Info Needed for old Volvo I/O set up

Hey guys new to forum finally got my first boat!! & need help!! Looking for all the info I can find on this old set up I?m going to start working on. It?s a Volvo 170 straight 6 triple carb w/ Volvo 270 outboard. how are these engines and outdrives are they a good set up can I still find parts for them, what are the typical fall outs and major problems ect ect if this motors blown what can I bolt up to it with out over torqing and shredding the gears. All that good stuff. Thank you all info comments ECT welcome I added a link in my sig. to my post in the resto forum (I hope I did it right) check it out maybe you can help me out with info on the boat itself too thanks again

Re: Info Needed for volo I/o set up

Re: Info Needed for volo I/o set up

Sounds like you've got your work cut out for you. Not too many of those old 6 cylinders still running. Tuneup parts as well as impellers, partial carb kits, and gaskets are available at reasonable prices. Major engine parts are another matter. The outdrive is very rugged with many still going strong and plenty of info right here on the forum.

Based on your other posts, it sounds like you're still in the period of discovery and trying to figure out just what you have and where to start. As those of us with older boats have found out, you don't know anything about the condition of anything on the boat unless you completely check out every component. Be careful about how much money you spend until you know the condition of all the mechanicals. Would be rough fixing up the hull only to find out the engine is shot and vice versa.

Not trying to discourage you but you should be aware that you're rolling the dice at the start. There will be days you'll wish you had a few sticks of dynamite to throw in the #@*%! boat and other days that you'll be glad you didn't. I'd start with the engine to get it running or see if it's worth repairing and go from there. I'd also check the outdrive right away for water.

In my area, the Volvo dealers weren't much help as they didn't want to work on the older stuff but they may know someone who can. Get manuals and study, look, and touch to get a feel of how the systems work. iboats is also an authorized VP store so start getting familiar with how to identify your engine and outdrive and the parts schematics. You'll find that there are also other sites with parts schematics that are a big help also.

The forum also has a feature at the bottom of the page that shows similar threads. That can be a huge help.

Good luck and don't be afraid to ask for help and read, read, read, the other posts.

Re: Info Needed for volo I/o set up

Re: Info Needed for volo I/o set up

Ol' Mopar,

As long as that engine hasn't overheated, and compression/oil pressure look good it should run fine.
The Achilles heal to that engine is when it overheats it usually warps the head, so be sure you replace the impeller in the sea water pump before you run her much or take it out. A decent amount of parts are still available from VP (Volvo penta), but at a cost (as an example,the circulating water pump is $900). Other mechanical parts needed may be found cheaper as that engine was shared with the Volvo 164 model car back in the late 60's to late 70's. Tune-up parts are still readily available from both VP and the aftermarket (sierra), along with gaskets you may need to rebuild the fuel pump (VP), and carburetors (VP, sierra, Mallory). If you need to touch the carbs, you will need to get your hands on a Unisync tool that will help you sync the carburetors at idle.

Volvo had 4 cylinder engines very similar to the 170 that can be slipped in its place along with a couple of newer 4 cylinders. Keep in mind an engine change would require most of that engines associated parts to be swapped with it, along with the possibility that the outdrive may need to be changed to a drive with a different final ratio to accommodate the new engines power band.

Personally I would work with what you have. As long as shes a runner and doesn't need much work its a decent engine. We have been running one since 1988, and the only major issue we have had with it is when it did overheat. That was courtesy of a chipmunk dropping an acorn down one of the water tubes to the sea water pump after the filter screen cover was left off during the winter (this is when my cousin did maintenance to his boat, not me :facepalm:). We had to pull the head and have it machined, but all has been fine since. Good luck, and feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Re: Info Needed for volo I/o set up

Re: Info Needed for volo I/o set up

Bubba1235~ yea getting the parts is getting my?? As for the work I don?t plan on paying someone to do anything unless I can?t. I am pretty mechanically inclined and do all my own work on all my vehicles with the exception of tranny guts, anything I don?t know or cant figure out is where all the research comes in, and help from guys in forums lol

