Say hello to Volvo Penta silent shift.
Cone clutch shifting was good —— the competition had it copied, tested and ready to market the day the patent expired—— but it could have some issues. They could be a bit touchy to the quality of gear lube, untrained techs could have trouble with reconditioning and adjusting. The competition (and Volvo to a lesser extent) had issues with getting stuck in gear if the engine stalled or they got shifted when the engine wasn’t running.
But as engine torque and horsepower keep climbing, it’s time for something better.
The new DPI drive uses hydraulic pressure and a clutch pack to shift. It comes with a filter and Volvo is recommending 2 year lube changes.
The “A” series drives get a mechanically operated clutch pack that will retrofit into the older A drives if the customer wants to upgrade.
Volvo has been pretty good about “getting it right” before putting new products in customer hands. With just a couple of misses that come to mind in the last 20 years. It will be interesting to see how this holds up.
Cone clutch shifting was good —— the competition had it copied, tested and ready to market the day the patent expired—— but it could have some issues. They could be a bit touchy to the quality of gear lube, untrained techs could have trouble with reconditioning and adjusting. The competition (and Volvo to a lesser extent) had issues with getting stuck in gear if the engine stalled or they got shifted when the engine wasn’t running.
But as engine torque and horsepower keep climbing, it’s time for something better.
The new DPI drive uses hydraulic pressure and a clutch pack to shift. It comes with a filter and Volvo is recommending 2 year lube changes.
The “A” series drives get a mechanically operated clutch pack that will retrofit into the older A drives if the customer wants to upgrade.
Volvo has been pretty good about “getting it right” before putting new products in customer hands. With just a couple of misses that come to mind in the last 20 years. It will be interesting to see how this holds up.
Last edited:
