volvo 4 cylinder,is it worth it?

[juicebox]

i have the chance to buy a mid eighties(i believe) boat with a 4 cylinder volvo engine/outdrive. Are these as reliable as the bigger 270/280/290 outdrives? i've seen the four cylinder outdrives before, triangle looking exhaust port, but haven't heard the good reports like i have with the bigger outdrives geared towards 6 and 8 cylinder engines. also this is a volvo block, are parts going to kill me? are they readily available? thank you in advance

 

[captmello]

Re: volvo 4 cylinder,is it worth it?

You're describing a 270 outdrive. They're all the same size.

Parts are available, some are expensive, some aren't. If you can, take it for a test run. That's the only way to find out if the drivetrain works.

 

[juicebox]

Re: volvo 4 cylinder,is it worth it?

haven't looked at the boat yet, so i'm not sure what outdrive it has on it, i was only refering to the fact that i've seen those outdrives with the 4cylinder volvo blocks before. i was putting two and two together. so the 270 outdrive has the triangle exhaust port period, regardless of engine size?

 

[Don S]

Re: volvo 4 cylinder,is it worth it?

so the 270 outdrive has the triangle exhaust port period, regardless of engine size?

Assuming you are referring to the item circled in the picture below, yes, even the V8 and Diesel engines using the 270/275 and 250 drives had that triangular exhaust port.

 

[Dave1251]

Re: volvo 4 cylinder,is it worth it?

Volvo engine and drives a from this time frame are well design and have a very long life. Volvo does stock parts (some times in European warehouses) and the cost is very high when compared to Merc. I have seen Volvo take three weeks to ship items from there warehouses.

There is some aftermarket parts for very common items, but many items are supplied by Volvo only. If you buy this boat, just make sure you are willing to spend $1,000 to $2,000 for repairs that cost only $500 to $1,000 for Merc.

 

[PiratePast40]

Re: volvo 4 cylinder,is it worth it?

Many used parts are available as well. and parts from the different models are, for the most part, interchangeable. If you don't mind tinkering, and spending extra time looking for parts, then these drives are fine. Just listen to the warnings from those above, it's just like anything that's out of production. Parts are a little more difficult to find and some Volvo shops don't want to work on them. Gaskets, seals, and most maintenance parts are still readily available from Volvo.

Quite a few of us still have these drives so there's plenty of "rookie mistakes" to learn from as well as advice from the experienced mechanics. It just depends how much maintenance and repair work you're willing to learn and do yourself. But don't kid yourself either, you can't change that it's 20 to 30 years old and you're not gaining anything for resale value - only the value of your use and enjoyment.

 

[zbnutcase]

Re: volvo 4 cylinder,is it worth it?

And they do have a timing belt that requires regular maintaince also. But they are a good package although I would stay away from the ones with side-draft carbs, those carbs hard to get parts for. 'nutcase

 

[robjen1019]

Re: volvo 4 cylinder,is it worth it?

The outdrive is designed for 3 times the hp that 4 banger will put out. Unlike the mercruisers. The upper gears are all the same for all hp, and most will swap with any 200 series drive.
I had a aq151 4 cylinder volvo and I loved it. It always started and ran really smooth. The wot was 5200 on mine, so it really got up and moved. Sometimes I wish I still had it.
If you buy the boat, you can get most parts on ebay for decent price. Otherwise find a local dealer.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: volvo 4 cylinder,is it worth it?

only other drawback is the aq151 4cyl tended to eat the exhaust port at #4 cylinder, dunno why but it did.
couple that with volvo sold out to ford and disscontinued the engine about 1994 and you may see some expense if any engine failures are encountered.
most the drive parts are still avalible.

 

[Don S]

Re: volvo 4 cylinder,is it worth it?

couple that with volvo sold out to ford and disscontinued the engine about 1994 and you may see some expense if any engine failures are encountered.