PiratePast40~ yes I?ve got a ton of work in front of me in all areas. I just got it a few days ago now just got it cleaned she was really nasty so wanted to see what was under all that grime. So you?re exactly right. I am just starting on the process of finding out what I've got, from my experience you can get allot more info from great guys on forums then you can at shops so I am starting here doing the research. I don?t plan on spending any money at all till I go through everything completely starting with the basics pulling the front deck see what?s its like underneath condition of stringers from the front, basics on the engine compression check ECT. I wont be discouraged by bad info all info is good info either way. This buy was a roll of the dice but for the price I got it for ehhh no bigy lol. The only thing I know so far is that the outdrive tilt does go up and down. I will go and get the manuals for as much as I can when I get past the basics that I already know about engines and what help I can find here. The outdrive will be new to me so looking forward to the gain in experience. With the motor I went ahead and bought it because I knew that being the outdrive was the 270 rather then the 170. I figured that I could drop in a different engine figuring this one is probably shot. My buddy put a 350 Chevy in his 22'er but I'm not sure how long it would last with that much torque being put to it. I will be searching the site for all the info I can find. Any links would be greatly appreciated, thank you much for the info so far looking forward to more, and will ask any qs that come up. I will grab the info off the block and dive prolly today, thanks again.

Re: Info Needed for volo I/o set up

Re: Info Needed for volo I/o set up

Ol'Mopar,

If your going to re-power the boat, the best bet would be to get a donor boat with that drive set up to accommodate a V8. Finding all the parts other wise (individually) would be more expensive and time consuming. The current drive it self is the wrong lower unit gear ratio (1.89:1) to run behind a V8. You will need the correct V8 lower unit (1.61:1) from a 270/280 drive. You will need all the parts to properly exhaust a V8 through the drive (unless you do through-hull). You will need V8 manifolds, V8 cooling system parts, and all the U.S.C.G. electricals required to run a V8. You will need the motor mounts for a GM V8 along with the GM V8 flywheel cover and drive plate. There is probably more I'm missing, but I think you get the jist of it...

Re: Info Needed for volo I/o set up

Re: Info Needed for volo I/o set up

RogersJetboat454~ WOW man thanks for all the great info! See guys like you are why I go straight to a forum with any new project that I don?t know much about. You sound like you definitely know your stuff like the back of your hand that?s awesome.
Yes I will be working with what I got before I make the call to do a motor swap, but that info off the bat is great to have.
I just got the info off the block and did what you do first with an unknown engine. Pull the plugs shot some oil down the whole to prevent any cylinder wall scaring and rotated it through all six cylinders so she spins nice and free. I gave each plug a twist so I could here the compression escape and it sounded pretty good. Next would be to check the valves and then to an actual compression check. What would the good range of them be??

So here?s the info: Volvo Aq 170A/270T B30 block #s 49 6957 17097 with the 4-2 head?off the label I got the hot setting that reads both intake and exhaust to be set at .020. the cold setting was worn off from my experience cold is a few .000 larger but I really don?t want to guess would you have that info as well as the combination and set up for the valves in relation to the cam or can point me in the right direction to find the info. I really need to go find a book for her if there is one available.

There is already a new impeller in the sea water pump, so that?s a plus but the P.O didn?t even bother to put the face back on so I've got to find the screws to fit that and do a full tune up before ill try to fire. The water pump being $900 bucks is a bummer so ill check the rest of everything else out before I cough up for that lol.

Re: Info Needed for volo I/o set up

Re: Info Needed for volo I/o set up

Ol'Mopar,
Off hand I couldn't tell you the rocker arm clearance, my manual is hibernating in Maine where the boat lives . Maybe one of the other guys can chime in with the clearance setting and crank positions to set them at. I wouldn't fuss with the clearance much yet. I would see if she has decent compression and runs then worry about the little details. Books should be available on e-bay and other places. A factory manual would be best, but you may be able to get by with a Seloc manual for basic settings.

I brought up the price of the water pump as an example of how "proud" VP is of their parts. Can't really blame them, as this engine is now 4 decades old, and that water pump is a one-off design strictly for marine use. You may not need one at all, but would be worth checking the bearing feel and see if it has any leaks.

The screws for the sea water pump should be easily replaced by brass or stainless screws (don't know the thread count). In my less graceful years (teenager) I broke a couple of the factory brass screws that hold the pump together :facepalm:. A trip to the local hardware store was all we needed to find a suitable replacement.

