Volvo penta vs. mercruiser

[Bigskyboat]

Volvo penta vs. mercruiser. Pluses and minuses of both. Is one superior?

 

[skydiveD30571]

Short answer: Whichever one was maintained better.

Volvo pros: Most say it's easier to work on, impeller is mounted on engine, cone cluth
Volvo cons: Parts and mechanics are harder to find and usually cost more

Merc pros: Parts and mechanics are easily found and cheaper, aftermarket drives from other companies
Merc cons: impeller mounted inside drive, dog clutch (assuming non-bravo drive)

 

[bruceb58]

If its between a Volvo Penta and a Mercruiser Alpha, no brainer...Volvo is better because of the cone clutch.

 

[Scott Danforth]

to add to above, for the most part, both us GM motors, however recently Mercruiser started making their own block and heads again.

 

[H20Rat]

The cone clutch is nice because it shifts so well, but... There honestly isn't anything wrong with a good solid clunk of an alpha kicking into gear! I'll take the relatively cheap cost of replacing an alpha and live with a clunk.

 

[thumpar]

The Merc Bravo drive has the cone clutch and engine driven. I have had an Alpha and a Bravo and prefer the smoothness of the Bravo but there is nothing wrong with the Alpha.

 

[Lou C]

When it comes to replacement costs the Bravo is comparable to the Volvo cost wise. If all you see are Merc shops where u live then you'd be happen with a Merc. I prefer the OMC Cobra vs the Alpha but am able to do most of my own work and can still get most parts. So it's what works for you where you are...

 

[bruceb58]

I prefer the OMC Cobra vs the Alpha but am able to do most of my own work and can still get most parts.

Wow...you can't be serious. I owned a Cobra and did my own work too but no way would I suggest buying one. I am glad I got rid of mine.

 

[thumpar]

Wow...you can't be serious. I owned a Cobra and did my own work too but no way would I suggest buying one. I am glad I got rid of mine.

There are people that like the 470 too though.

For me when I got mine it was because almost all boats around here are merc. My grandpa had a Volvo and probably would have leaned that way if all else was equal.

 

[Lou C]

Wow...you can't be serious. I owned a Cobra and did my own work too but no way would I suggest buying one. I am glad I got rid of mine.

Actually I am serious Bruce.While I would not suggest that someone should buy one in preference to a Merc or Volvo, I find the Cobra easier to work on than the Merc Alpha and I think is better built in a number of areas, bigger gears, holds more oil, easier to replace the common maintenance items like the bellows and impeller and not prone to the worn out bushing and leaks around the steering shafts that the Merc Alpha and Bravo both suffer from. The transom assembly on the Cobra is higher quality and you rarely hear of one that has had the problems of the Merc drives. As long as I can get parts I'm keeping it. When I can't I'll convert it to a Volvo SX. And this is on a boat that did not sit on a trailer when not in use. It has been on a mooring in salt water for 15 seasons. Probably the hardest use that an I/O boat will get.

 

[Lou C]

No Title

here you go 15 years salt water mooring....
2 bellows, one gimble bearing, 3 sets of exhaust manifolds, 2 carb rebuilds, a few seal replacements, no internal drive repairs at all, no need to change shift cable, still has drag within OMC specs, shifts with 2 fingers.

 

[bruceb58]

This thread is about buying a Mercruiser or a Volvo so I am assuming its someone buying a used boat. No way I would buy a Out of business Marine Company product at this point.

 

[JustJason]

Comparing Merc to Volvo is like comparing Chevy to Ford. The discussion will go on forever and nothing substantive will come from it. Instead OP, ask about a specific model Mercruiser engine and compare that to a specific model Volvo. (Not all Volvo's are great, especially the ford based Volvos)

 

[Bigskyboat]

Thanks for all the input. I actually already own the boat, I don't know a whole lot, just trying to get some of the basics down. It was just a question I had and wanted to ask, not that I would get rid of my boat one way or the other. I wanted to hear people's opinions on them.

 

[flipbro]

Whats on the boat you own?

 

[Bigskyboat]

It's the Volvo penta 3.0

 

[HT32BSX115]

Volvo penta vs. mercruiser. Pluses and minuses of both. Is one superior?

I asked that same question when I pulled the OMG 460 King Kobra out of my 87 FourWinns.

