Volvo engines

[FatBear]

Hi,
I seem to remember reading a number of comments to the effect that a Volvo diesel engine would be a deal-breaker if they were looking to buy a boat.

I'm curious why this might be. What is wrong with Volvo Penta diesels, are there certain models to watch out for, or is it just the old Ford-vs-Chevy loyalist type argument?

Thanks.

 

[rslifkin]

Hi,
I seem to remember reading a number of comments to the effect that a Volvo diesel engine would be a deal-breaker if they were looking to buy a boat.

I'm curious why this might be. What is wrong with Volvo Penta diesels, are there certain models to watch out for, or is it just the old Ford-vs-Chevy loyalist type argument?

Thanks.

Everyone I've ever known to have complaints about them has come back to this: the engines are fine, but getting parts or finding someone to work on it can be a real headache.

 

[lwarden]

Parts are also very expensive if you are able to get them.

 

[Comodave]

Agree, parts are very expensive, when you are able to get them. There basically are fine engines, but the Volvo support is terrible. We are currently boatless and looking to buy another boat. The first thing I look at in a listing is what engines the boat has. If it has Volvos in it I look no farther and move onto the next listing. A friend was crewing for a delivery captain. Moving a Volvo powered boat from Maine to Tampa. They flew to Maine, one of the engines had a fault code. Took 3 weeks to find a technician that would work in it. Then they went back and made it as far as Connecticut when another fault code came up. Another search for a technician. Another 3 weeks they flew back to Connecticut and made it to Annapolis before a fault code. They went home. 2 weeks later they got as far as South Carolina. Another fault code. Finally got to Jacksonville and another fault code. Owner gave up paying for their flights back and forth and told the dealer to get the boat to Tampa. Don’t know if it ever got there or not. They experienced problems getting technicians and then delays getting the parts. Where we live if it takes a month or two to get a part that is a significant part of our boating season. I want engines that can be easily worked on and parts are available at reasonable prices. Volvos don’t meet that criteria IMO. We bought a brand new boat with Volvos in it. Even getting parts for new engines was tough, not 20 to 30 year old engines, so tough that the dealership would take the parts off new boats to get mine running and then replace tha parts when they would finally arrive. But I also worked part time for the dealership selling boats. I no longer have that resource so no Volvos for me.

 

[Pete Meisinger]

I hear that parts issue complaint all the time. I can't dispute it because I have never owned a Volvo marine engine.

I do own a 2006 Volvo XC70 automobile. To me it is just another car, no better, not really any worse than a Chevy or a Ford. It has 250,000 miles on it and I have had some mechanical problems with it over the last 15 years. Special order type of parts, wheel bearings, struts, heater blower motor, etc. I live in a small town in Northern Wisconsin. The neighborhood garage does all my work, parts are always available through NAPA or Car Quest on a next day delivery basis.

Why can my Volvo car be so easy, and not really expensive to repair and a marine engine be a nightmare? Beats me...

pete

 

[Comodave]

Because it is in a boat…. Completely different scenario, apples and oranges.

 

[FatBear]

Thanks. We are in San Diego which is a pretty boat-oriented town and might have better resources than other places. I am going to call a couple of mechanics and ask them about parts supply. And about which parts need replacing most often or are hardest to get. Maybe I could acquire some spares while I have time to wait for them to arrive.

 

[oguidry]

Each of our experiences are just that - our own experiences.

I owned a boat with twin Cummins 6BTs. When I had a serious issue I called Superior Diesel in Charleston which is now part of Western Branch. Western Branch has 13 locations, many on the East coast. They advertise support for mtu, Volvo Penta, and Westerbeke engines.

Current boat has a D6-435. The dealer I bought the boat from has a very experienced and credentialed Volvo mechanic on staff. My only experience thus far has been two routine maintenance service calls. No issues with parts or the quality of the work.

Guess it all depends on where you live.

 

[twistedtree]

I hear that parts issue complaint all the time. I can't dispute it because I have never owned a Volvo marine engine.

I do own a 2006 Volvo XC70 automobile. To me it is just another car, no better, not really any worse than a Chevy or a Ford. It has 250,000 miles on it and I have had some mechanical problems with it over the last 15 years. Special order type of parts, wheel bearings, struts, heater blower motor, etc. I live in a small town in Northern Wisconsin. The neighborhood garage does all my work, parts are always available through NAPA or Car Quest on a next day delivery basis.

Why can my Volvo car be so easy, and not really expensive to repair and a marine engine be a nightmare? Beats me...

pete

Other than the name, there is no connection or relationship between Volvo Cars and Volvo engines, construction equipment, trucks, etc.

 

[Ken E.]

