volvo outdrive

[krowey]

i understand that during the mid 90's, that omc and volvo were working together and then omc went out of business. my question is are the mid and later 90 volvo outdrives bullet proof and void of all the problems that were associated with the cobra's? i'm concerned about the gear and shifting problems with the older cobra's and wanted to make sure the late 90's volvo outdrives didn't have any of the same issues. i've searched and found some good information on here and i'm still not really clear and wanted to make sure
before i head on a 14 hour round trip to look at a 97 reinell with a 4.3/volvo , very clean boat, owned by a marine mechanic. just needing some good opions and advice, hoping dons will chime in. thank you, korey

 

[zbnutcase]

Re: volvo outdrive

Yes the mid-90s and newer SX drives are very bulletproof, combining the transom shield of the Cobra(the best part of 'em!) with the Volvo cone clutch shifting in a new tough case. AWESOME drives, in my opinion, maybe the best drive ever made to date. The only real downfall is parts prices compared to Mercruiser, but that being said, they consume far less of them so maybe it's a wash.

 

[Don S]

Re: volvo outdrive

Are they bullet proof, NO, no drive is, they still need maintenance.
Do they suffer the ills of the dog clutch Cobra. No, they have the insides of a Volvo, the outside looks like a Cobra. The internals aren't even close to being equal.
The SX/DP-S drives are as dependable as the older 290, SP, and DP drives. Just a different outside, and now with the same cutout in the transom as Mercruiser and the Cobra drives.
Personally, I would take the SX over any Mercruiser drive, including the Bravo single prop drives. If it's a DP drive, the it's better than a Bravo 3 in a lot of ways.

If you look at some Volvo powered boats for 06/07 and they have the SX-A or DPS-A drives. I would avoid them till they fix that stupid trim pump design failure.

 

[zbnutcase]

Re: volvo outdrive

I was talking engineering wise, not from a maintenance standpoint, regular servicing IS required on any drive, and if you neglect it on a Volvo, the wallet hurts worse than if its a Merc!

 

[krowey]

Re: volvo outdrive

thanks guys, i really value your oppions and i'm going to assume that the outdrive in question is an sx. you have helped solve a big headache and gave me some peace of mind. i guess now all the questions are done i'm off for the boat. thank you, korey