Re: Info Needed for volo I/o set up

Re: Info Needed for volo I/o set up

Here are link to download the OEM service manuals for your engine and outdrive.
A word of advise, next time you decide to start a project boat, might want to post what you are looking to buy BEFORE you buy it, instead of after. Might save you a lot of unnecessary expense.

Engine manual http://www.4shared.com/file/59747156/6c065c44/AQ130_thru_170_Serv_Man.html
Drive manual http://www.4shared.com/file/51930153/3a7e6375/270_Outdrive_service_manual.html

Re: Info Needed for volo I/o set up

Re: Info Needed for volo I/o set up

And better hope you don't need an exhaust manifold $3K+ If you can find an NOS one

Re: Info Needed for old Volvo I/O set up

RogersJetboat454~
Gotcha. Hope your not far away from where the boat lives makes it hard for an impromptu trip out huh but, from the looks of it you got a bigger n better toy anyway. Don sent me link to the fsm?s so I?m set on that score now, weird its states that clearances are set at.020 both hot and cold. I was always taught that setting them before a compression check to make sure they weren?t to far off cuz if they were not seated properly it would thro off the readings?? I really do hope that I don?t need a water pump and will check everything out prior to dropping any funds at it above the tune up to start off with. Being a specialty pump for a 40 yr old motor diffidently makes sence to the price. I should be able to pull out my happy can of screws and find one to match the threads with and then hit up the hardware store.

Don S~
Thank you very much for the links to those that will definitely make things much easier to check out without having to spend any money. Just have time invested and I?m not working for the time being so, time I have lol. Your right I should have found this site prior to purchasing something to get a better idea of what to look for. I have just been scanning CL for a boat, only thought being I wanted an open bow 14? or bigger I/O and haven?t wanted to spend $1000 or more on a boat that would still require work. As I have looked at a few that needed more then this at a much higher price tag. With what little I did know when i bought it, is that between the outboard and trailer I could get more back then what I paid for it with no loss. or as I thought anyway. Either way at 150 bucks I wasnt out much if it didnt work out. I?ve taken my other projects as far as I can to the point of needed big dollars to complete this one being a joint effort, my bro is working so hell foot most of the bill as I do all the work lol. Thanks again for the info. And if this one doesn?t work out, now that I have found this site I will ask before the next buy.

zbnutcase~
Nice that?s awesome!!! Lol well luckily this thing is complete so everything is there as to there condition Ill find that out if I need to take things apart. Thank for the heads up though

Re: Info Needed for old Volvo I/O set up

Ol'mopar said:

RogersJetboat454~
Gotcha. Hope your not far away from where the boat lives makes it hard for an impromptu trip out huh but, from the looks of it you got a bigger n better toy anyway. Don sent me link to the fsm?s so I?m set on that score now, weird its states that clearances are set at.020 both hot and cold. I was always taught that setting them before a compression check to make sure they weren?t to far off cuz if they were not seated properly it would thro off the readings?? I really do hope that I don?t need a water pump and will check everything out prior to dropping any funds at it above the tune up to start off with. Being a specialty pump for a 40 yr old motor diffidently makes sence to the price. I should be able to pull out my happy can of screws and find one to match the threads with and then hit up the hardware store.

Click to expand...

The boat lives 115 miles away at Sebago lake. No off the cuff trips out on the boat for me. In the summer I will make trips up there on the weekends and a couple weeks of vacation. The bigger and better toy is and has been dry docked for some time now. GF in nursing school with no job + me paying all the bills = Not much cash for toys. That will change soon enough.

Agreed on the logic of checking rocker clearance before testing compression. Since your engine probably hasn't had the head removed, you're most likely only going to be seeing a couple thousandths worth of wear at the most. That may affect compression readings a little, but shouldn't be too much. Since you now have the clearance specs, wouldn't hurt to check. All it will cost you is the price of a valve cover gasket. Should be able to order the gasket at NAPA for a 1968-1975 Volvo 164 car.

Keep us posted on how you're making out.

Re: Info Needed for old Volvo I/O set up

Ahhh, man that?s a long trip to take to get out on the water! Bummer bout the other toy I know how that goes. I did the same for my wife and put my project on hold (was in the middle of a VW Baja build) to put her thro the same. I hope yours works out better then mine did great money to be had as a nurse; life will get sooo much easier after those funds start coming in. I ended up leaving her shortly after completion of schooling. So yea that build never got finished lol ohhh well.