I considered getting a complete brand new Volvo 454/SX and a new Mercruiser 454 Bravo and the brand new prices were similar. (about $25k, + install)

I also did a several week search for used complete packages (300+ hp, Volvo and Mercruiser)

What I found in the Seattle Puget Sound Area was several complete Mercruiser 5.7L, 7.4L, 8.1L Bravo I, II and III packages ranging from $5000-$8500 and with approx 80-500hrs, Salt and fresh-water etc

I found NO complete Volvo Penta engine/drive packages while I was looking....Zero, Zip, NADA.

Since I like to do my own work, I use Ebay to locate a LOT of used and new parts................ I did a search to see what's available and found that generally, at any given time, there was approx 3 times MORE Mercruiser engines, drives, drive parts and other parts on EBAY than Volvo.

Today, Right now, a "Volvo" search in Boat Parts on EBAY returns 24,332 Volvo "items"

The same search for "Mercruiser" in Boats Parts right now produced 103,862 Items

Today, that's better than 4:1 Mercruiser "stuff" over Volvo "stuff"

Maybe Volvos never "break".... but if you break something Volvo by accident etc, you might have to buy it from a dealer (for big bucks).............. where OTOH, you might be able to find a similar specific Mercruiser part easily (for a LOT less $$$ [in good-used condx])

I opted to go with a Mercruiser 7.4L + Bravo III combo that came out of a boat that had a tree fall on it in someones back yard. It only had 120hrs on since new.

It was a "swinging" deal! I installed it myself!

Since I looked for Volvo first, had I found a big-block Volvo and Duoprop I probably would have bought it.

Knowing what I know now, if I was repowering any boat, with a used engine and drive, I would look for Mercruiser.

Good luck!

Rick


If you're just asking the "Ford Vs Chevie" question. I don't think there's much difference. I certainly wouldn't swap out one for the other.

I would (and did) however pull out everything OMC and replace it with either if I could find a complete package..

 

[HorizonblueDK]

Volvo vs. Mercruiser, the discussion that never ends, I guess..... Both have pros and cons.

Bellow change:
Quite a task on a Mercruiser Alpha one, better on a Volvo 280/290 series, easiest on the Volvo SX drive

Impeller change:
With a Mercruiser Alpha one, it is required that the boat is on dry land and the outdrive taken apart. On a Volvo you can remove the lid on the pump on the engine and replace the impeller. Mercruiser Bravo also have the raw water pump mounted on the engine.

Powertrim cylinder service:
On the Volvo 290, the cylinders are difficult to remove, since a couple of pins must be removed from inside the transom. Easy on the SX and Mercruiser drives. Volvo 280 and earlier drives don't have powertrim(with a few exceptions)

Clutch:
Engaging a Mercruiser Alpha one = DADADADA CLUNK! Engaging a Volvo = umpf or CLUNCK! Bravo = umpf
If the dog clutch on the Alpha One is worn, the DADADA is hard to avoid, but otherwise a quick and firm movement of the throttle lever greatly reduces the terrible sound. The Alpha One has a switch whitch cuts the ignition, for easier change into neutral, this must be accuratly adjusted, otherwise gearchange can result in a stalling engine or hard shifting.

Outdrive oil:
Newer Alpha Ones has a small transparent oil tank inside the boat, where oil for the outdrive can be monitored - clever. Volvos don't have that.

Drive rotation:
Volvo can rotate either direction, just by moving a lever in the outdrive, Mercruiser needs another lowerunit if you want counter rotation.


That said, I prefer Volvo......

 

[jimmbo]

I've had a Volvo SX drive for 15 yrs, 600+ hours with zero troubles with the outdrive

My uncle had an 800 stringer drive. There was a nightmare drive

 

[Scott06]

I think both are very durable with some care and maintenance. Similar to above I had a 1990 alpha gen 1 that lasted 25 years (approx 800 hrs) with an input shaft seal and yoke, two impellers, two gimbal bearings, one bellows change/ set of ujoints, and annual gear lube changes. For that the clunk shifting doesn't bother me.

My buddies with VP have had similar success.

I do like the lube reservoir on my newer gen II as you will have warning before the upper gearset runs dry if a seal leaks, gen one I'd crack the lube fill and drain screw a couple times a season to check for water and level