Maintenance R31

[Boatdreamer]

I have some questions for those of you that do your own maintenance on your R31. We are thinking about moving up to an R31 in the future and would like to know about oil and fuel filters costs and how hard access is for the water pump and zincs. I do all my own work so this is a concern for me. Do you have to buy all your maintenance items from Volvo or do you have a lower cost source? If we decide to go that route, I’ll be looking at boats 3-4 years old so what else can I expect to do with a boat of that age. Thanks in advance.

Tim

 

[aculverwell]

I do almost all of the maintenance on my R31-- and find it easier than doing maintenance on my previous R27. There is considerably more space in the engine compartment and generally easier access to the key components. Easier, doesn't necessarily mean "easy" though and you will still need to be flexible and expect a few skinned knuckles.

- Oil changes are simple, especially if you have an electric oil extractor pump.
- Fuel filters are slightly more difficult, but if you have the right filter wrench it isn't bad. The pre-filter is in an awkward spot on my boat and requires undoing the bracket.
- Accessing the water pump & removing the cap is relatively easy, but there isn't quite enough room to use an impeller puller, so it is sort of awkward to get the impeller out and the new one in. Nowhere near as tough as on my old R27 though!
- Starting around 2016, the Volvo D4-300 no longer uses engine zincs-- so I can't speak to how hard it is to replace them if you get an older model.
- I replaced the underwater zincs myself a few years ago when I was in Desolation Sound and could get in the water with a snorkel. Was pretty easy, but I now have the boat hauled and the zincs replaced by a marine service.

The two maintenance/repair items I have done that I considered a challenge:
- replacing batteries as they are in an awkward spot and it is tough to get the cables off and the batteries pulled out.
- replacing the main bilge pump-- which is located directly under the main shaft and requires small hands and long arms.

I purchase my spare parts directly from Ranger Tugs-- you can get their ordering/price list by contacting parts@rangertugs.com. Here are the current prices on a few basic maintenance items:

-Primary & Secondary oil filters (combined): $77.12
-Crankcase ventilation filter: $137.27 (this is the only item that seems grossly overpriced to me!)
-Air Filter insert: $68.57
-Primary & Secondary Fuel filters (combined): $68.85
-Impeller Kit: $54.07
-All zincs (except engine zincs which I don't have on my my 2016): $103.06


Happy to share more, so pm me if you have any questions.

Allan

 

[Boatdreamer]

Hi Allan, thank you very much you’ve answered my big questions for the 31. From a cost standpoint the R31 doesn’t look like it’s much more expensive to maintain than our R27. This was one of our concerns with owning a larger boat but the numbers you posted look really good. We don’t have a set time to do this but when we got closer I’ll PM you and maybe we can talk about what we should look for when looking at a used boat. Thank you again.

Tim and Donna
Gratitude