have to go to boat in next few days big snow storm coming