Come on rodbolt, you know it wasn't Volvo selling out to Ford as much as it was OMC using Ford in 94 when OMC and Volvo went into the joint venture together. As soon as Volvo bought them out completely, Ford went away COMPLETELY.
It also wasn't just the 151 eating the #4 exhaust port, that happens on all the OHV (rubber band) engines.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: volvo 4 cylinder,is it worth it?

actually the aq151 4 and the rubber band 6 motors were produced by Volvo automotive and marinized by volvo penta. Ford bought volvo automotive and discontinued sales of engines to volvo penta.
volvo penta,for the US,then became Volvo north america and used some Ford engines for about 2 years,3 or so if you count the joint venture, then went to GM based only for the US market.
Ford withdrew from the US marine market about 1995 and left a lot of marinizers hanging.
thats why the good old rubber band motors dissapeared like the Dinosaurs.
other than the irritating exhaust port issue they actually were not bad engines for what they did.
here in the salt pond they did get irritating to change circ pumps and manifolds though.

 

[Dave1251]

Re: volvo 4 cylinder,is it worth it?

actually the aq151 4 and the rubber band 6 motors were produced by Volvo automotive and marinized by volvo penta. Ford bought volvo automotive and discontinued sales of engines to volvo penta.
volvo penta,for the US,then became Volvo north america and used some Ford engines for about 2 years,3 or so if you count the joint venture, then went to GM based only for the US market.
Ford withdrew from the US marine market about 1995 and left a lot of marinizers hanging.
thats why the good old rubber band motors dissapeared like the Dinosaurs.
other than the irritating exhaust port issue they actually were not bad engines for what they did.
here in the salt pond they did get irritating to change circ pumps and manifolds though.

Ford did not buy Volvo until 1999, long after Volvo/OMC joint venture in 1994.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: volvo 4 cylinder,is it worth it?

and the rubber band 6 motors were produced by Volvo

Which 6 cylinder Volvo engines that were marine ever had a replaceable timing belt?

 

[rodbolt]

Re: volvo 4 cylinder,is it worth it?

come to think of it I dont think volvo ever used the inline six with an overhead cam.
but ya gotta remember for the US market most all the rubber band motors have been gone about 20 years.
here in the salt pond I wont work on them anymore, same as stringer drives.
to much corrosion, no factory support really and to expensive to repair.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: volvo 4 cylinder,is it worth it?

I loved the 4 cylinder rubber band motors in the cars. They lasted forever and they were a non-interference engine so when the rubber band breaks, you pop on a new one and you are ready to go.

 

[sbbamafan]

Re: volvo 4 cylinder,is it worth it?

There is always some pessimist/merc fan out there that has to jump in an say how hard it is to get VP parts. All I can say is 'what a crock of _*_t.' First of all, as so many have said the VP's last forever as a result of superior engineering (and routine maintenance :redface I have had VP's in my family since 1973 and I have never found a part difficult to obtain (despite the stupid things I did on one or two occasions). Get it and enjoy it knowing that it will serve you well for a long time.

 

[captmello]

Re: volvo 4 cylinder,is it worth it?

There is always some pessimist/merc fan out there that has to jump in an say how hard it is to get VP parts. All I can say is 'what a crock of _*_t.' First of all, as so many have said the VP's last forever as a result of superior engineering (and routine maintenance :redface I have had VP's in my family since 1973 and I have never found a part difficult to obtain (despite the stupid things I did on one or two occasions). Get it and enjoy it knowing that it will serve you well for a long time.

I agree. Parts are available. You'd have to admit that it would be much cheaper to fix a basket case Mercruiser than a bascket case VP.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: volvo 4 cylinder,is it worth it?

gotta love you fresh water guys that have no clue what saltwater does.
yes in fresh water they go and go.
so did the old elgins,martins and others.
yes I used to work many years ago in the fresh pond.
now its the salt pond and things dont last very long here.
hot salt water is nasty stuff, trust me.
I go to various schools for the marine industry several times a year.
its amazing the looks I get when I start talking about heating all the fasteners with oxy/acetylyne from the fresh pond folks.
in the end if its running well simply maintain it, rub it, love it and when it dies bury it.

 

[86 century]

Re: volvo 4 cylinder,is it worth it?

If it is the aq125a the eng is the same as far as gaskets and such as a volvo 242 late '70s to early '80s they are easy to work on much better than my merc IMHO

 

[surge006]

Re: volvo 4 cylinder,is it worth it?

Im new to boating and cant say much about this or that but i bought a 86 with a aq125b that still runs strong and starts right up. I have gotten all my questions and answers from here at iboats. But i can say i have bought alot of parts for my motor and drive already and havnt had a prob getting them from either here or at local dealer and didnt take long either. Good luck