Volvo Penta at Sterndrives.Com

Many boat manufacturers have choosen Volvo as their source of power.
Swedish design is simple and tough.
So then... what IS the REAL deal behind the Volvo Drive?
It's expensive for one thing! A typical Volvo Engine Package sells for an aditional $1,000 to $1,500 more than it's closest competition.
Many "old-timers" and hard-core Volvo fans believe the cost is justified.
My personal opinion is this... Every manufacturer has it's strong points and weak points. I would be happy to own a Volvo Powered boat. I would be just as happy to own a Mercruiser Powered boat as well!

Volvo uses the clutch-cone shifting in the upper unit. This is a great system and expains why Mercruiser uses a similiar system in the Bravo Drive.
Older Volvo drives such as the 270 Aquamatic only had a "tilt" system and could not be "trimmed out" while running. I considered this to be "clunky" performance but soon Volvo came out with the "trimmable" Volvo 280 Aquamatic.
The older "tilt-only" systems had their problems. Any growth on the drive shift-lock components would allow the drive to "kick-up" when shifted into reverse. Keeping the shift rod assembly in good working condition meant constant cleaning and adjusting.
The 270 and 280 Aquamatics are very tough units but because of this, the housings are larger and not as streamlined as some drive units. This design slightly reduced the boats performance as far as speed is concerned.
Water in the drive oil is a common problem with the 270 and 280 units.
The seal that was used at the shift lever was not doing its job. As a result, Volvo has changed the seal design a couple of times. The newer seal seems to work well.

Galvanic corrosion can be a damaging problem with any drive. Volvo reccommends that a one inch boarder of no paint be left around the transom assembly edges. This is to prevent the copper in most bottom paints from reacting with the aluminum drive housings.

Omc SternDrive's are no longer made. OMC Sterndrive Division has sold out to Volvo. This explains the newer style Volvo "look".
Volvo has made the SX and the DPX units by using some OMC's parts from the Cobra and some of the origional Volvo Aquamatic parts.
As with all Volvo drives... the water pump is NOT located in the drive. The raw water pump is either crank mounted or belt driven and servicable from inside the boat. Kinda neat if your at sea and need to rebuild a water pump.