Cummins Zeus Pods maintenance & service assuming no records

I pulled this off a Meridian forum that will give you some ideas, this is not a re-build but annual/hours based service stuff.


One of the most frequent questions I am asked about my boat by people who might be interested in purchasing one or any boat with pods is, "how much more annual maintenance is there than traditional drives and how much more expensive is it?"

There is obviously more maintenance involved as the drives are effectively two additional "engines" replete with components and fluids that require annual attention in addition to the lower units. I am sure there are those who will take on some of these items themselves but, for me, I strictly enlist the service of authorized personnel - for many reasons but particularly because of the warranty. I thought it might be helpful to post the details of the yearly/250 hour & 500 hour service which I recently had performed so anyone potentially interested in "going Zeus" will have a realistic understanding and expectation of what's involved. The items marked with ** are performed when the boat is hauled. Please keep in mind that this is for the QSB 5.9 480hp/Zeus Pod package offered with the 441SB.

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 use charges 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. Removing the last item, I expect to pay around $2300 +tax for this service again next year.
Charges will obviously vary depending on who's doing the work and I'm guessing my service center is more on the high end of pricing.

In terms of regular maintenance throughout the season, you are adding the on-board components to your daily visual checks and three fluid checks per pod, two that are checked with dipsticks. It is all very straight-forward and under normal circumstances you are not adding fluids.

I hope this was helpful.

Mr. Zeus gets a bad wrap. After selling 6 or so boats with Zeus pods and clients cruising without issues I decided to buy a Sabre with Zeus pods. Simple units, a bit primitive compared to Volvos. Much cheaper to own and maintain than the Volvo units.
Volvo's have a sealed needle bearing unit at each end of the jack shaft, alignment critical
Cummins/Zeus has a simple universal joint identical to my '53 Chevy pick up. What alignment.
Volvos upper and lower pod assemblies share the same lube. Water in the bottom goes to the complete unit.
Cummins/Zeus does not share lube between the upper and lower units.
I spent about $30K getting the running gear dialed in on my Eastbay 49. Any vibration drives me crazy. The Zeus pods are smooth running at any speed. These pods are original with 1250 hours. I bought it in May and have run about 90 hours. Propspeed and one skeg has been my only expense so far.
Eastbay 49, 45-48 gallons per hour at 20/21 knots
Sabre 42 (way smaller boat) 26-28 gallons per hour at 23-24 knots

Interesting. That's about the first pod review I've seen that that a) doesn't start with "they're crap" and b) describes some of the difference between Zeus and Volvo IPS.

-Chris

As a boat salesman most of my survey, sales and customer experience is with Volvo pods. The Volvos are dominating the market and have good service and parts support.
Volvos are much more delicate and require more updates and sensor replacement. The Volvo station keeping is more effective. The Cummins sky hook keeps you in the same 30 yard pattern.
Volvos are quiet while using the joy stick.
Cummins Zeus makes all kinds of squeaks and clunks which is normal.
Checking your Volvo pod oil will immediately let you know if you have water leaking in. Cummins/Zeus you need to wait for the alarm or haul the boat.
Tiara has done at least one poor pod installation that accelerates pod issues.
Palm Beach and vintage MJM's seem to be doing well with the Volvos.
I am a fan of the 1950's jack shaft/universal joints in the Zeus set up. Removing the uv joint cowlings is not easy so its rare the grease fittings get serviced.

As a cummins zues owner operation I am in agreement. 2009 and nothing but fluids and seals and sacrificial anodes. I am also glad to hear there is hope when I sell the boat that there are some who are not afraid of the zeus pod.

The 2018 and later model years have a small spread between Volvo and Zeus boat values. Sabre stayed with Zeus longer than any other builder as far as I can tell. The earlier Zeus boats are doing well on resale as long as they are healthy, like anything else. We had a choice between the two and chose the Zeus for its simplicity. I think it is important to understand the system, maintenance and proper care.
At the YC bar last year a friend said, "you bought what? Are you crazy? No pods for me". He just contracted a 2010 Sabre 40 with Zeus. A little product knowledge is beneficial.

I have 930 hours in 3 years on twin Zeus - Cummins QSC8.3 600 hp. Only Cummins or Zeus failures are 2 radiator caps and the 3 bolt 1” long neck that the caps fasten to and a slightly loose threaded hose fitting on the Zeus.
Just did the 1,000 hr service on Cummins. All services kept up as recommended.
I haven’t seen reasons to not like the setup.

Cummins 8.3 QSC + Zeus= bulletproof

Important tip for Zeus owners:
When you check your steering fluid, remove the small fine filter element that slides into the dip stick area. If you check the oil level without removing this cylindrical screen you may only getting the level within the screen. These screens get a film on them that traps the oil. I recently had a zeus boat that the oil level looked perfect when checking with screen in place but we kept getting a fault code. Removed the screen and found oil level did not register on the dip stick.

Thoroughly enjoyed your post ! I'm looking at a Viking 42 Open with Cummins QSC 600 hp. Approximately 1,500 hours on the Zeus pods - all maintenance records from owner who has owned the boat 10 years. Nothing looks out of the ordinary so far ... maintenance issues as mentioned here and a couple of other posts in this thread.

I'd be interested in hearing from others who have owned these - please feel free to share your thoughts.

Thanks,
DrM

This is an incredibly important post ... thanks for sharing it. I'm looking at a 2014 Viking 42 Open with Zeus pods ... seems like every Zeus pod owner needs to read this.

Thanks for posting this ! I'm looking at a 2014 Viking 42 Open with same setup - just curious, is your annual maintenance in the ballpark mentioned in this thread at around $2,300 annually ?

Thanks,
DrM

One fact to keep in mind.
I just finished working an Eastbay 46 with Zeus drives at the Annapolis Show. I never heard so many unfounded negative comments about Zeus drives.
The parts are getting tough to locate. Steering pump seals discontinued, electrical side items discontinued.
Used Zeus powered boats will be tougher to sell as time goes on.

This is very helpful - thank you. Appreciate you honest opinion.

Do you mean those as examples of "unfounded negative comments about Zeus drives" that you heard?

-Chris

I interpret those as "unfounded negative comments about Zeus drives". I live in the Wilmington, NC area and Port Diesel is the certified Zeus dealer here. I spent a half hour on the phone with a mechanic there recently. They installed two new Zeus pods recently on a boat, and he gave no impression things were going sideways - his advice (1) take care of your equipment (good advice for ANY boater), (2) regularly scheduled maintenance on the Zeus pods is essential, and it's roughly twice that of shaft drives annually, (3) don't put your skeg into an oyster bar.

That said, I'm still considering the Viking 42 Open but also a big Intrepid.

Good luck to all, be safe out there.

DrM

PS Looking forward to 993RSR's response to your question Chris

Yes Chris. Show shoppers who boarded our Zeus voiced strong opinions that Zeus were problematic and too bad they are not Volvos in our boat. When pressed on the Zeus opinion no one had any specifics. Being a Zeus owner I was surprised that the negativity was so strong.