Zeus podos - maintenance

[Zach312]

Zeus pods - maintenance

For those of you with Zeus pods could you fill me in on a few details.

- What is the maintenance schedule and what is required at each service?
- Do the drives have any major scheduled service (i.e. 1000 hour service)
- Are local shops doing services or is Cummings doing most of the work?

Thanks

 

[JamesT]

Zach, Google "Zeus Pod Maintenance Interval Schedule" and you can download the PDF. However, I would also recommend speaking directly to your local Cummins technicians to compare what the manual says against their experience. To answer your question pod technicians are few and far between. Don't assume any authorized Cummins dealer works on them. The guy who does all the Cummins work on my and my friends boats won't touch pods at all. Call Cummins to found out who the experts are in your area. Hopefully you'll never need one.

There really is very little maintenance to be done. There are 3 fluids in pods. 1) Gear lube needs to be changed every year or every 250 hours and I do mine more frequently than that (twice per year). Any boatyard can do this since it's as easy as doing any mercury outdrive. Always ask them to take a picture of the drained fluid so you can check for milky-ness. If milky, you must call Cummins directly to reseal your pod, as I had to do at around 600 hours on my starboard. I was told by Cummins that most of the time it's the propshaft seal that begins to leak, but he replaced all my seals because there was no way for him to guarantee it wasn't another. That was 2 years ago. Next week I'm having the same tech re-seal my other pod, just as a precaution. I'm at 910 hours now. 2) Transmission fluid every 250 hours. In reality I believe this can be stretched longer. I observed this fluid being replaced last summer and the fluid coming out looked as perfect as the fluid going in. 3) Steering and trim fluid. This is the same "hydraulic power steering fluid" as the transmission fluid above. Manual says to replace this only if you get an alarm that says it's dirty.

The rest of the suggested maintenance is just checking hoses, clamps, bolts, and tightness of everything. I had a bolt that came loose on my power steering system and blew the oil all over the place in the ER so definitely check everything you can put a wrench on.

The manual doesn't mention gear oil cooler in the service manual, but my Cummins tech told me I do have two and that it needs to be serviced. He's coming next week to do that, so I'll try to get clarification from him on why it's not in the manual.

In closing I'll say that as long as you can confirm with Cummins that there is at least one Cummins pod expert technician within 90 miles of you, I would not worry about owning a pod boat. I've put much more maintenance dollars into my engines than I have my pods.

Jim

 

[Zach312]

Thanks, Great info.

If you don't mind sharing what is Cummings charging for a reseal of the pods.

 

[JamesT]

It was about $2,500 including parts and labor (and travel). My job was a two man team and they were there for about 4 hours (I was with them most of that time)

 

[Zach312]

Thanks, Would this be something that would make sense to do if you where taking owner ship of a used boat and the pods already had to be removed to land transport?

 

[Zach312]

Any thoughts on what I should budget per year for annual maintenance on the pods?

 

[JamesT]

I don't think you'd want to remove pods for land transport, maybe props only. Pods weigh a few hundred pounds each and if you removed them, you'd have the headache of having to crate them and transport separately. To answer your second question, routine maintenance has been maybe 500-1000 dollars total a year to replace the fluids, most frequently the gear lube which you would coincide with annual haul outs, and replacing zincs on pods, painting them.

 

[Zach312]

500-1000 isn't as bad as i thought for annual maintenance. I guess i assumed the pods would need to be removed prior to shipping.

Is the resealing process something that should be done as preventive maintenance at some point if it has never been done in the boats history? I am also reaching out to Cummings/Mercury on this one as well.

I don't think you'd want to remove pods for land transport, maybe props only. Pods weigh a few hundred pounds each and if you removed them, you'd have the headache of having to crate them and transport separately. To answer your second question, routine maintenance has been maybe 500-1000 dollars total a year to replace the fluids, most frequently the gear lube which you would coincide with annual haul outs, and replacing zincs on pods, painting them.

 

[Red Stripe]

One of the most frequent questions I was asked about my Zeus equipped boat by people who were contemplating purchasing a boat with pods was, "how much more annual maintenance is there than traditional drives and how much more expensive is it?"

I thought it might be helpful to some to post the details of the annual/250 hour & 500 hour service particular to my former vessel's package. The items marked with ** are performed when the boat is hauled. This is for the twin Zeus Pod package paired with Cummins QSB 5.9 480hp engines. The numbers and service requirements are from 2013 from a well-respected, authorized service center based in Long Island, NY which is probably at the higher end of pricing. This is for the pod service only...

