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Volvo Penta Out Drives

Jetmate

Jetmate

Well-known member
Does anyone out there have any experience with Volvo Penta out drives? Are they good units? Are some models better than others? How hard is it to get parts and service for them? Are they hard to work on? And has Checkmate ever used them on their boats?

Just wondering. Been tossing around the idea of either a newer boat or maybe an older 1968 to 72 Corvette. Probably won't be 'till next next year though!

:bigthumb: Jet'
Planning ahead
 
Jetmate said:
Does anyone out there have any experience with Volvo Penta out drives? Are they good units? Are some models better than others? How hard is it to get parts and service for them? Are they hard to work on? And has Checkmate ever used them on their boats?

Just wondering. Been tossing around the idea of either a newer boat or maybe an older 1968 to 72 Corvette. Probably won't be 'till next next year though!

:bigthumb: Jet'
Planning ahead
Click to expand...

The late model SX drives are good. I have seen very little failures with them,
They are simple in design and durable
They have the same transom cutout as a Alpha and bravo has.
They are speced out to run only synthetic gear lube.
They are more expensive to repair or replace than a Mercruiser so that's a turn off.
I don't know how much HP they will take but if it's stock and they are serviced they work good.


MKHammer
 
I remember a boat magazine article that tested the SX versus the Alpha and Bravo drives and basically said the Volvo is a bullet-proof outdrive that has superior shifting qualities compared to the Mercurys, but will never be considered a high performance gear case like the Merc. Great for boats that aren't looking for the highest top speed, but need a reliable drive that is easier to shift.

Where I live, I have both Mercury and Volvo warranty certified dealers. When I bought my last I/O boat new, I chose the Mercury because of the broader dealer service network throughout the country.
 
JW said:
I remember a boat magazine article that tested the SX versus the Alpha and Bravo drives and basically said the Volvo is a bullet-proof outdrive that has superior shifting qualities compared to the Mercurys, but will never be considered a high performance gear case like the Merc. Great for boats that aren't looking for the highest top speed, but need a reliable drive that is easier to shift.

Where I live, I have both Mercury and Volvo warranty certified dealers. When I bought my last I/O boat new, I chose the Mercury because of the broader dealer service network throughout the country.
Click to expand...

Theres alot of dealers here that service the volvo on the south east side of the state as well . My dad wanted the bravo drive in his cuz we have always prefered mercury products . But the volvo unit was alot cheaper and was already in the boat he wanted . To get the horse power he wanted in the mercruiser he would have had to go to a 6.1L . Now the volvo set up was a 5.7L . I know the boat is only 2 seasons old and has about 20-25 hrs on it . (most of that was from me ) lol . But so far its been a nice unit . But it Sounds good also it has capitians call . Doesnt sound as good as a big block but for a small block in a 22ft open bow its not bad .
 
Anyone know how they are hooked to a big block? I think I've seen a few boats with that set up.
 
Jetmate said:
Anyone know how they are hooked to a big block? I think I've seen a few boats with that set up.
Click to expand...

My father had a host of old volvo drives
1971 xk-22 chriscraft it had the 350 350 chevy and the 250 volvo drive, it was as good as it gets but you could not trim the drive while in motion you had to set and lock it with a thru pin.
We also had a 24' Donzi Spitfire with twin 350 chevy's we had 280 volvo's with the speedmaster bottoms on it. Once again you could not trim them in motion but the drives were as good as they get for dependibility!!!:bigthumb:
 
I have a Reinell 184 BR 4.3 Gi w a SX drive on it. I use it to pull the kids, It runs great about 50 at top end, the drive operates smooth. I can rebuild the drive myself if it breaks but if I had to pay to have it done I rather have a merc.
I replaced a SX lower unit for a customer 2-months ago. It had severe rock damage. The lower unit alone was $5260.00 list. No re mans are available for the SX yet.
Even though they are a good dependable drive.for that price you can buy a new complete Bravo. So I think that's the drawback.



MKHammer
 
most of their drives do pretty good, they do not corrode on boats left in the water like the bravo III's which eat away like you would not believe, now they came out with a composite(ake plastic) drive, turned out to be a real POS !!!! and they quickly discontiued them, but the unlucky few who have them are in deep do do !! a guy at out marina is on his 6th pair in the last 4 years !!!!!! and no way to change over he's been told....
 
I know I have seen a few volvo drives on checkmates before.
I asked my neighbor that owns Tradewinds marina about the volvo drives a few months ago. His response was they are superior to the merc units. In 20 years almost all the volvos fixed were from impact not failure. He is a dealer for both so it was not bias either way. I perfer merc because I grew up with merc outboards and now know my way around the I/O's enough to get in and sometimes out of trouble!
 
volvo's are great drives, especially compared to anything merc has. in my experiance, we never did anything more than minor maintenance to them. they were better shifting as well. remember, volvo was the first to produce the stern drive, and if my aging memory serves me correctly, mercury got sued for patent infringment and ended up paying volvo for many years.
 
Hell merc claims a lot of things that are B/S !!!! they say they don't have a corrosion issue with bravo III's..you should see most of them after about 2 seasons....see ate so bad they were leaking oil from holes eaten clean thru..and they blamed the owners !!!!! volvo's came out looking fine...even in the same brand/size boats....
 
I would say marketing. I see alot of merc promotional stuff out there and I must say I have never seen anything for the volvo. People go with what the know.
 
It is commonly known that the Volvo Drive is superior to the Merc Product. In fact, if you ask the most dedicated Merc Mechanic, they will agree. The mounting to a big block is similar to the Merc, you'll need to swap out your transom assembly. Should be no big deal. The shift cable is set up different and does not have the common problems experienced with the alpha cut out switch or the shift assembly in the upper unit of the bravo unit. I've seen cost comparisons of repair between the two manufactures. This can be refuted by the number of repairs and the amount of corrosion you will experiance. For example, if you repair a volvo once and the merc 4 times where did you spend the most money? How much water time did you lose? Quite frankly, in my carreer the volvo's either required repair because the were just plumb wore out, or they were involved in some type of collission. The volvo drives will accomodate quite a bit of horsepower and remain stable, Volvo does not advertise this. Volvo will tell you they are not in the high performance market. I've seen volvos behind 600hp for years and never did any major repair on them, just regular maintenance.
 
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