Yea that?s what I was thinking too, but I thought Id go ahead and check them being that the P.O said that it would need a water pump so they might have been running it hot and who knows how long its been since they were set before that. I?m going to go ahead and pick up all the tune up stuff along with the v.c gasket. Take care of that and see what happens on the next day I get a clear sky have a set of storms rolling thro right now.

Will definitely keep you all posted, cross ur fingers for me lol

Re: Good news for old Volvo I/O set up

Re: Good news for old Volvo I/O set up

Hey Guys?UPDATE

Ok like I said I was going to get the tune up parts and see if my engine would run, But Holy Sishkabobs Tune ups are insanely expensive for boat man gezzzzz, $230 bucks for wires!!! 45 Plugs 20 each for cap, rotor, points, and condenser dadadamn that?s more then twice what I paid for the boat! :facepalm:Lol

So I just cleaned everything really good reset the gap on the plugs and points. Got some fuel hose and hooked up the fuel pump and dropped the line in a gas can. Primed the fuel pump shot the carbs with starting fluid. For the first 8-10 times she would try to start and back fire out the carbs and I wasn?t getting any gas to the carbs nothing to the accelerator jets so I thought Id just hook up my electric test pump and hope it wasn?t to much psi for it. Did that and as soon as I cranked it fuel shot out of the fuel pump hmmmm so I hooked the lines back up to it. 3 cranks later fuel to the carbs and fired and stayed running as long as I was pumping the gas although the f.p is shot and was leaking like a sieve. Got pretty stoked took a break when I came back and fired her again bout an hr later she fired right up bout 5 mins into running was able to let her idle engine sounds really good no crazy noises no valve clatter or anything like that.

So I checked out the outdrive oil and it looks nice old and used but still has a good gold color and no milk... fired back up and checked it out in gear fwd & rev good to go!

My biggest question is how much water flow should I be getting out of the exhaust im only getting like a thick mist to like a spray that shoots back about 2? or so? at idle really not getting much of anything I did cough up for the good baffle/motor flusher/water port whatever you wana call from Basspro the one that?s got the big rectangles and feeds water to both sides of the intake on the outboard 30$ Instead of the 10$ cheapy at Wally world.

I?m going to check the hose that connects to the engine and up where else should I inspect if that?s not the right flow which I don?t think is I figured that it would push a lot more water then that. What about the remnants from the old chewed up impeller could that clog water flow somewhere?

So that?s that? thanks guys looking forward to more input, now over to the boat thread well after class anyway later all

Re: Good news for old Volvo I/O set up

Re: Good news for old Volvo I/O set up

Ok a lil bad news but was kind of expecting it... I stopped by a boat shop and asked about the water flow said it was hard to explain but did tell me about the drain in the outboard at the bottom of the fin. To plug it up and it would suck more water then air. So I did that and sure enough I got more flow to the engine. Only thing is that there?s a plug at the base of the sea water pump that plug is blown out of it like a water pump it a car would do so just to see I taped it up to see what would happen and then it started loosing the water at the water pump itself and the pump was hot that and I was just blowing steam out of the exhaust once it got warmed up.. So that tells me I need a water pump right?? What about the possibilities of debree from the old impeller? Would any of you have a working one?? Info and thoughts and ideas please thanks all :redface:

Re: Good news for old Volvo I/O set up

Re: Good news for old Volvo I/O set up

Are you sure the plug is at the base of the sea water pump or is it the circulator (belt driven) pump? The belt driven pump has a drain plug built into it so the water can be drained out of the pump during winterizing. If that is leaking water, either the petcock is open, or the petcock is damaged.

If sealing that up makes it leak water out of the pump, the shaft seal and bearing are probably toast.
That pump is rebuildable if you don't want to replace the whole thing. May need special service tools to take it apart and put it back together.

Pictures would help us see what your looking at.

Here is the diagram of your cooling system with costs . Part #20 is the plug I think you were talking about.

http://www.volvopentastore.com/Cool...*****.917160208--store_id.366--view_id.317593

Re: Good news for old Volvo I/O set up

Re: Good news for old Volvo I/O set up

A little alarmed about what you're saying about the fuel pump. If it's leaking all over the place, then you have an accident waiting to happen. It's likely that design was in place before some of the modern regulations were in place so the pump may leak into the bilge if the diaphram is defective. Do everything you can to keep the area well ventilated. A single spark can cause an explosion and kill or maim you and anyone else close by.If you need another fuel pump, they show up on ebay once in a while. Check part numbers and cross refererence several different models. I believe that the fuel pump off of an AQ130 is the same as on the 6 cylinders but not sure. If nothing else, you can get a rebuild kit for your pump for around $100.