Yearly or 250 hr. & 500 hr.

-Torque Drive Shaft connecting Bolts & Nuts (Shaft
cover must be removed)
-Inspect & lubricate the drive shaft slip-joint
**Change gear case lube oil
-Change transmission oil and filter (Including drop box if
installed)
-Change hydraulic steering actuator fluid and filter.
(Filter assembly must be removed)
**Lubricate prop shaft splines & torque prop nuts
-Inspect Hydraulic system fittings & hoses
-Check bonding circuit--Test Mercathode output
-Inspect electrical connections
-Inspect cooling system & hoses & clamps
-Inspect Exhaust system hoses, clamps, and piping
-Inspect for corrosion and treat as necessary
-Clean pod mounting area
-Lubricate & Inspect seacock (Check Operation)
-Treat power package with corrosion guard
**Inspect gearcase shear bolts
**Inspect Skeg and shear pins
-Check clamp ring and hardware torque

For this service, the factory authorized company I used charged a flat rate of $520 per drive for a total, before parts, of $1040.00.

Here are the parts used and their costs (T=Total):

Zinc Kit x 2 385.16T
Transmission oil x 12 214.08T
Hydraulic oil x 12 210.00T
Transmission filter x 2 147.32T
Gearcase oil x 11 146.52T

Also...

Mandatory hydraulic oil filter replacement (After first change, not due for 500 hrs. or 5 years)
x 2 400.00T
Hydraulic Oil Filter x 2 166.32T

So the total cost in this case was $2833.57 before tax.

While the info is now a few years old I hope it's helpful nonetheless in giving you a general sense of what's potentially ahead.

 

[JamesT]

500-1000 isn't as bad as i thought for annual maintenance. I guess i assumed the pods would need to be removed prior to shipping.

Is the resealing process something that should be done as preventive maintenance at some point if it has never been done in the boats history? I am also reaching out to Cummings/Mercury on this one as well.

I don't believe resealing should be a regular PM thing unless you suspect a leak and then take steps to confirm it. My first reseal job was in 2015 because I had gear lube overflow out the cap several times. I confirmed the leak by sending a sample of my gear lube to the lab and they confirmed presence of water but I caught the problem way before my computer's sensor did and long before long term damage occurred. I'm doing my 2nd pod (actually being done tomorrow) because I feel it was starting to behave like its mate did back in 2015 and I'd rather get it over with while it's on blocks for another two months. I run my boat all the time and turn to a puddle of tears if I'm out two weeks waiting for repairs. There may be others on this forum (and other forums) who have just as many hours or more than I do who may never have had to reseal. I can only speak from my personal experience and suggest you try to speak to a technician that does this work to hear from them first hand about needing to reseal as PM.

 

[JamesT]

Here's my pod being worked on today. I got to be there for some of it. Very glad I got it done now because he showed me my propshaft seal and it was beginning to dry out and rot. The pod is back on the boat, the only thing that needs to be done now is the gear oil cooler. He removed them and has to bring them back to the shop, clean them, and come back and reinstall. He also changed the tranny fluid and filter, and drained and refilled each pod with fresh gear lube. Weather was great too, plenty of sunshine and mid 50s!

 

[Zach312]

Thanks for sharing.

Is this seal something that is checked during normal service? Sounds like you proactively had this services done. Does cummins/Zeus have a name for this service?

 

[javenius]

My Zeus powered boat has just under 300 hours on it after 6 seasons. JamesT, regarding the gear oil cooler, do you know at what point these require service?

Thanks

 

[JamesT]

My Zeus powered boat has just under 300 hours on it after 6 seasons. JamesT, regarding the gear oil cooler, do you know at what point these require service?

Thanks

Actually I don't know. The manual doesn't say. I think my technician said every 2 years or 500 hours. Funny how the manuals and the technicians don't seem to gel. I've never had my gear oil cooler service before and I'm a 2011 with 910 hours. He did tell me the tranny oil fluid and filter should be replaced every year or 250 hours and the manual agrees with that.

 

[JamesT]

Thanks for sharing.

Is this seal something that is checked during normal service? Sounds like you proactively had this services done. Does cummins/Zeus have a name for this service?

