1995 Volvo Penta Duo Prop

[TyeeMan]

I'll try this again, I dont see my last thread posted.

The bad news. Long story short, on our way up north Minnesota on our 4th of July vacation we got in an accident, kid stopped short in front of me, semi truck behind me tagged the back of my boat, I hit the kid again.
My boat was a 1989 Lund Tyee with a 3.0L Merc Apha drive.

The potential good news - I found a 1995 Lund Tyee with a 4.3L Vortec and a Volvo Duo Prop drive.

Could some folks that have experience with the Volvo DP drives shed some light on these for me. With out making it a Merc vs. Volvo thing, I'm looking for opinions on one drive vs. the other. And if you could answer some questions for me I'd appriciate it.

- I thought I heard that Volvo had a better shifting "system" in the drive than a Merc, true? What makes it better?
- Is there still an engine alignment that needs to be done on the Volvos? Is the process similar to the Mercs?
- What exactly will I gain with the dual counter rotating props?
- Are parts readily available for these drives?

Thanks for answering my questions, I'm sure I'll have more. And again, please offer your unbiased opinions on the operation, mechanicals and all that fun stuff that about the Volvo/Merc drives.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: 1995 Volvo Penta Duo Prop

With out making it a Merc vs. Volvo thing, I'm looking for opinions on one drive vs. the other.

Ahhhh....You probably ARE making it a Merc Volvo thing by the virtue of your question.....

- I thought I heard that Volvo had a better shifting "system" in the drive than a Merc, true? What makes it better?

Cone clutch. (similar to a Bravo) "Better" than a Dog-clutch (Cobra, Mercruiser Alpha) ........FAR easier and more positive shifting into and out of gear.

- Is there still an engine alignment that needs to be done on the Volvos? Is the process similar to the Mercs?

Same if it's an "SX"

- What exactly will I gain with the dual counter rotating props?

Incredible efficiency and performance!

You'll LOVE it!!

The Volvo Duo-prop is probably one of the best drives on the market.....

- Are parts readily available for these drives?

Yes. If you buy new parts. prices and availability are probably more or less similar......Although I think there might be numerically MORE Mercruiser dealers than Volvo dealers nation wide.......you won't have any problems finding parts for a Volvo unless it's a REALLY old one.....

But....... If you like to do your own work, and scrounge used parts from say, EBAY, you'll find about 3X MORE Mercruiser "stuff" than Volvo "stuff".


Cheers,


Rick

 

[TyeeMan]

Re: 1995 Volvo Penta Duo Prop

Again, it's not my intent to make it a one vs. another thing. But I'm sure it could go that way.
Any way, thanks for the input Rick I appreciate it.
Does the SX model resemble the OMC Cobra? This one does not, so I think it's not an SX. Looks like the models that you can just remove the upper gear case to check the U-joints and do the U-joint bellow. So that's where my question regarding engine alignment comes in.
Please bare with me on not having the model numbers, I just looked at the boat yesterday.

I want to learn as much as I can with this drive so I can do most of my own work.
Thanks to this site that's how learned to do the work on my Mercruiser.

More info and opinions welcome.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: 1995 Volvo Penta Duo Prop

Does the SX model resemble the OMC Cobra? This one does not, so I think it's not an SX.

I think so.........(there's a reason for it.....It was originally designed by OMC!! Volvo bought the whole thing lock/stock & barrel!!) They of course, made lots of good improvements too....

A 1995 model year boat may have a 1994 model year engine and drive.

I don't know exactly which year the SX was offered but if it doesn't look like an SX it may be an earlier model.

 

[Don S]

Re: 1995 Volvo Penta Duo Prop

The first thing we need to do is determine which DP you actually are looking at.
In 95 it's possible to be either.
The DP, is the original Volvo Style, the DP-S kind of looks like an OMC Cobra on the outside, but nothing inside is even close.

Once you determine they type, it really doesn't mean that much. The internals are basically the same. Cone clutch DP internals. They should last the lifetime of the engine with proper maintenance. There is no raw water pump in either the DP or the DP-S as in the Merc Alpha type drive.
The bellows in either can be changed in about an hour. The DP-S has a gimbal bearing the same as Merc. The transom cutout is the same in the DP-S and the Merc or OMC Cobra drives. The Volvo DP is larger.
Both types of Volvo DP drives have hydraulic trim and tilt.
Being cone clutch neither of the drives have a shift interupt system, or a lower shift cable.

 

[TyeeMan]

Re: 1995 Volvo Penta Duo Prop

Thanks guys. I know for fact the drive is a DP. So far I'm happy with what I'm hearing and feel more comfortable in my decision. The one thing that will be new to me will be the closed cooling system and to me the really cool thing will be the raw water pump is on the engine, not in the drive.

-Is there a special muff to run the Volvo on being that the intakes are towards the front of the drive or does one make do with the standard muffs?
- The engines with a closed cooling system run a little warmer than the raw water cooled engines right? When I go on the test drive what temp on the gage should I be looking for?
- Maybe a dumb question but, is there a reason why they run a closed cooling system warmer than a raw water cooled system?
- Oh, and in 95 did the 4.3 vortec H.O. have a counter rotating shaft?
- Is there still an engine alignment process with the Volvo DP drives?

Thanks again!!

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: 1995 Volvo Penta Duo Prop

- The engines with a closed cooling system run a little warmer than the raw water cooled engines right? When I go on the test drive what temp on the gage should I be looking for?

Don't panic if you see 170 or even 180.

Maybe a dumb question but, is there a reason why they run a closed cooling system warmer than a raw water cooled system?

That is more a side benefit instead of the REAL reason...... It's mainly to keep the SALT WATER out of the engine and in full systems, the exhaust manifolds!

Everything lasts longer when not exposed to salt water....


Don is going to have to field those other questions!!



Make sure your "test" is a lake test!

Come back and tell us how it went!!

 

[TyeeMan]

Re: 1995 Volvo Penta Duo Prop

Thanks again. It'll be all of next Saturday by the time I meet the guy for a test drive, , at the lake.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: 1995 Volvo Penta Duo Prop

Don will probably have other suggested inspections for the DP drive,

I would want to see what the engine oil & drive oil looks like (after running on the lake for an hour or so), and even possibly pay a Volvo Penta dealer to do a "pre-buy" inspection.... Might be the best couple hundred bucks you ever spend!

You might also look for soft spots in the floor and transom etc.....15 year old boats are prime for rot in many places.....


Good luck!!

Rick