Thanks. We are in San Diego which is a pretty boat-oriented town and might have better resources than other places. I am going to call a couple of mechanics and ask them about parts supply. And about which parts need replacing most often or are hardest to get. Maybe I could acquire some spares while I have time to wait for them to arrive.

Maybe ask around on the San Diego docks and talk to people who have them. Where you are might be a Volvo-friendly place for service. The parts cost, though, is still going to be high. Personally, Volvos would be a deal breaker. I've never owned them but have friends who do.

 

[tiltrider1]

Maybe ask around on the San Diego docks and talk to people who have them. Where you are might be a Volvo-friendly place for service. The parts cost, though, is still going to be high. Personally, Volvos would be a deal breaker. I've never owned them but have friends who do.

There is great Volvo support in the PNW. There is pretty good support in Alaska for Volvo but only because Techs are always fling up there from Seattle to help support the fishing fleet. However, the parts cost is still very expensive and while parts are much more available in the PNW there does seem to be part shortages for Volvo that we don't typically see for Cummins, Cat or Detroit.

 

[firehoser75]

I owned a sailboat from new with a Volvo engine. Parts were expensive and often hard to get, even with an engine that was less than 5 years old. I can't imagine what it would be like for a 20 year old "out of production" engine from them. I lived in Vancouver, BC, the largest City in Western Canada and known for it's large boating community and marine service industry!! Volvo Penta had a large facility in Burnaby (suburb of Van.) at that time.

Once I had to wait for a part from the South Eastern US and once, believe it or not, the part had to come from Sweden!!
One time the engine suffered a breakdown near Campbell River on Vancouver Island. This community has a pretty good marine service industry as well. Here, even the local Volvo service dealer refused to work on a sailboat engine.
Then to top it off, my engine suffered a lower end failure. One of the nuts holding the con rod cap onto con rod and the crankshaft was not torqued properly coming from the factory and it took about 5 years of use to finally fail. I know the cause as I had a metallugical engineer examine the engine and he stated with 100% certainty that that was the cause. Trying to get any help or satisfaction from Volvo Canada (even with this report from an expert) was like pulling teeth and added greatly to my stress. To be fair, they finally did agree (after hours of my time on the phone, letters, emails, etc.) to cover my insurance deductible. This was in about 2009.
I know of at least 2 other local boats with the same engine that had what sounded like the exact same failure.
No Volvo's for me. And yes, the cars are totally separate to the marine engines.

 

[Comodave]

Understand that a boat with Volvos in it will not sell as quickly and will most likely sell at a lower price than other engines so be careful to buy it at a lower price so when you sell it you can price it accordingly. Many people say they will not buy a Volvo, I have not seen that with any other engine brand.

 

[Taras]

My 1985 Kha Shing Trawler came with Volvo Pentas (in line 6 cylinder and completely MECHANICAL). No electronics at all. Over the period of 8 years of ownership, I had zero issues. Very dependable, reliable and economical. I did not have to buy any parts so I cannot comment on availability. Those motors just ran and ran....

 

[FatBear]

Well shucks, the boat I was about to go see just sold. 48 hours after being listed. But thank you, everyone. I will keep all of your advice in mind as I continue to look.

 

[Lepke]

Why can my Volvo car be so easy, and not really expensive to repair and a marine engine be a nightmare? Beats me...

Because there are millions of Volvo car engines and thousands of shops that repair them. Not so with marine. When there's a large number of engines the aftermarket companies also make the parts and the competition forces Volvo and other OEM companies to keep their prices down. The Chinese copy everything. You can get whole engines or parts for many brands.

 

[rwidman]

Volvo engines are fine engines and many production boats come standard with Volvo engines. Parts are sometimes expensive, but no more expensive than parts for other marine engines.

I have never had a problem finding the few Volvo parts that I have needed, but I may be a little better at finding things than some people. Google id your friend folks.

Volvo is easy to bash, just like Bayliner. Folks who bash Volvo usually cannot substantiate their complaints.

 

[rwidman]

Understand that a boat with Volvos in it will not sell as quickly and will most likely sell at a lower price than other engines so be careful to buy it at a lower price so when you sell it you can price it accordingly. Many people say they will not buy a Volvo, I have not seen that with any other engine brand.

Those people are fools. Buy the boat you want.

 

[klee wyck]

Yeah...I sort of chuckle at this dock lore. It likely causes some folks to miss out on some fantastic boats.
I no longer own a Volvo having sold KLEE WYCK last week. But, during my ten year tenure with that vessel it was the most trouble free part of the boat.
Perhaps parts are rare because you never need any?
The one part I needed during that time was due to an oil leak on cooler sump pickup. I ordered it online in a few minutes and it shipped right to my house in a day or two.
I expect there may have been a few foolish folks that would not look further at Klee Wyck for the reason of her main engine being a Volvo. Their loss.

