Volvo outdrives

strick · **Posted:** Sun Sep 22, 2013 8:13 am

Hi all,

Hoping that fellow FW members may clarify things for me regarding volvo engines / outdrives model types and years... I have been considering buying a 30-35 foot express cruiser, and wanted to get better information on the problems that volvo powered boats have had.

I understand that the composite outdrives on the 318 and 338 models had all kinds of nightmares and are being replaced by Ocean X outdrives (sometimes at large owner expense). What specific model & years outdrive / volvo engines had this problem? Once composites are replaced with Ocean X outdrives, are the problems solved, or is that really a cob-job fix?

Are there specific (non composite) volvo outdrive years / models that were NOT affected by problems, and are reliable?

Any input is appreciated.

LouC · **Posted:** Sun Sep 22, 2013 9:14 am

Why would you want an I/O system with all its complexity and parts in the water, on a boat that size? If you are going that big the beauty of size is that you can get either straight inboards or v-drives. Forget I/Os on a boat that size. If FW does not offer straight inboards/v-drives in that size then find a maker that does. Not having outdrives will save you a lot of maintenance money over time unless you do all your own work like I do.
And you're in Florida? Forget outdrives, your boat with inboards will be worth more when you sell and be easier to sell. No one who keeps his boat in the water in Fla if its salt water wants outdrives.

firecadet613 · **Posted:** Sun Sep 22, 2013 10:03 am

Plenty of 318/338s on the market with Volvo DP-S drives. They will have the Gi or GXi engine. The OSi engines have the bad xdp drives. I've had two boats with DP-S and not one issue.

LouC · **Posted:** Sun Sep 22, 2013 10:35 am

The main question is are you keeping it slipped in salt water or not? if not slipped in salt yes you can go with an I/O if you insist on having one. If slipped in salt then don't say I didn't warn you....
The anti fouling paint for aluminum DOES NOT work well. Lasts about 3 months then you get growth again
You will get barnacles growing in the folds of the driveshaft bellows, on the trim ram lines (both can be cut by barnacles) and in the water intake area of the drive (can lead to overheating). In freshwater these issues are not nearly as much of a problem.
In Fla selling a boat with an outdrive that was slipped in salt is difficult if the buyer has any knowledge of boats.

ric · **Posted:** Sun Sep 22, 2013 10:39 am

As a Florida boater, he lives in Melbourne which would be salt water intracoastal boating. Ocean-X or inboard is the only option for you. If the boat is wet slipped make sure to paint the Ocean-X drives with an ablative paint to prevent growth. The OceanX drives are titanium and do not corrode. Schedule a regular dive service to inspect them every few months. Haul out yearly for scheduled maintenance. If you stick to a plan they'll last forever. If you personally know you have a habit of being lazy and skipping things, go with an inboard powered boat.

If I was in your market I would personally get a sterndrive powered boat. Here in Florida we like to beach up places to hang out and party. With an inboard you'd have to budget in prop repair at least once a year, the intercoastal waterways get very shallow really quick depending on tides and currents. With a sterndrive you can quickly angle them up and protect.

298VISTA2000 · **Posted:** Sun Sep 22, 2013 5:12 pm

I have owned both inboards and IOs and no way in hell I would have IOs on a salt boat that stayed in the slip.

LouC · **Posted:** Sun Sep 22, 2013 6:57 pm

Where I am on the North Shore of Long Island the shores are rocky so no one beaches their boat (not on purpose at least LOL) and there is deep water nearly everywhere, so inboards are fine here. On the South Shore the bottom is all sand and there are many shallow areas that are not passable at low tide unless you have an OB or an I/O. So there I can see people wanting one but unless you have done it you can't appreciate the work it adds to your boat maintenance. If the anti fouling paints worked well it would be a much less difficult job to maintain them but the ones we can use for aluminum just are not that good. The tin based paints were but they were outlawed (except for the Coast Guard and other large vessels).

strick · **Posted:** Sun Sep 22, 2013 9:44 pm

firecadet613 wrote:

Plenty of 318/338s on the market with Volvo DP-S drives. They will have the Gi or GXi engine. The OSi engines have the bad xdp drives. I've had two boats with DP-S and not one issue.

No offense, but this is exactly what my confusion is... I've always been a merc. owner, and the "ABC-XYZ" of all the volvo engines and drive components makes me crazy.. :roll:

... HELP!!! I just am unable to remember what to look for.

BTW, Thanks to the other posts.... If I do get an I/O boat, it will ONLY be rack-stored inside a hurricane proof building & flushed out after each use. We have the marina location picked out, but are unsure about whether to go with the rack-stored I/O indoors, or maybe consider spending a little more $$$ and get a Meridian 341 flybridge that is a whole different category of boat, but would need to be kept in a wet slip, and would be in the constant FL sun (thus more oxidation, etc...)

