Volvo 270 Water intake ?

[silverghost]

My buddy Jim in MD just bought a new SS transom water pick-up for his old early Donzi 18 with a Volvo 270 outdrive.
He has a 383 carb Chevy engine ready to install .

We are both not really Volvo I/O drive experts; buy ANY means.
He is also not much of a web/computer guy so he asked that I pose these questions.
He will be reading your replys on my computer.

Would switching to the SS transom mounted engine water pickup cause his old Volvo 270 to heat up more ?

Does the engine cooling water that enters the 270 now as it was orignally designed by Volvo actually aid at all in cooling it's drive internals & it's drive lube ?

What are the down sides~
If Any ~
To using a transom pickup and keeping ALL water out of this old 270 outdrive?

Should he weld, or epoxy close, the drive's lower cooling water entry holes , as well as blocking the drive's inside transom water pipe outlet with an aluminum plate ?
And also put a rubber cap on the drive's old outside hose outlet to keep ALL water out of this 270 drive ?
The boat sits in brackish/saltwater all summer season long and he wishes to keep the old drive's internal water corrosion issues down in this old Volvo 270 drive's water inlet passages.

I am only used to the older Mercury TRS drives which had no internal water intake or exhaust passages at all.
They are almost bullet-proof.

What's your opinion & experiences here ?

Jim & I will be reading your answers.

[gcarter]

No downside. Lots of upside.
Drive mfgrs run everything through one hole and the water routing is a compromise at best.
Use the pickup, I've got several examples out there.
Block the inside water port.
If the cooling water goes through the upper gear box like a Merc does, you want to maintain it for gear cooling.
If there's a hose in the gimbal, remove it and let the water flow to atmosphere.

[Fishermanjm]

Brad,,, is your buddy's last name Morrison by any chance?

[Donzi Vol]

No downside. Lots of upside.
Drive mfgrs run everything through one hole and the water routing is a compromise at best.
Use the pickup, I've got several examples out there.
Block the inside water port.
If the cooling water goes through the upper gear box like a Merc does, you want to maintain it for gear cooling.
If there's a hose in the gimbal, remove it and let the water flow to atmosphere.

+1

I have a 270 with the water pickup on the bottom of the boat. The holes on the bottom of the outdrive are closed off, thus no water is running through the drive. I've never had any heat issues, and I assume the previous owner did not either.

[silverghost]

NO~~~
Not Jim Morrison~
I thought he was already dead ?
Died trying to light his own fire~~ so they say & OD'd

George ~ Thank's
Jim's idea is to try to keep any & ALL water out of this outdrive to prevent internal water passage aluminum corrosion & try to make it last much longer.
Much like the old TRS with no water running inside.
After all it's hard to prime & paint the drive housings internally without pulling it all apart from time to time.
He wants to avoid this total drive teardown in the future just to repaint.
As long as doing this does not cause any drive overheating issues.

[DonziJon]

How about filling the drive water passages with 50/50 antifreeze and water (The Real stuff like Prestone) and cap it off at both ends. Leave a little air on top for expansion room. This will contunually coat the inside passages for corrosion protection.

I think trying to keep the passages DRY would be futile, what with temperature changes from running in cold/warm water and the resulting condensation from the HUMID air that would remain inside. :bonk:

If this were a Government Job, forget the antifreeze, evacuate all the air with a vacume pump and charge with Dry Nitrogen. :yes: DJ

[mattyboy]

you're only worried about the intake???