www.iFourWinns.com

I am looking at a 2004 298 Vista. It has XPD drives. From what I read, the XPD drives were bad. They only made them from 2004-2008. Was the problem with the XPD drives mostly with bigger boats or smaller boats? I know that VP has made a couple different modifications to the bellows. The owner and the broker said that this boat has had no issues. I guess my question is, does anyone have a FW's with and XPD drive that hasn't had any issues. Has anyone swapped out outdrives? I now that everyone says to run from these drives but if they truely haven't had any issues with the drive, I am wondering if the drives are okay.

Let me know your thoughts and Thanks in advance.

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2004 268 Vista "Satisfy My Sol"

Thought I would chime in before all the haters show up, I was concerned with our drives 5 years ago when we bought our 328, my mechanic looked over everything and said it was fine, the bellows had been replaced as the factory had directed them to back when VP discovered the issues. We boat a lot, many hundreds of miles each season cruising the great lakes. Our boat has never given us any problems at all and I don't think about the drives anymore. Many people will post about running from the drives and how bad of an idea it is to be looking at one with the drives. Personally I would not think twice about the boat if you like it and your mechanic/surveyor says everything checks out. From my experience looking into the issues your only hearing the horror stories and you don't hear from the people that have no issues. There are a few boats in our marina with the drives and everyone is satisfied. Good luck.

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Current Boat - '04 328 Vista "Be As You Are"

Previous Boats
'04 268 Vista
'97 238 Vista
'94 210 Marada
'88 175 Sunbird

Erie Cruiser -- Thanks for the reply. Do you change the bellows every year? Or do you run boat multiple season between servicing the out drive (bellows, gimbel joint, etc.). I have a 2004 268 Vista with a Volvo 5.7 engine. I don't think twice about the outdrive or the engine. This particular boat has two 5.0 VP engines with the XDP outdrives. I only average about 50 hours per year on the Cheseapeake Bay.

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2004 268 Vista "Satisfy My Sol"

For me, it wasn't worth the added risk. I went from an '04 268 to an '08 318 and just crossed XDP equipped boats off my list.

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2007 358 T-5.7GXi IB
Previous Boats
'08 H240, '08 V318, '04 268, '04 225

As I have read info similar to this

http://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-for ... drive.html

Maybe the previous owner didn't over steer, didn't run trimmed up? I bought a Waverunner once with similar engineering issues. The exhaust valves would drop into the piston and destroy the bottom half of the engine. Oil lines would pop off and destroy the engine. In line fuel filters in the carbs would clog, run lean and destroy the engine. There was a few more, but you get the point. If I would of known it before hand, I would of avoided it like the plague....

Good luck, I hope more people get on here and give first hand experience, but I would google XPD Volvo Penta drive and read as much as you can....

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Current:
2000 Sea Ray 380 Sundancer "still Livin the Dream"

Past
2002 268 Vista 5.7 GXI "Livin' the Dream"
1996 Rinker 192 Captiva. "The Simple Life"
1999 Yamaha XLL 1200 Waverunner.
1976 Mercury Marquis tri hull 120 hp

I'm sure you will read a lot about the XPD drives. I have never had one, so I can't give any experience.

Having read lots of forum posts, I see 70-80% of posters say "run away", but others saying "I have had good experience..."

So if you decide to get them, it is an opportunity to get a lot of boat for a lot less money. The resale values of the XPD drives are very low, so if you buy at the right price that can be to your benefit. Of course when you sell the boat you will have the same issue...unless you are the one who replaces the drives with DP's or SX's. If you replace them, you might get 2/3's of your upgrade money back at resale time if you got a great deal to begin with.

Ray

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"Knot Easy" 2000 Horizon 240 Volvo 5.7GS /SX
tow: 2017 Honda PILOT EXL-AWD
prev. boats:
'87 Chaparral 198CXL 4.3 OMC Cobra
'69 Jetstar 16ft Ski Boat, 115hp Yamaha
'68 Aluminum Jon Boat, 3hp Sears
'64 Water Wings

It's a great price. This boat has had one owner and I am hoping to talk to the mechanic of the boat. It's a 20K gamble. I am looking at another 298 Vista that has "regular" drives but has 700 hours on the engines (5.0's). I am still very undecided. I've Google the XDP drives and it has all been very negative. There have been some folks that haven't had any issues. It seems that boats that have large block engines seem to have issues. Of course, this could be me rationalizing the issue because the price is so low. Good point about the resell Ray. On the bright side, I get to think about boating during the Winter months.

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2004 268 Vista "Satisfy My Sol"

I bought my 2007 358 as a former boat with XPD drives. The owner had replaced them with Ocean X drives 3 years ago. I got a really great deal on her out of New York.

So use the drive history to get a great deal. I'm sure when it comes time to move on I'll need that buffer to keep me whole.

Just to follow up:


Volvo has determined that bellows failures are most likely to occur in heavy boats equipped with twin 5.70SXi or 8.10Si XDP sterndrives with XXP TSKtransom shield Spec Numbers 3869293,3869297, 3869347, 3869348, 3886856,3886857 may experience bellows failures. - See more at: http://www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overvi ... jjKT8.dpuf

the majority of complaints outline concerns related to 2006 and 2007 models, including about 2,400 boats with 5.7-liter and 8.1-liter engines equipped with XDP outdrives. - See more at: http://www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overvi ... jjKT8.dpuf

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2004 268 Vista "Satisfy My Sol"

Short explanation... Run away. 5.0L or not.
If you have ever spoken with someone whom has been through this nightmare, no amount of Google searches would convince
me to buy a boat with these drives, nor recommend one to anyone on earth. Often, a "great deal" is not what it seems.

Good Luck, you will need it.

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

This is one of those situations where you know the bad going in. Why with all the good used bosts out there would you want to deal with these potential headaches. Either you spend a fair amount to fix the XPD and still have poor resale or change the drives over to the SX or Ocean Series and spend a fortune doing that. Neither option makes sense if you know all this going in.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Lou, there is one more option, they buy the boat and have no problems. su2, A little more information about the resale value that everyone is mentioning, we have been looking at 378's for a couple years and have gotten many quotes on our 328, the dealers I have dealt with have no problems giving us full value on our 328, I have asked each and every one about the resale value and they say it is no problem for them. I'm sure I will get beat up for posting this but I feel you should be hearing from someone that actually owns a boat with the drives.

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Current Boat - '04 328 Vista "Be As You Are"

Previous Boats
'04 268 Vista
'97 238 Vista
'94 210 Marada
'88 175 Sunbird

I would not doubt that there are people who have had no trouble. The reality is that Volvo discontinued these drives and sooner or later they will start discontinuing certain parts.
Since I've owned an OMC Cobra for 15 years I am familiar with this whole problem.
The reputation is not so good, no one wants to buy it; mechanics don't want to work on it,certain parts become NLA. Have I had trouble with the Cobra? No it's been excellent and held up better than many Mercs and some Volvos in a harsh salt water environment.
But when it comes to I/O boats with their maintenance intensive design vs an outboard I would always advise buyers to get a boat with the most popular easy to get service for drivetrain. Not an orphan.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

I have a 2005 268 with a 5.7 OSXi. I change the bellows every two years. Never had a bit of trouble. Would I be happier if Volvo had not discontinued the model - YES. Will I replace the outdrive - Not now, maybe not ever. I will continue to use the boat and continue preventive maintenance.