Volvo Service Cost

[Tom.B]

According to Volvo, the coolants can not only not be mixed but you can't change from one to the other. If the engine was shipped and run with green, it needs green for life. They published a way to change over but later retracted it. Something about hot spots on cylinder walls.

The best I can tell, they no longer sell the green in concentrated form, only pre-mixed.

Many Volvo parts are available from independent sources and there are third party replacements for many items including heat exchangers (Lenco). Enter "Volvo" and your part number in your favorite search engine.

I have never heard the green rule. I assume it is a manufacturer’s up-sell.

As for the part numbers... you need to call a qualified tech/shop and not assume Google is your friend here. It isn’t.

 

[Ole Hank]

Hi there, has anyone had their Volvo D-300's serviced at 200 hours? And if so, what the approximate cost of the service? Thx!

I had a service done by a mechanic recommended by the Volvo dealer (the dealer was too busy to get me in in the time frame i required). To give you an idea I paid $1,122 to change oil and fuel filters on both Penta 300's and Onan Generator. This also included changing 5 zincs. It took them total 5.5 hours. You had quite a bit of other work in the servicing and inspection. So not totally unreasonable.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Wow I do my own oil and filter changes at $100 an engine. I feel lucky....

 

[Ole Hank]

When I do my own its about $420 for the items above. I feel lucky to be able to have someone do it for me. Busy work schedule and like to get on the boat and cruise.

 

[koliver]

I had a service done by a mechanic recommended by the Volvo dealer (the dealer was too busy to get me in in the time frame i required). To give you an idea I paid $1,122 to change oil and fuel filters on both Penta 300's and Onan Generator. This also included changing 5 zincs. It took them total 5.5 hours. You had quite a bit of other work in the servicing and inspection. So not totally unreasonable.

To put this into some kind of perspective, my neighbour, with the same car (make, model and year) as I have, recently paid the dealer over $1000 for an oil and filter change, along with all of the dealer inspired checking they always do, but no major repairs. He was without his car for most of a day, had to arrange a ride home from the dealer and back again to get his car.

I did my own, $14 for the filter, 8l of oil at $8/l (synthetic), so $76 total. Plus I got to see and hear all those things my neighbour only heard about from his mechanic.

Of course I am not counting the cost of my own garage, ramps, full set of tools, gas for a trip to the parts store to buy oil and filter, another trip to dispose of the old oil, coveralls, Gojo cleaner, rags, 1 hour of time.

 

[Lou_tribal]

To put this into some kind of perspective, my neighbour, with the same car (make, model and year) as I have, recently paid the dealer over $1000 for an oil and filter change, along with all of the dealer inspired checking they always do, but no major repairs. He was without his car for most of a day, had to arrange a ride home from the dealer and back again to get his car.

I did my own, $14 for the filter, 8l of oil at $8/l (synthetic), so $76 total. Plus I got to see and hear all those things my neighbour only heard about from his mechanic.

Of course I am not counting the cost of my own garage, ramps, full set of tools, gas for a trip to the parts store to buy oil and filter, another trip to dispose of the old oil, coveralls, Gojo cleaner, rags, 1 hour of time.

8L of synthetic oil, would your car have a flat 6?

L

 

[koliver]

8L of synthetic oil, would your car have a flat 6?

L

V8

 

[boater3]

Haven't had to change the oil yet! Been having it analyzed approximately every 50 hours. Is there a max threshold Volvo requires to keep warranty in good standing or good to go so long as its analyzing within generally acceptable limits?

 

[boater3]

Is there any way to prime the Volvo D4-300 with sea water after replacing the zinc anodes (which in turn seems to empty the sea water as it drains)?

 

[Tom.B]

Is there any way to prime the Volvo D4-300 with sea water after replacing the zinc anodes (which in turn seems to empty the sea water as it drains)?

There's no real need to. The seawater pump will fill it in a matter of seconds.

 

[boater3]

There's no real need to. The seawater pump will fill it in a matter of seconds.

I thought that the impellers had to be lubed up when replaced because they could get damaged from running dry? I heard a loud screeching sound for a couple seconds after I first fired up after changing the anodes and figured that was from the impeller running dry.

What is real world longevity of the impellers? I had them changed a few months ago but have put on a lot of hours. Do they tend to break more from age versus use, the other way around, or a mix?

Thanks!

 

[Tom.B]

You absolutely have to lube them up. But that lube will last plenty long to fill your heat exchanger. Then the water takes over as lubricant.

Longevity? You can ask everyone and you will get different answers, but the usual SOP is annually under normal use. Check the service schedule in the ops manual. it probably says 100 hrs. which is aboue for a year's use (for us at least). Either way, I do mine every spring-ish.

 

[boater3]

You absolutely have to lube them up. But that lube will last plenty long to fill your heat exchanger. Then the water takes over as lubricant.

