Volvo Penta 7.4 Gi

SHickey

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Apr 29, 2011
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258
Hello, I want to check out a 2000 Christ Craft deck boat in my area. Currently most of my experience with I/O's have been with older Mercruiser models. I'm not familiar with Volvo Penta motors or outdrives and I was hoping I could receive some information about their reliability and any red flags I should be aware of when I go to check out this boat.
Thanks in advance for any information the forum can give me regarding this motor/outdrive combination.
SH
 

alldodge

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In most cases VP is a good setup so long as the drive isn't the composite type. I don't remember the type but a VP guy would know and hope they will comment
 

drewm3i

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Dec 31, 1969
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VP sucks unless you like overpriced special tools to do basically anything including removing the props which you must do to do basic drive service on many mid-DP models.
 

SHickey

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Apr 29, 2011
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258
Thanks so much for the information....basically stay away from the composite outdrives and the tools needed to service the outdrive are specialty overpriced tools.
I've seen some comments that some of these set-ups have motor overheating problems which can become very complicated to diagnose and remedy....... Is this a common problem or does it happen under certain circumstances......Thanks again for the feedback.....
SH
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
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I found that the specialty tools from Mercruiser are only slightly cheaper than the tools from VP. They are all expensive.

overheating is lack of water flow. All marine motors that are not maintained will suffer this.
 
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Lou C

Supreme Mariner
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Nov 10, 2002
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Actually raw water cooled inboard marine cooling systems are pretty simple (especially older VP engines) not like what Merc has on their modern engines that have the easy drain system, I have never seen so many hoses and plastic fittings as are there are on my brother's 2020 4.5. It works fine for now but....salt water never forgets....
If it overheats there are causes that need to be tracked down, I'd say the seller has to fix that, if it has been an issue or else lower the price to compensate for this issue, however, past damage because of chronic overheating can be expensive to repair (leaking cyl head gaskets, cracked cyl heads, etc)
Best thing you can do is a thorough water test including running it on plane for at least 10 min. Monitor temps, should be between 150-160, after coming off plane it may rise to 170-175 for a few min but then come back down....
Things to check:
Impeller, housing and wear plate
water transfer tube and rubber grommets in the outdrive
thermostat and housing for clogging
manifolds and elbows for clogging
that's about it.
I have a similar system on my old OMC Cobra, most times when it ran hot was due to sucking up sand, which wears the impeller and wear plate. As long as I replace the impeller on schedule and the exhaust system (every 5-7 in my salt water environment), I have not had chronic overheating issues.
 

cptbill

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Oct 6, 2012
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VP outdrives are pretty much bullet proof as long as it's maintained properly
 

tpenfield

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Jul 18, 2011
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The engine is a GM 454 CI (7.4L), so you can price shop some of the common parts. Other stuff, you will pay the V-P price.

More folks know/support Mercruisers in terms of repair shops, etc.
 

Donald0039

Chief Petty Officer
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Jun 11, 2022
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402
I think the VP engine and outdrive are of a higher quality than Mercruiser. Better built. But less shops that repair.

The one thing you should push for if everything else looks good is to have the outdrive gear oil drained into a container you can examine. Look for water or metal in the gear oil.

From personal experience, I had a boat surveyed and sea trial and no issues. A few months latter doing seasonal maintenance I found metal in the gear oil. Pulling the outdrive apart they found the forward gear was missing two teeth that had been ground up into smaller chunks of metal and circulated through the outdrive. The rebuild cost was $$$$.
 

Lou C

Supreme Mariner
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Nov 10, 2002
Messages
12,591
The other thing to check is if ignition parts (modules) and EFI parts are available if it’s a fuel injected engine. These parts sometimes get discontinued on engines that old. Carbs are easier to deal with because parts are easy to find.
 
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