Please keep the feedback coming! Thanks!

firecadet613 · **Posted:** Sun Sep 22, 2013 10:10 pm

Here are a few.

http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2006- ... -101695216
http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2008- ... -102014792
http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2009- ... -102052911
http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2006- ... sta-363720

Based on pics and ads alone this looks like the best bang for the $$$
http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2007- ... -101672045

Paul I. · **Posted:** Mon Sep 23, 2013 10:06 pm

LouC wrote:

The main question is are you keeping it slipped in salt water or not? if not slipped in salt yes you can go with an I/O if you insist on having one. If slipped in salt then don't say I didn't warn you....
The anti fouling paint for aluminum DOES NOT work well. Lasts about 3 months then you get growth again
You will get barnacles growing in the folds of the driveshaft bellows, on the trim ram lines (both can be cut by barnacles) and in the water intake area of the drive (can lead to overheating). In freshwater these issues are not nearly as much of a problem.
In Fla selling a boat with an outdrive that was slipped in salt is difficult if the buyer has any knowledge of boats.

I will give you 4 months on the painted drives, if it done right. Lou's past 2 post are so true.

TX H210SS · **Joined:** Thu May 27, 2010 9:10 am **Posts:** 1488

Everything has a plus and minus....my best advice would be to match the plusses with your primary boat use. The Outboards are much less headache maintenance wise but seem the most tempermental in regard to tuning and fuel tolerances etc. Like comparing high rev sport bike to a Harley thumper (inboard) in my opinion.

If you go with an OB the best choice is the four stroke models. Like mentioned you need to be able to hug the machinery to maintain her and keep her loyal especially in salt enviro....even if slung.

The big benefit of the IO is use of transom space for water sports and water access and that's all. The OB offers added deck use and reduced maintenance and shallow water accessibility.

The inboard has best transom accessibility, but uses most interior space. Not as big a loss of space in very large boats were motor is subdeck level, but forget shallow water access.

Personally the V drive models scare me but I haven't owned or had much exposure to them. My concerns are that power is redirected from front to back....but the IO goes back down and back again so others can offer more insight on them.

LouC · **Posted:** Wed Sep 25, 2013 7:24 pm

Yes they all have plusses or minuses, and that varies with your use and your specific requirements.
I stuck with the I/O this long despite the hassles with marine growth, having to remove the drive each season, etc because of cost. It is just cheaper to repair inboard engines than high tech outboards and if you want new or nearly new that's what you have to buy in terms of outboards today. But if I were buying new or nearly new it would be hard for me to discount the advantages of outboards. For one thing I do not want an inboard with cat converter exhaust that will greatly drive up the repair cost for replacing manifolds and here that is a regular thing, 5-7 years, slipped in salt or not. For another, outboards have clear safety advantages. As in, no danger of fuel fumes in the bilge. No way you can take on water and almost sink because of a bad bellows or shift cable bellows (Alpha drives). And if a cooling hose leaks on an I/O it fills the bilge with water real fast. Can't happen on an OB. Lastly winterizing is so much less of a pain. When I winterized our little (actually my son's) Suzuki 4 stroke, he was amazed having seen me do the FW many times. That's all? he said, that took 20 min.
Modern 4 stroke outboards are complex but are not tempermental like the old school carbed 2 strokes. With those you have 6 carbs to worry about if you had a V6 2 stroke OB. Now with fuel injection on OBs its actually reduced the maintenance needed, but there are some with a sensitivity to ethanol but that happens with FI inboards too. My old carbed I/O does not mind ethanol, another reason why I kept it around so long.

Graham R · **Posted:** Thu Sep 26, 2013 2:34 am

Lou,

As a matter of interest, if you have a cat equippped boat engine, what's to stop you removing the cats from within the exhausts? It's not as if the emissions are checked yearly like for a car, or are they ? I remember American cousins telling me in the early 1980s they used to remove cats and only refit them temporarily for the annual test !. With the various sensors in use now, presumably now it's not as simple, but it is done with cat equipped cars here ( I could't be bothered myself to remove/ refit the cats each year for a marginal performance gain) .

LouC · **Posted:** Thu Sep 26, 2013 5:41 am

I think it depends on the design; I don't know if they use an O2 sensor like vehicles do that has to provide feed back to the ECM for proper control of the fuel mixture. If so then I think you might have to keep them. If they would go to a stainless manifold I wouldn't have an issue because they would last much longer.

Cap'n Morgan · **Posted:** Mon Sep 30, 2013 7:49 am

I think this is a better value for your money. Nice to have a non permanent V-berth, in case you need the extra
seating for guests while entertaining. The mid cabin is plenty spacious for sleeping. The Merc power would be a big plus
in my book.

Link

www.iFourWinns.com

Volvo outdrives

Who is online