Volvo Penta 2003T water leak

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by Moody guy

Apart from the pipe running from the gearbox to the water pump">raw water pump there are no other sources of water on that side of the engine (except maybe the head gasket )
There is a multitude of connections on the other side which could leak.
Funny enough although many owners complain about water leaks I never had any on my 2003T during the five years I had it.

There is a rubber seal on the bottom of the turbo on the oil return line to the crankcase.
You need to be a bit of a contortionist to get to the two small bolts holding it on unless you have good access to the rear of the engine.

Harold
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This is my first 'water' leak. That damn rubber seal on the underside of the turbo I spent three hours yesterday upside down laying on my prop shaft with legs sticking out of a locker. In the end all I could do was paint an engine silicon around it as I can't under the bolts with the turbo 'on'. It still didn't work. Next week I'll have to take the turbo off and fix it outside and then reassemble the whole lot. I could have done that yesterday if I had not stuffed around trying to get at in in situ.

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by deblen

Hi
I have the 2003 non-turbo version plus the service & parts manuals for turbo & non-turbo versions.I have also had mine stripped apart,except for pistons & crank.
Volvo Penta Schematic Part Diagrams
Here is a link to parts manuals.
From ur pic,I can see salt on the bottom edge of the "Regulator" cover(Volvo speak for Governor assy)
There is no RW or FW in the governor to leak out.
I suspect ur RW leak is the RW pump seals & the RW is being blown back along the port side of eng.
If you remove the pump(3 bolts & it pulls right out),u will see drain hole between pump body & drive gear end.If u see salt there,u have found leak.
P/N for turbo RW repair kit shows 876060-& includes new shaft,all seals & bearings-just about everything except housing.Check that ur pump shaft is splined,where impeller goes on.My 2003 non-turbo is same pump,except shaft has a "screwdriver" slot for impeller.
I have rebuilt one by just buying the seals-the shaft & bearings,etc.were in perfect condition.
These engines are "hated" mostly because of the rubber ring seals used on the push-in plumbing connections.I learned the hard way to buy new rubber rings(plus spares),lightly sand the pipe ends & the sockets(a plumbers copper pipe cleaning tool is great) & use petroleum jelly(Vaseline) for assy.Also,make sure the pipe (with seal on it) is inserted ALL the way to bottom,& STAYS that way until mechanically fastened in place.Some juggling is involved!I also found there is a sequence to follow,especially from t-stat thru heat x-chngr,when assembling these pipes.Very difficult removing & re-installing a pipe "in the middle",without loosening & jiggling components such as exhaust ell,H Xchngr,T-stat hsg,etc,in order to get pipes fully bottomed in their sockets.Many sermons....
Hope this helps / Len

Thanks Deblen,

Very much helps. I'm suspecting too it's the water pump and squirting water up to the governor. I didn't know it was a 'governor', just a square box, though I couldn't see any water, either raw or fresh, going into it. So, looks like it's a repair if the water pump I need to do. This is my first VP and I think it's a very very poor design. It's noisy too compared to other 38hp engines. Parts are expensive and some like engine mounts rediculously expensive ($180 @ Australian).

[Moody guy]

If you are going to refurbish the raw water pump make sure it is the kit for the 2003T.
The 2003T pump is a lot bigger than the 2003 one.


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[deblen]

Originally Posted by Scout 30

In my experience the biggest problem with this engine is the lack of a zinc because now the aluminum & brass oil cooler thinks that it's his job to be a zinc & so he goes about dissolving. I know this because I have a dissolved oil cooler sitting on my work bench. I also have a donor motor in my garage that this happened to. Luckily mine started leaking at the dock & I caught it while there was still plenty of oil left in the motor. The replacement part from Volvo is about $1,800 so I bought an aftermarket cooler from Lenco. Something else to be careful of is the foam air filter. My turbocharger sucked it right into the motor. Although the motor just thought it was fuel it screwed up the turbo charger which costs way more than the oil cooler. I tried to get it rebuilt but was told it couldn't be done so I found a donor motor with a good turbo that I'm putting on my engine.

I did not know the turbo cooler was alum/brass.Glad mine is non-turbo.At least my HX is brass/copper/bronze & is fine so far-1984/2100hrs.
I reground valves @ 2000hrs,as it was getting hard to start.
These are definitely no"jewel" of an eng. as regards the external stuff!
Would have $ruined$ me by now,if I wasn't able to do my own repairs.
VP parts prices are outrageous.Thankful for e-bay,lots of free spare time,& a bit of ingenuity. / Len

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by Moody guy

If you are going to refurbish the raw water pump make sure it is the kit for the 2003T.
The 2003T pump is a lot bigger than the 2003 one.


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Thanks for that I wasn't aware of it.

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by Moody guy

If you are going to refurbish the raw water pump make sure it is the kit for the 2003T.
The 2003T pump is a lot bigger than the 2003 one.


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Hi Moody,

Do you know what part number for a seal kit is fir this one with the six screw cover? I've found 858408 or 858150 which the schematics look correct but if I google this I keep getting the four screw one?

