Most likely dp-A or dp-B

75w90 vs 90w gear oil is very similar at operating temps.

It's the low water temp at startup and initial warm up where the 90w can be a problem.

At 60°f
75w90 150-200cSt
90w 400-600cSt

212°f both are in the 13.5-18.5 cSt area.

I don’t think it will hurt it to run either the GL4 or GL5 gear oils, Volvo has strange recommendations, in my old 280 drives I just ran non synthetic gear oil for years even though they list 30wt motor oil, I think the only thing is don’t run synthetic with the older 280 that have the brass clutch cones as it’s too slippery. The only real issue is the outrageous cost of the gl5 75/90 gear oils, I will soon have 3 drives to fill up at 35 bucks a litre.

Hi guys

Thank you for your feedback!

I kept scanning through the internet but unfortunately I did not get any further regarding the best repair strategy for the steel sleeve/steel cup combination.

I think I used the wrong oil accidentally.
What I put in when I got the boat was Ravenol EXP SAE 90 GL-5.
Since SAE90 GL-5 or 75W-90 was mentioned in the DP manual I had access to back in 2022 and the Ravenol oil was available, I went with this one.

I have read that the steel sleeve, steel cup and friction layer combination was used for high torque diesel engines back in the early 90's as the brass cone was not suitable for high torque applications.
Before I swapped to a 350 MAG MPI, my boat was originally equipped with a 7.4l V8 GM carburetor gasoline engine but who knows what the real reason for the steel sleeve was.
Maybe the Norwegian building yard just used what was available.

So I think I am going to do the following.

• Use a new steel sleeve (purchased that a while ago in preparation)
• Use a new shift finger (purchased a while ago in preparation)
• Clean the cups without taking the friction layer off
• Replace the needle bearings, spring, seals etc (since those are accessible now)
• Buy and use the correct blue Volvo Penta oil
• Put it back together
• Hope that it fixes the problem

Recommendations and hints linked to what I'm planning to do are welcome!

Thank you
Martin

Dude once again good luck, I am way too chicken to take apart my top box. Yes good idea with the vp oil.

Hi guys

Quick update as well as some valuable information.

Obviously there has to be a little hick up in the process.

When I tightened the upper pinion nut with 120 nm, as mentioned in the wokshop manual, I could hear some banging noises while tightening.
After I finally reached 120 nm, I realised that the the entire stern drive got stuck.
I could see that the upper and lower gear cups moved closer to each other causing the gears to touch the upper gear housing.

So took everything apart again and say that both cups had been pushed out of the bearings slightly.
Strange since I tightened the nut once before to 120 nm without any prolems.

I think it is down to the bearings being worn causing more axial play. Not 100% sure though.
Anyway, this made me look at the bearings more. The upper one already made some harsh sounds.
I believe it was the beginning of being work out.

So, instead of assembling it I decided to take it apart further, measure and calculate the correct shims and replace the upper and lower bearing.
Life never gets boring as they say...

When i took the bearings out I could see some change in colour of the out bearing rings as well as some crust.
Either I casued it when I used the wrong oil or this was caused by some incident before I bought the boat.
I believe that it was once run with not enough oil before I got the boat. This way I didn't feel too bad for having used the wrong oil... lol.

Now here is some valuable information for other who wanna replace their bearings.

Volvo Penta bearing part number: 853542 (SKF bearing)
SKF part number (not in production anymore): BA2B 246553A (50x90x30.2 - normal precision - plastic cage)
SKF part number of equivalent bearing: 3210 ATN9 (50x90x30.2 - normal precision - plastic cage)

The 3210 bearing is the only bearing SKF produces which matches the dimensions required.
I checked the data sheet and think that 51kN radial dynamic load is gonna be enough, not that I have anther choice regardless.
Both bearings share a contact angle of 30°.
The SKF Explorer 3210 bearing is available with a plastic and metal cage. I have gone for plastic cage.

When I looked up the Volvo Penta PN, the price per bearing was 400€ each.
Recmar's SKF equivalent is 100€ per bearing.
I got the SKF Explorer 3210 ATN9 bearing from a ball bearing shop for 50€ each.

Maybe this information helps someone who needs to replace the bearings of the DP stern drive.

The calculated shims I require are 0.2 mm for the top and 0.23 mm for the bottom.
0.2 mm shims were already installed when I opened the upper gear housing. So that should be fine.

The next challenge I am having now is to achieve the required clearance underneath the top pinion nut and the bearing.
According to the workshop manual this clearance after applying 120 nm should be 0.1-0.5 mm.
Volvo Penta offers three different top nuts which are 30€ each.
Obviously I don't wanna spend 30€ for a nut, so will do some research so see if those are eventually standard parts which could be acquired cheaper.

FYI - to press out the bearing you need a 96 mm sleeve.
Since I didn't have that to hand I disassembled a broken Porsche carbon brake disc.
The centre bore of the rotor adapter is slightly larger than 96 mm but worked fine.
So if you wanna press the bearing without having the correct sleeve, look for a Porsche brake disc. It might be cheaper than getting a sleeve made.

Here are some pictures.