Longevity? You can ask everyone and you will get different answers, but the usual SOP is annually under normal use. Check the service schedule in the ops manual. it probably says 100 hrs. which is aboue for a year's use (for us at least). Either way, I do mine every spring-ish.

Ok so I have to lubricate impellers every time I change anodes. I guess I will try to get them on a similar schedule...

 

[koliver]

I thought that the impellers had to be lubed up when replaced because they could get damaged from running dry? I heard a loud screeching sound for a couple seconds after I first fired up after changing the anodes and figured that was from the impeller running dry.

What is real world longevity of the impellers? I had them changed a few months ago but have put on a lot of hours. Do they tend to break more from age versus use, the other way around, or a mix?

Thanks!

I had my first ever failure of an impeller this summer. I have had diesel engines on boats since 1977. Regular use seems to be the answer. This year, when I fired up my generator, having not used it at all since last August, it immediately destroyed the impeller. My main engines are left without starting for up to 6 months in the winters, since we started snowbirding in 2012. No failures there. The genset has survived 10 months of no starts before, but this year did not survive.
I have changed out the impellers on the main engines a couple of times over the years, but without looking back through the records I can't say for sure how many years I have left them without changing. My guess is at least 10 years between. On those occasions, the impellers still look like new.
The replacement for my genset came with a little lubricant for the installation, that made both inserting the new impeller in the housing easier and the first start trouble free.

 

[Tom.B]

Ok so I have to lubricate impellers every time I change anodes. I guess I will try to get them on a similar schedule...

Oh whoops... my bad... no, no you don’t. Sorry I misinterpreted that. Derp. When you change anodes, there should be enough water in pump that it isn’t running dry on startup. Your pump is probably below the waterline and the system should have water in it... anyway, you should still be fine. Sorry I sounded like an idiot before.

 

[boater3]

A few questions regarding the D4 and coolant...

Is Volvo VCS coolant EG or PG based? Is it considered extended" or "long-life" ?

I bought some coolant test strips to test the freeze protection and the color produced does not match up to any on the card (see attached pic - appears more red-ish). The test strip packaging says they can test EG or PG based antifreezes. They are Cummins Fleetguard test strips and the instructions reference vehicles not boats. Is there a particular test strip that I should be using on my Volvo marine coolant?

I started my engine for a few minutes to bring the coolant up from 45 degrees to 75 degrees as the instructions said to test between 50-130 degrees. I drained the coolant out the petcock at the bottom of the engine (picture attached).

It is hard to stick my head in to see the coolant level directly so I've been using my phone to take a picture. Its always looked yellow to me in the pictures. Upon draining a little coolant from the petcock for the coolant test strip, the coolant appears to be more of an orange. I forgot to take a picture of the drained fluid but attached are pictures of the fluid level. I will try to drain a little more and post a pic.

I just want to make sure the coolant has enough freeze protection to get me through winter. There are now 400 hours on the engines in the past three years they have been in service and the coolant change interval is 2000 hours or recommended every 4th year. I can't imagine the coolant is degraded in just 400 hours but just trying to be pro-active. On that note, how does one change coolant on these engines? Simply open the coolant fill cap, open the petcock, drain, and replace through the fill cap? How do I make sure all of the coolant is out of the heat exchange loops? Also should I flush with radiator cleaner like I had to do on my Cummins Onan generator? I am guessing it needs a lot of coolant because one engine is piped to a hot water heat exchanger and the other is piped to a defogging blower. A big challenge will be filling because there is very little space between the top of the engine and the engine room ceiling (same challenge when filling oil).

Thanks all!

 

[IRENE]

I flush with distilled water. Fill engine, run a few minutes, drain. Once I am not draining sediment any longer, usually 2 flushes, I refill with coolant. I dispose of the flushed water with the used coolant.

This is not VP specific, nor did a VP tech instruct me to do this.

 

[boater3]

Here are a couple of pics of what was drained from the petcock

 

[gsholz]

https://www.volvoclub.org.uk/faq/ImagesProcedures/CoolantChart.pdf

Volvo VCS is an Organic Acid Extended Life coolant. It is Yellow. Don't mix with other coolants. You'll need a coolant strip that is designed for that type coolant.

 

[boater3]

https://www.volvoclub.org.uk/faq/ImagesProcedures/CoolantChart.pdf

Volvo VCS is an Organic Acid Extended Life coolant. It is Yellow. Don't mix with other coolants. You'll need a coolant strip that is designed for that type coolant.

Thanks. The Safety Data Sheet (SDS) says it contains glycol so didnt know if it was EG or PG based allowing a test strip that works on EG or PG to be used. I will have to see if I can find one that will work. Wondering if Volvo sells one?