Sounds like you may be at a point to do a compression test to see if it's worth your while to continue.

Whatever you do - be careful about the gas fumes.

edit: here's a couple of fuel pumps on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Volvo-Penta-6-and-4-Cyl-inline-fuel-pump-/310279455696?pt=Boat_Parts_Accessories_Gear&hash=item483e18c3d0

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Volvo-Penta-B-20-AQ-series-fuel-pump-AQ-115-125-130-/270710173056?pt=Boat_Parts_Accessories_Gear&hash=item3f07956d80

Re: Good news for old Volvo I/O set up

Re: Good news for old Volvo I/O set up

Yes The plug/whole I was talking about was on the base of the sea water pump I went ahead and called the shop and talked to the mech I hate doing so for novice simple things bug them to much for info and they don?t give you more just say bring it in, but as to this being the only day this week ill have the time and sun to work on it I did.. He said that the seals and O-ring has gone bad behind it #29. The water pump itself was leaking from the main seal or anywhere else that it could be come from dripping down the base. The plug for the recirculating water pump as you said #20 has been swapped out here is pics?I?m going to have to rebuild it im sure. No doubt ill be blowing all kinds of seals out as I run this thing neglect is all bad.

Re: Good news for old Volvo I/O set up

Re: Good news for old Volvo I/O set up

+1 on the compression test.

Re: Good news for old Volvo I/O set up

Re: Good news for old Volvo I/O set up

PiratePast40 said:

A little alarmed about what you're saying about the fuel pump. If it's leaking all over the place, then you have an accident waiting to happen. It's likely that design was in place before some of the modern regulations were in place so the pump may leak into the bilge if the diaphram is defective. Do everything you can to keep the area well ventilated. A single spark can cause an explosion and kill or maim you and anyone else close by.If you need another fuel pump, they show up on ebay once in a while. Check part numbers and cross refererence several different models. I believe that the fuel pump off of an AQ130 is the same as on the 6 cylinders but not sure. If nothing else, you can get a rebuild kit for your pump for around $100.

Sounds like you may be at a point to do a compression test to see if it's worth your while to continue.

Whatever you do - be careful about the gas fumes.

edit: here's a couple of fuel pumps on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Volvo-Penta-6-and-4-Cyl-inline-fuel-pump-/310279455696?pt=Boat_Parts_Accessories_Gear&hash=item483e18c3d0

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Volvo-Penta-B-20-AQ-series-fuel-pump-AQ-115-125-130-/270710173056?pt=Boat_Parts_Accessories_Gear&hash=item3f07956d80

Click to expand...

+1 on that.
Although I would probably go ahead and get the rebuild kit for your pump. I was able to get a NOS diaphragm kit for my pump, and it worked out just fine. No telling how much time a used pump on e-bay has left (if any), wouldn't be worth the risk to me.

Re: Good news for old Volvo I/O set up

Re: Good news for old Volvo I/O set up

Ol'mopar said:

Yes The plug/whole I was talking about was on the base of the sea water pump I went ahead and called the shop and talked to the mech I hate doing so for novice simple things bug them to much for info and they don?t give you more just say bring it in, but as to this being the only day this week ill have the time and sun to work on it I did.. He said that the seals and O-ring has gone bad behind it #29. The water pump itself was leaking from the main seal or anywhere else that it could be come from dripping down the base. The plug for the recirculating water pump as you said #20 has been swapped out here is pics?I?m going to have to rebuild it im sure. No doubt ill be blowing all kinds of seals out as I run this thing neglect is all bad.
View attachment 83712View attachment 83714View attachment 83713

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OK, so its the weep hole on the bottom of the sea pump thats leaking. You will need the rebuild kit for that. I would recommend getting one with the impeller shaft (yours is probably galled up). Those are relatively easy to find, and not overly expensive.

http://www.iboats.com/Water-Pump-Re...4093442--**********.570226783--view_id.173308