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1978 Volvo IO Information

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searay57

Contributing Member
"A family member offered me a

"A family member offered me a free 1978 bayliner victoria with a single I/O. From the research i have done there is a 75% chance it has a volvo penta sterndrive system. I am going to look at it tommorow so i will know for sure. I am completly unfamilar with volvo, after getting stuck with a boat that had omc stringer 800 I swore i would never own any thing but mercruiser again and dont want to get stuck with an I/O that breaks easily and is hard to get parts for and very expensive if you can find the parts.
Any info you can give me about late 70's volvo would be great ie.. common problems, reliability, repar cost, parts availability, and if this I/O setup is a deal breaker.
thank you"
 
"those mid 70's Volvo Pent

"those mid 70's Volvo Pentas are nothing to be worried about. Most would consider the VP drive superior to Mercruiser.
Parts for the drive are available, and it probably has a common Chevy engine.

Having a VP drive opens up the possibility of installing a Duoprop lower unit (bolt on) and that would be the sweetest thing on a big heavy Vic with a little 350 Chevy...."
 
"thanks hystat,
the boat doe

"thanks hystat,
the boat does have a chevy small block, do you know any online places to buy parts online. I do all my boat repairs myself. I am triing to do as much research before I look at the boat tomorrow. I am happy to hear the volvos are dependdable but I am still a bit leary on buying parts."
 
"When properly maintained, the

"When properly maintained, the only "repair items" are periodic replavement of the boots and making sure that the seals don't let go an you end up with water in the drive oil (an easy thing to check..just check the dip stick!) I've seen drives from that era go for DECADES on nothing more than replacement of the bellows every 3 to 4 years and an annual change of the oil and zincs. You should probably replace the "water elbow" (and its seal) on the drive itself and its hose every other bellows replacement. If you do this and avoid hitting anything "at speed" or in reverse the drive will last a looong time..."
 
"hystat,
please tell me more

"hystat,
please tell me more about this duoprp bolt on.
also what is this drive called?
thanks for the info."
 
"I can personally attest to th

"I can personally attest to the longevity of a VP outdrive. The model 270 drive I have on my 1972 I/O continues to work like a charm. It probably has close to 2000 working hours on it now and it's never had any problems. As for maintenace over the years, an oil change every 1-2 seasons, a few new bellows and hoses, and a new set of u-joints is all."
 
"See your other thread: } [ur

"See your other thread: } http://www.marineengine.com/discus/messages/12486/249936.shtml

NOTE: What I am seeing more of on the older V/P transmissions (upper units), is that the main drive gear bearings are showing signs of wear.
IMO, these take the most load in these transmissions.

When you take one down for cross or seal replacement, press the drive gear out of the bearing box (easy to do.... don't change shimming just yet) and inspect the bearings.

(These are a standard bearing that can be purchased from most any good bearing supplier.)

If questionalbe, replace the bearings, set rolling torque value (small shims in the seal washer) and change the shimming at the bearing box and clamping collar for back-lash and clamping collar/case clearance.

Enjoy the drive for another 2,000 hours.

."
 
"I agree with Bob!!! I have ha

"I agree with Bob!!! I have had my 270 for 3 years!!!! used, and in salt.......VERY GOOD Unit!"
 
"Fellow Boaters,
I own a 198

"Fellow Boaters,
I own a 1980 Bayliner 2350 Monterey Command Bridge. I seem to be having an issue with the tilt mechanism. Was this unit intended to be a tilt/trim unit or just for tilt? If I tilt the outdrive up any at all and then engage in forward drive the outdrive SLAMS down hard. Any Ideas? Also if the unit is purely used to tilt the outdrive up for trailering, what is the solution for trim? Seems like a poor design to build an outdrive without trim control????
Thanks to ALL!
fish_stix"
 
"If the lift mechanism is elec

"If the lift mechanism is electrical, then it is a tilt mechanism that was never intended to be used as trim (except for beaching at very, very slow speeds). I would not be surprised if you have ruined the worm gear by atempting to use it as trim device with the boat under power.

I don't think it is a poor design. Rather, I think you should have read the instructions rather than assuming that all AQ units had power trim like Merscruisers. Most of the old AQ series drives did not have power trim, as at the time those units were made (late 60s to early 80s) there need for power trim was not there. Power trim was introduced later, when there was a demand for it.