 

[boater3]

Here are some more pics of the coolant. I had a jug of VCS so poured a little to compare. A bit different in color... Very confused what may be in the engine. I poured a few drops of what is currently in the engine into the water and it turned neon almost…

 

[Lou_tribal]

Here are some more pics of the coolant. I had a jug of VCS so poured a little to compare. A bit different in color... Very confused what may be in the engine. I poured a few drops of what is currently in the engine into the water and it turned neon almost…

I do not want to look like a cheap disturber (even if I am one) but you should not throw that in the water if you don't know what it is. Coolant is toxic and a pollutant (I should say may be if ethylene glycol but anyway).

L

 

[boater3]

So a quick update on the coolant. A lab looked at it and could not tell me what exactly it was. I think consensus is it may be something other than yellow VCS or yellow VCS got mixed with something else. I sent a sample to a lab and all they could tell me was the freeze point was fine and it was not contaminated. They did not know what coolant it was.

In any event, I will be draining, flushing with acid, flushing a few times, and replacing with new yellow VCS coolant in the spring. I bought concentrate so I can mix my own and get -30 degree freeze protection as I believe the ready mixed is only -10. There was also some confusion as to how often the yellow VCS should be replaced and I've heard every 2yrs and every 4 yrs/2000 hours. Still looking for confirmation.

I have to flush out the heat exchange loops on my defoggers and hot water heater. I don't know if the acid flush is OK for them?

 

[boater3]

Back to my question about Barnacle buster...

I plan to flush the raw water side of both of my engines in a couple months. I will remove the impeller and either remove the zinc anodes or leave and replace them after. Anything else that should be removed? I think its safe to leave the thermostat?

My big question is where do I connect to do the flush? I think I can just pull the hose off the raw water pump, attach another hose, size it to a smaller hose that will fit my pump, but am confused about the outlet? Where should I connect a hose to reclaim the Barnacle Buster into a bucket so I can circulate 2-4 hours per engine?

Also, my transmissions have their own manifold... do I flush Barnacle buster through them as well?

Thank you!

 

[kchace]

Back to my question about Barnacle buster...

I plan to flush the raw water side of both of my engines in a couple months. I will remove the impeller and either remove the zinc anodes or leave and replace them after. Anything else that should be removed? I think its safe to leave the thermostat?

My big question is where do I connect to do the flush? I think I can just pull the hose off the raw water pump, attach another hose, size it to a smaller hose that will fit my pump, but am confused about the outlet? Where should I connect a hose to reclaim the Barnacle Buster into a bucket so I can circulate 2-4 hours per engine?

Also, my transmissions have their own manifold... do I flush Barnacle buster through them as well?

Thank you!

Connect a small bilge pump to the hose you pull off the *outlet* of the raw water pump, put that bilge pump in a 5 gallon bucket with the Barnacle Buster and run a hose from the outlet of your raw water system (just before the exhaust mixer) back to the 5 gallon bucket.



Ken

 

[boater3]

Connect a small bilge pump to the hose you pull off the *outlet* of the raw water pump, put that bilge pump in a 5 gallon bucket with the Barnacle Buster and run a hose from the outlet of your raw water system (just before the exhaust mixer) back to the 5 gallon bucket.



Ken

Ok so you are suggesting avoiding the raw water pump by connecting to the outlet hose. I understand that. But still confused where and what the outlet of my raw water system is (just before the exhaust mixer). I have what seems a huge exhaust riser where I am assuming raw water from the cooling system exits as well as a manifold for the transmission that is a smaller hose that connects to the riser.

 

[kchace]

Ok so you are suggesting avoiding the raw water pump by connecting to the outlet hose. I understand that. But still confused where and what the outlet of my raw water system is (just before the exhaust mixer). I have what seems a huge exhaust riser where I am assuming raw water from the cooling system exits as well as a manifold for the transmission that is a smaller hose that connects to the riser.

The exit for your raw water cooling should all go through the smaller hose that connects to the riser. So you would remove that smaller hose from the exhaust riser and route it back to the bucket. You probably would have to extend it to reach but may not depending on your exact configuration.

 

[boater3]

The exit for your raw water cooling should all go through the smaller hose that connects to the riser. So you would remove that smaller hose from the exhaust riser and route it back to the bucket. You probably would have to extend it to reach but may not depending on your exact configuration.

Thanks that is super easy then and it would cover my transmission manifold as that is what is right before the riser. So no water goes out the larger part of the riser? Just exhaust fumes?

Also, I assume because my engine is freshwater cooled, there is no chance of it ingesting barnacle buster since a manifold separates the coolant from the raw water side?

Thanks!

 

[kchace]

Thanks that is super easy then and it would cover my transmission manifold as that is what is right before the riser. So no water goes out the larger part of the riser? Just exhaust fumes?

Also, I assume because my engine is freshwater cooled, there is no chance of it ingesting barnacle buster since a manifold separates the coolant from the raw water side?

Thanks!

Yes. The raw water is sprayed into the exhaust at the end of the riser just before the rubber hose.

Ken

 

[kchace]

One note - NEVER dump water into the riser port when the engine isn't running. That could eventually back up into the engine.