Volvo Penta 2000 Series Tips

Some of these tips come from the excellent Volvo 2000 Series forum at www.boatdiesel.com (for $25/year, this site is bargain). Warning: I am not a mechanic and offer any information with that warning. Some of these things I haven't yet tried myself.

Cold Start Device
Our Volvo 2003 does not have glow plugs or an intake heater to help starting in cold weather, but apparently Volvo does make a heater that can be installed. If necessary, assuming you are at a dock with 110 power, you can take a blow dryer and blow hot air towards the intake. Propane torches also seem to be fairly popular, especially away from the dock.
TAB There is a specific sequence to follow for cold starts (mentioned in my owner's manual but not in any detail). These steps tell the governor to give extra fuel to the engine. To be honest, my Volvo is difficult to start when it's cold whether I do the procedure or not, but it can't hurt.

  • Open the throttle at least 50% (some say 75%)
  • Pull out the stop handle, then push it back in.
  • Leave the throttle advanced and turn the key. Keep your hand on the throttle so that when the engine fires you can throttle back quickly to keep at an idle.
When the engine is warm, you don't need or want to pull the stop handle, nor give the engine that much throttle.

Removing the Injectors
You may need to remove the injectors to have them tested (or to test the spray pattern yourself--be careful if you try this since you can spray fuel right through your skin). Note well: As Nigel Calder warns in his excellent book Marine Diesel Engines (page 106), "the injector is in a sleeve that is directly cooled by the engine's cooling circuit. Occasionally the sleeve sticks to the injector and comes out with it. The block should therefore be drained drained of coolant before attempting to pull any injectors...if the sleeve comes out, you will have to call in a trained mechanic because installation of a new sleeve requires special tools."
TAB To pull the injectors, empty the freshwater cooling system, then disconnect the fuel lines. Remove the bolt that holds the injector, and spray a penetrating oil around its edge. Wait a couple of hours for the oil to penetrate before trying to rotate and remove the injector. According to the experts at boatdiesel.com, you should be able to do this with one hand--any more force and you risk damage. Watch the sleeve carefully as you work--if the sleeve moves, you just bought yourself a visit from a mechanic.
TAB While you have the injectors out, you might want to do a compression test on the cylinders--that is, if you can get the proper setup to test them.

High Pressure Fuel Pumps
There are three Bosch high-pressure fuel pumps on my Volvo 2003 (one for each injector). Each is individually adjustable (probably via shims). You must add the number printed on the block next to the pump with the number on the pump to get the correct number of shims.

Misc Notes

  • The transmission is cooled by the raw water system. The copper intake pipes on the transmission may be a weak point.
  • My raw water intake came from the factory without any real filter installed. I plan to mount a filter somewhere in the hose before it goes into the transmission, up nice and high above the waterline.
  • You can pull the hose off the raw water intake and winterize everything downstream (incluidng the engine and exhaust system), but how to get the water out of the seacock? Solution, blow air into the seacock, open it, and let the bubbles blow out against the hull as you close the seacock again.
  • Injectors are spare part# 840595 and apparently cost around $250 each.

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