 

[Nomad Willy]

I bought a Klassen brand engine actually a Mitsubishi S4L2.
Most people here never heard of my engine. And if I had asked here or around I probably would have been told it’s a off-brand - stay clear.

Had it on the boat for 16 years and haven’t needed to buy any parts at all. Probably the same thing would have happened if I had bought a Volvo.
And I know of no facts that would indicate Volvos weren’t great engines.

Wouldn’t buy a Volvo car though.

 

[psneeld]

My old Assistance tow company bought several Volvos from the local dealer.

They were OK as the company engineer knew the owners fairly well and got good service based on that relationship. He also got pretty good priority on parts when needed.

So I would say if you have a local Volvo dealer and get a good working relationship going, then you might be fine.

Unfortunately, the internet seems to have a pretty poor opinion of Volvo service and parts support compared to other manufacturers. Whether that is true or not I can't say...all you can do is do your due dillegence....not necessarily assume one is a fool or not for their decision.

 

[FF]

My experience with Volvo is the engines they actually manufacture will have parts ,slow and expensive , sadly the ones they purchase simply paint Volvo green , parts become unobtanium rapidly.

 

[rslifkin]

It seems to vary a bit based on where you are. Some areas have decent Volvo dealer support and they're easier to live with. But not so much in my area, for example. There are a few boats locally with IPS drives and they all complain that if they need a Volvo tech for anything, it's a big deal as the nearest one is a several hour drive to get here. None of them have any complaints about the equipment though, just the parts and service side of things.

 

[Bob M]

Get the engine and transmission model and serial numbers and check for parts availability. If any part is not available, I'd pass on a Volvo powered boat or any other boat.

 

[armando]

Hi,
I seem to remember reading a number of comments to the effect that a Volvo diesel engine would be a deal-breaker if they were looking to buy a boat.

I'm curious why this might be. What is wrong with Volvo Penta diesels, are there certain models to watch out for, or is it just the old Ford-vs-Chevy loyalist type argument?

Thanks.

We have twin Volvo Tamd 60b 250 hp each. (1985 so 36 years.) No problems at all. Only little issues. But...yes. If you have to buy something to Volvo may be the piece do not exist and the price it is high or expensive.
But they are well maintained. It is not difficult to find Volvo mechanics in Spain.

 

[healhustler]

I’m not one to jump on the bandwagon about most things, but as much as I have appreciated the design and durability of Volvo diesels in the past, it has been the Volvo marine parts support and pricing that have colored my attitude over the years. My boat sports a Yanmar re-power over the original Volvo TAMD-31A engine. It was a spectacular engine, capable of 16,000 hours with good maintenance. One could even say “it was the correct engine for the boat”. But calling for parts has always been a stressful exercise for all Manatee brethren, even when the engine was less than 10 years old. Now being 30, well, It’s evident that the support systems for other 30 year old marine diesels doing much better, some do to aftermarket help, but I haven’t seen even the average enthusiasm from Volvo Marine to support their out-of-production engines.

 

[Rigtyme]

Volvo Service

Thanks. We are in San Diego which is a pretty boat-oriented town and might have better resources than other places. I am going to call a couple of mechanics and ask them about parts supply. And about which parts need replacing most often or are hardest to get. Maybe I could acquire some spares while I have time to wait for them to arrive.

We use Harry's Marine in Orange, CA (714) 771-7899. They are Volvo authorized service. We've never had a problem. You might want to call them and ask your questions. Talk to Kyle, if he's available.

 

[timb7734]

49 years working with Diesel engines. Parts prices and parts availability have nothing to do with their relative cost. Availability is the product of an algorithm of worldwide consumption, as well as the parts price. Parts availability is a function of inventory management. Also the scarcer the part the more the markup relative to carrying cost, I.e. time on the shelf. IMO that Volvo Parts seem hard to get and pricey is an indicator that they are not in demand and thus the engines themselves are highly reliable.

 

[flymike]

Volvos

We have two 1985 Volvo TAMD 40Bs (turbocharged, aftercooled marine diesels, 4.0 liters, model B). 6800 hours and no major problems. They start easily, don't smoke and burn 3.2 gph total at cruise speed. Things you replace, like impellers, hoses, glow plugs, filters, belts, etc. are all generic and not expensive. We've never had a problem getting parts.

 

[JSK55]

Volvo Penta engines are highly regarded in the PNW and Alaska where many commercial fishermen prefer Volvo in the 300-500HP range. Spend time in Bristol Bay Alaska and the you will see a huge number of Volvo powered boats. Service and parts availability has been good in my experience and my Volvo's TAMD 74Bs have served me well.