Walter V-Drive Repair

[Anonymous]

On 3/19/09 3:15 PM, Don C., Walter Machine <> () wrote:

Dear Pearson Owners,

I noticed on your website some inaccurate information from Rich Carter concerning rebuilding a WALTER V-Drive model RV-10.

[ Per Rich Carter: “Walter quoted me approx $650 for the labor to rebuild the unit, more or less. I figure more; the bill would probably be closer to $1000, plus $400 for parts. I saved about $900 by doing it myself.]

The typical labor cost to disassemble, reassemble and test a model RV-10 is 3 hrs @ $78/hr (3/09) or $234.00 — NOT $650.00.

Regarding parts, our REPAIR KIT consisting of all the bearings, seals, gaskets, u-joint repair kit plus a new locknut and locknut for the gear shaft costs $323.00. Since the total average rebuild at our facility is approximately $560 ($234 labor plus $323 parts), it is far less than the $1000 which Rich estimates.

For peace of mind, I believe most Pearson owners would prefer not to waste hours of their time in attempting a repair which they are unfamiliar with, or may not have the correct tools to perform. Obviously a home repair cannot test the V-Drive after the repair is completed (which is what we do here at our factory after each and every single repair).

Our normal turn-around time is 5 – 7 working days and the RV-10 can be sent via UPS.

Also, I noticed somewhere else on your website one of your members suggested that a Walter V-Drive could be run without watercooling. This is definitely not recommended as it will heat up, especially in adverse conditions (rough weather) or as the V-Drive shows wear on its internal parts. Under no circumstances should the V-Drive be run without cooling water.

If any of your members ever have a question, please feel free to contact us at ().

Sincerely,

Don C.
THE WALTER MACHINE COMPANY, INC.
– Established 1927 –
84 – 98 Cambridge Ave
Jersey City, NJ 07307
USA
(201) 656-5654 – Main
(201) 656-0318 – Facsimile
E-Mail – ()

---

This message from The Walter Machine Co., Inc. and any attachments may contain confidential
information. This is intended for the company or individual named above. If you are not the
intended recipient, please notify the sender and then delete it from your system immediately;
please do not forward, copy, print, use or disclose this communication to others.

---

Post generated from Pearson424 Forum using Mail2Forum

[RichCarter]

p { margin: 0; }Don,
I’m the author of the subject notes. We have RV-20 gear boxes, not RV-10. I believe that my $650 quote was provided by your office about 8 years ago. This didn’t include labor but did include shipping. I don’t have my notes here, but I think I paid more than $400 for the rebuild kit. If I misunderstood the estimate, I appreciate the correction. We boat owners are used to getting wacked with unexpected charges whenever we hire someone. If it is uncommon for extra charges on one of these rebuilds, I’d appreciate that info.

I rebuilt the old V-drive and had a great deal of difficulty getting the torque settings correct when re-assembling. The problem is that special tools are needed. I had to fabricate my own. I don’t think I’ll have the patience to do this again when my cases rust out in 20 years or so and I don’t recommend that owners attempt this. In fact, I doubt that these things are rebuildable anymore. The cases are most likely rusted to the point where its not work fixing.

I replaced the old unit with an RV-26 about three years ago when I repowered. My notes are linked here if you are interested in reading.
http://www.richardcarter.net/repower/Vdrive.html

I had a negative comment regarding the quality of your product on my page. Of particular concern was the lack of a freshwater cooling option. This is a maintenance problem. The unit builds up rust scale which restricts cooling to the engine unless the jacket is cleaned every few years. It eventually destroys the cases. I discussed the possibility of using the engine cooling system to cool the V-drive and this was rejected by your technician. I also discussed the possibility of bypassing the cooling jacket and running the oil through a heat exchanger instead. This was also rejected. I invite you to comment on this issue. If there’s a way to prevent the unit from self-destructing, we’d like to know.

I dislike the paint that you use. Considering the cost of these units, you might find a more durable finish. The fasteners are steel. Since the unit is mounted in the bilge where it is damp, they rust. This can make disassembly difficult. The mounting fasteners at least should have been stainless. I think you’d have a nice product if you could address these complaints.

I opened up the cooling jacket on my new V-drive and cleaned it this winter after three seasons of use. There was a thin coating of corrosion inside the cooling jacket that came off with a sharp chisel. I expected more rust. Its hard to get in around the oil cooling lines to clean out the jacket. I cut my own gasket and flushed out the jacket to insure that any remaining chips were cleaned out. I hope that if I keep up with this I won’t endup with a mess like I did with my old v-drive.

Removal of the V-drive is not a big deal once you do it once. This is simple wrench work. Other than finding a way to get at some of the nuts and bolts that hold the unit in place, I’d rate it as a fairly easy task. Alignment is a bit of an art however. If you don’t have the patience to experiment and learn how its done, I suggest hiring an expert for this. In my opinion, there is no reason that a healthy owner couldn’t remove and replace the unit. They might chose to hire a mechanic for the final alignment. Replacing a rusted RV-20 with an RV-26 is non-trivial. The RV-26 is wider than the RV-20 and won’t fit in the engine pan unless new mounts are fabricated. In my opinion, if Walter wanted to discontinue the RV-20, they should have provided a better migration path to the new unit.

Regards
Rich Carter

---

Original Message

---

<.. snip>

Post generated from Pearson424 Forum using Mail2Forum

[quent]

I agree with Rich. I’d just add that if Walter would simply make the crankcase and top available for the RV-20, many of us would be happy campers.
Quent

[RLeeds]

I second (third?) that! I would gladly buy a new case with a rebuild from Walter themselves.

Rodd

Quote:

---

Original Message

---

<.. snip>

Post generated from Pearson424 Forum using Mail2Forum

[Author]

Posts