Zach, prop shaft seal is not checked as routine and is not even mentioned anywhere in the service manual. In my opinion after seeing the condition of my prop shaft seal just 3 days ago with my own eyes after 6 years and 910 hours, I would pay to have Cummins come every 2-3 years to replace it whether your drive is leaking or not. All the other seals in the pod are not nearly as susceptible to failure as the propshaft seal because the shaft spins and rubs inside this seal constantly whereas the other seals are just static seals. And I'm pretty sure they can replace the prop shaft seal without having to remove the pod. The Cummins experts told me that 80-90% of the time, sea water intrusion into gear lube is as a result of a bad prop shaft seal. But to be 100% sure, I had them replace 100% of my pod seals because I'm a maniac. Now that I've replaced 100% of seals in both pods, I won't do that again for a very long time, but I will definitely replace the prop shaft seals every 2-3 years.

 

[javenius]

I am only putting on about 50 hours on her annually. For the upper trans fluid, changing annually seems excessive. Any thoughts?

 

[Zach312]

One of the most frequent questions I was asked about my Zeus equipped boat by people who were contemplating purchasing a boat with pods was, "how much more annual maintenance is there than traditional drives and how much more expensive is it?"

I thought it might be helpful to some to post the details of the annual/250 hour & 500 hour service particular to my former vessel's package. The items marked with ** are performed when the boat is hauled. This is for the twin Zeus Pod package paired with Cummins QSB 5.9 480hp engines. The numbers and service requirements are from 2013 from a well-respected, authorized service center based in Long Island, NY which is probably at the higher end of pricing. This is for the pod service only...

Yearly or 250 hr. & 500 hr.

-Torque Drive Shaft connecting Bolts & Nuts (Shaft
cover must be removed)
-Inspect & lubricate the drive shaft slip-joint
**Change gear case lube oil
-Change transmission oil and filter (Including drop box if
installed)
-Change hydraulic steering actuator fluid and filter.
(Filter assembly must be removed)
**Lubricate prop shaft splines & torque prop nuts
-Inspect Hydraulic system fittings & hoses
-Check bonding circuit--Test Mercathode output
-Inspect electrical connections
-Inspect cooling system & hoses & clamps
-Inspect Exhaust system hoses, clamps, and piping
-Inspect for corrosion and treat as necessary
-Clean pod mounting area
-Lubricate & Inspect seacock (Check Operation)
-Treat power package with corrosion guard
**Inspect gearcase shear bolts
**Inspect Skeg and shear pins
-Check clamp ring and hardware torque

For this service, the factory authorized company I used charged a flat rate of $520 per drive for a total, before parts, of $1040.00.

Here are the parts used and their costs (T=Total):

Zinc Kit x 2 385.16T
Transmission oil x 12 214.08T
Hydraulic oil x 12 210.00T
Transmission filter x 2 147.32T
Gearcase oil x 11 146.52T

Also...

Mandatory hydraulic oil filter replacement (After first change, not due for 500 hrs. or 5 years)
x 2 400.00T
Hydraulic Oil Filter x 2 166.32T

So the total cost in this case was $2833.57 before tax.

While the info is now a few years old I hope it's helpful nonetheless in giving you a general sense of what's potentially ahead.

Thanks i am assuming this total was for both pods?

 

[Zach312]

Zach, prop shaft seal is not checked as routine and is not even mentioned anywhere in the service manual. In my opinion after seeing the condition of my prop shaft seal just 3 days ago with my own eyes after 6 years and 910 hours, I would pay to have Cummins come every 2-3 years to replace it whether your drive is leaking or not. All the other seals in the pod are not nearly as susceptible to failure as the propshaft seal because the shaft spins and rubs inside this seal constantly whereas the other seals are just static seals. And I'm pretty sure they can replace the prop shaft seal without having to remove the pod. The Cummins experts told me that 80-90% of the time, sea water intrusion into gear lube is as a result of a bad prop shaft seal. But to be 100% sure, I had them replace 100% of my pod seals because I'm a maniac. Now that I've replaced 100% of seals in both pods, I won't do that again for a very long time, but I will definitely replace the prop shaft seals every 2-3 years.

How can this seal be accessed?

 

[Red Stripe]

Thanks i am assuming this total was for both pods?

Yup.

 

[JamesT]

I am only putting on about 50 hours on her annually. For the upper trans fluid, changing annually seems excessive. Any thoughts?

I tend to agree with you. This fluid comes out as clean as it looks going in.