Our Volvo Penta is a few years old, but with all engines, maintenance is essential if you don't want to break down in the middle of the sea. The videos below cover some preventative and yearly maintenance we do to keep our boat ship shape...
This video shows how to change the engine oil and what you need to complete the task.
This video shows you how to change the oil in the saildrive leg. This can be done in the water, but here we drain it out as the boat had been lifted.
This video shows the replacement of the Volvo exhaust with a Vetus plastic waterlock after we find signs of rust in the bilge.
In this video we change the saildrive anodes and the ones protecting the propeller. We also show how to test that these are making a good electrical contact.
In this video we find some coolant in the bilge, so we replace the coolant pipework.
In this video we change the oil in the saildrive while the boat is afloat.
The following list includes tasks or items that need changing at set intervals. Check your manual as some tasks can be yearly or at specific engine hours. With all maintenance, if you use it more, you need to service it more. New engines can also have shorter intervals between services.
The above list is not all-inclusive, you may have other components on your engine that have a life span and need yearly or changing based on engine hours. Things like saildrive seals have a 7yr lifespan.
Its also important to keep the engine bay clean, so that you can spot issues, but always do a quick engine check before you set off.
Regular Engine Checks:
Have some spares onboard:
Get to know your engine, its noises, its knocks, the fluid levels and then you will know if something is going wrong before it spoils your trip.