I also see this is your first post. Next time you need to ask a question, please keep in mind it is customary to start a new topic rather than posting your question on another thread (unless, of course, the thread is related to your question).
happy.gif
"
 
"Way back, when the earth was

"Way back, when the earth was still cooling, Volvo Penta and Mercruiser each had something that the other wanted.
Volvo had the Cone Clutch.... M/C had the patent on the trim cylinder design.
Volvo eventually gained the rights to use their own first gen Power Trim drive design that did not infringe upon copy rights!
M/C still wanted the Cone Clutch in order to do their version of a Duo Prop drive. (The upper unit C/C allows the vertical shaft to reverse direction)

Mean while (200/250/270/280/275/285).... Volvo's best success was to NOT have a P/T (although they tried several methods) and rely on trim tabs and a three position trim adjustment via the "set pin"..... and it works for the most part.

So, if you do not power up while the drive is lifted, these are fine.
It's when you power up with the drive tilted, when the Vice Rod becomes bent.
The worm drive is part of the clutch system..... so these seldom become damaged if you do this.
Use caution..... use your Trim Tabs if so equipped.
Or replace your drive with a Hydraulic Tilt/Trim 290 and above model."
 
"As someone who's first bo

"As someone who's first boat had a 100 drive and has since owned two boats with 200 series drive and a boat with twin MERCS my experience is...

1) All my Volvo powered hulls ran well if I picked the correct pin location.
2) My Merc powered hull... Well you could play with the trim, but in reality there was one position tht really worked best.
3) What I have seen on OTHER boats...
a)folks play with the trim in an attempt to eek a bit better acceleration out of the boat and then reset it to the position that gives them the best speed.---or--
b) Drive around with the drive trimmed too far out and waste gas making roostertails.

From a marine engineering standpoint... for a well balanced boat, drive should be set so that the prop shaft is parallel to the boat's bottom.
On a well designed hull and unless you are looking for that last bit of aceleration, a fixed location works just fine.
Trim tabs solve most other hull issues, far more cheaply and reliably. I put tabs on my 23 ft Lancer and almost never drop them from their full up position unless I have more than 4 people on the boat. Drive pin is in the center position.


Just my opinion..."
 
"El Pescador - Thanks for the

"El Pescador - Thanks for the info. I appreciate your wisdom. Also Thanks for the tip on starting another thread. I'm a newbie
happy.gif
"
 
"Ricardo,
You have brought a

"Ricardo,
You have brought a lot of information to the table that I never knew! Thank You Very Much!
Best Regards,
Fish Stix"
 
"Sand Kicker,
I think the tr

"Sand Kicker,
I think the trim tabs will be my best solution. Thank you so much for your input! I will also have to test out the pin location to find the sweet spot! Thanks Again!
Best Regards,
Fish Stix"
 
"RE: "Way back, when the e

"RE: "Way back, when the earth was still cooling, Volvo Penta and Mercruiser each had something that the other wanted..."

Read an interesting story that the guy who came up with the design of the Volvo drive actually worked for Mercruser. As the story goes old man Kiekaffer did not at all like the idea of a "stern drive" and the engineer turned his design over to his buddy, Jim Wynn, to develop. Jim Wynn got the attention of Volvo when he ordered a couple of engines to put in front of the drives. Eventually, Kiekaffer came to his senses and started to develop his own version and unbenonst to him put the same engineer to work on his own drive who actually designed what became to Volvo.

http://www.chris-craft.org/discussion/viewtopic.php?start=15&t=1351

In a further oddity... Jim Wynn was an ocean racer who didn't like the design of Hunt's original Deep V and refined it. Hunt was never able to patent the Deep V since he filed the patent too late. But Jim was able to get a patent and that patent number is on the hull of ChrisCraft Lancers.

Walter... You're welcome!"
 
"Further my post about Volvo/M

"Further my post about Volvo/Merc drives and hull performance.

I should point out that all 4 of my power boats were deep V cuddy cabins ranging from 18 to 25 ft LOA (real length, not the bogus current system)"
 
The 270 and the 280 drives are

The 270 and the 280 drives are fantastic very few problems compared to an alpha mercruiser box.
I would have the volvo over a mercruiser any day
 
"Jamie, I agree. The later AQ

"Jamie, I agree. The later AQ series drives are even a little better design. The DP C is among my favorite.

I know a man who owns a marine salvage yard. He buys/sells good used OMC, Mercruiser and Volvo Penta parts.... occasionally a BMW drive will show up and an array of I/B transmissionsm, etc.
Of all the parts that he sells, his "Bread & Butter" is OMC and Mercruiser parts.
The supply and demand dictates the market for him. If they don't break.... the parts don't sell."
 
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