[Moody guy]

Hi Rustic
I don't have the part numbers at hand.
I have just finished replacing my 2003T with a Beta 38.
I did a deal with the mechanic who helped me install the new engine and gave him the old engine for his work.
The old engine and all the spares are in his workshop and there will be nobody around till the beginning of next week as they close for 2 weeks over Xmas and New Year.
Will go in past next week and have a look.
I found out the hard way that they are different.
We were on a summer cruise in Ireland when our 2003T water pump decided to pack up.
I travelled 60 miles on a bus to the nearest VP agent to find they didn't have a pump in stock.
I noticed in their workshop there was a 2003 lying in bits and asked him if they would sell me the pump off it and he replied that it would be no use to me as the turbo engine pump is different.
Spent 3 days immobile and paid £420 for a new pump which I found out later I could have got for £268 if I had been at home but 250 miles from home and boat immobile I didn't have much option.
As others have said on another posting here you can get the bearings and seals from a bearing shop at much less money.
Parts for the pump including the shaft,faceplate, wear plate, drive sprocket and the cam would have to come from the pump makers or Volvo Penta.
I tried ASAP (a parts supplier here in UK ) for a new pump and they replied that they couldn't supply as the pump was made specially for VP.
The part that failed on my pump was the wear plate between the impeller and the back of the pump.
It sits on a little dimple on the back of the pump.
It had become dislodged or the dimple had worn away and it had started spinning with the impeller and cut its way through the body of the pump.
Thinking about it looking on the dark side that could also be your problem.
Mine was spraying downwards but yours could be spraying upwards.


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[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by Moody guy

Hi Rustic
I don't have the part numbers at hand.
I have just finished replacing my 2003T with a Beta 38.
I did a deal with the mechanic who helped me install the new engine and gave him the old engine for his work.
The old engine and all the spares are in his workshop and there will be nobody around till the beginning of next week as they close for 2 weeks over Xmas and New Year.
Will go in past next week and have a look.
I found out the hard way that they are different.
We were on a summer cruise in Ireland when our 2003T water pump decided to pack up.
I travelled 60 miles on a bus to the nearest VP agent to find they didn't have a pump in stock.
I noticed in their workshop there was a 2003 lying in bits and asked him if they would sell me the pump off it and he replied that it would be no use to me as the turbo engine pump is different.
Spent 3 days immobile and paid £420 for a new pump which I found out later I could have got for £268 if I had been at home but 250 miles from home and boat immobile I didn't have much option.
As others have said on another posting here you can get the bearings and seals from a bearing shop at much less money.
Parts for the pump including the shaft,faceplate, wear plate, drive sprocket and the cam would have to come from the pump makers or Volvo Penta.
I tried ASAP (a parts supplier here in UK ) for a new pump and they replied that they couldn't supply as the pump was made specially for VP.
The part that failed on my pump was the wear plate between the impeller and the back of the pump.
It sits on a little dimple on the back of the pump.
It had become dislodged or the dimple had worn away and it had started spinning with the impeller and cut its way through the body of the pump.
Thinking about it looking on the dark side that could also be your problem.
Mine was spraying downwards but yours could be spraying upwards.


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Yes, that wear plate with the dimple is currently ok, but the dimple that holds it in place is almost gone.

I had one of the two seals crack. The jet of water which caused that stain of salt is still a bit of a mystery. I had wondered whether under revs a leak turned into a jet going upwards, but I didn't confirm that.

Both my bearings are in good order, so all I need are the 'o' rings, seals and front gasket which I'll make myself. On Friday if they are open I'll try getting some after market seals.

I'm really looking forward to replacing this piece of balace. And a Beta 38 is currently my first option. But it will probably be another two years before I have the funds available to do that. In the mean time to keep this ***** going I'm going to need a replacement exhaust elbow as mine is cracked, leaking water as a drip and I'll need four engine mounts too. Grrrrr, never ends.

Thanks for your response.

[deblen]

Volvo Penta Schematic Part Diagrams
You have either p/n 858150 or 858408 RW pump on ur 2003T
Repair kit is same for both p/n 876060 Approx $US 460
Individual seals,brgs,etc can be purchased by VP p/n shown in link above.
Or,as Moody says,take pump,seals to a bearing-seal shop.
Also,remove/replace cam plate & screw & check them closely.

I recommend a Speedseal kit in any RW pump.- allows running dry for couple min. without destroying stuff.
Cheers / Len

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by deblen

Volvo Penta Schematic Part Diagrams
You have either p/n 858150 or 858408 RW pump on ur 2003T
Repair kit is same for both p/n 876060 Approx $US 460
Individual seals,brgs,etc can be purchased by VP p/n shown in link above.
Or,as Moody says,take pump,seals to a bearing-seal shop.
Also,remove/replace cam plate & screw & check them closely.

I recommend a Speedseal kit in any RW pump.- allows running dry for couple min. without destroying stuff.
Cheers / Len

Thanks Len.

Oddly, I'm not sure how to get the gasket for the front cover as neither come up with six bolts. But all I need is a couple of seals and 'o' rings.

I'd like to replace the cam plate, but it says 'no longer produced'?

[Paul L]

Pumps
Johnson 10-24268 Series Engine Cooling Pump

[Moody guy]

Hi Rustic
The seal for the faceplate normally comes with a new impeller kit.
I presume you are in USA.
I have my old pump in garage but the cost of sending it to you in USA would probably be more than any spares you could salvage from it.


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[deblen]

Cover Gskt is 826244 @ $US6.xx-ridiculous make one if u can find thin gskt paper,or get the Speedseal kit.Welcome to Speedseal

You're correct-the cam is nla by VP.
I'm sure our pumps were made for VP by some pump mfgr(Johnson,Jabsco,etc) but I don't know who.

You need to check with Dick Vosbury of Vosbury Marine & Recreation-Annapolis,MD,USA. to find out where to get cam,etc.
He knows VP inside out.
I found posts on here re Dick,& he is on Boatdiesel.com @ times.
Happy New Year! / Len

[Scout 30]

This is a Johnson pump. The Volvo part # is 858150-6. You might be better off buying a new pump, which you can still get, & keeping the one you have for a spare.

[deblen]

Thanks Paul L!
I have bookmarked the Johnson link for future ref. Happy New Year!