The truth about Volvo IPS drive technology

[BrianGJS]

Sorry to hear of your misfortune. Others have their own problems and I had one.
Yanmar 6LYA-STP broken crank at 1100 hours. Like you, no one cared, Cruisers, insurance company or Yanmar. Final wrap up was $55,000 out of my pocket for a reman.

[Seavagabond72]

Thank you very much for this info for ips drive. I have the same problem now. I have two d600 Volvo penta 435 drives . One has milky oil the other one is frozen . I live close to Annapolis . Which service did you use? Do you have any others recommendations since you are experienced?

[mlundp]

I used:
Vosbury Marine & Recreation Inc.
303 Greenlee Road
Annapolis, MD 21402
Phone: 410 – 757 - 3844

It’s a father/son team. They are very nice people.

[save1960]

Sorry for yr ordeal mate but I have a different story to tell. If you keep up with maintenance and oil changes yr drives will last a long while. The general overhaul is not a nightmare as you say. Its easy to disassemble the unit, first the upper part and then the lower and intermediate. You will have to change the lip seals once every 5 to 7 years, not a big deal. Not necessarily you will also change the clutch discs…only if worn out and darken. Plus you will replace the exhust seal, the upper gear gasket, few orings and of corse the 2 prop seals and lower gear zinc. Thats it. You will need a special tool to unlid the upper gear for the clutch disc replacement, but that tool can easily be built a any wokshop for very cheap. I have done all of the above and it cost me a total of 2500$ In original parts for both drives and 2000 $ in labor. 30k is total fantasy !
Have a nice day.

[River Cruiser]

I have limited experience with the Volvo IPS drives, 20+ years with io and twin inboards. I was not impressed with the durability or dependability of the IPS units on a 43 Silverton freshwater boat I moved for the owner. The boat had 630 hours when he bought it and 1 drive was rebuilt before the sale, the joystick seldom worked. I gave up using it during locking or in marinas and taught the owner who had no experience with anything but 1 year on a 24’ express cruiser to do the same. Bragging rights for the owner is the only possible reason to own them.