Several of my neighbors have had huge problems with Volvo outdrives.

Here's another Volvo horror story:

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f54/the-truth-about-volvo-ips-drive-technology-153683.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email &utm_campaign=Feed%3A+cruisersforumnews+%28Cruiser s+Forum+-+Emails%29

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I have been an IPS owner since 2007. It is truly a wonderful
technology since it makes docking such a simple procedure. When this
system was first introduced there wasn’t anything like it on the
market and the additional benefits of better performance and better
fuel economy made it sound like an absolute winner.

My current boat still has IPS; in fact it has three such units. So
over time is this system worth the extra money? Because this is a
really expensive technology.

Today you can get similar docking solutions using joystick controls
that combine the twin engine control with bow and stern thrusters. It
works the same and makes docking a simple operation just like the IPS.

Much can go wrong with this system because the IPS system is basically
a gearbox, much like an outdrive, that hangs below the water line and
any leaks will immediately render the drives unusable, needing a
complete rebuilt. Looking at the user manuals, that came with the
boat, there is no mention of any specific maintenance recommendations
for the IPS (other than oil changes and anodes replacements), no
mention of how long the drive seals would last and when it they would
need to be replaced.

Well, I learned that the hard way. My boat was purchased new in 2009
but was actually built in 2008. So by 2014 my drive seals were six
years old. I keep my boat in the Caribbean and have always kept it in
the water. I would haul it once a year for a bottom clean, paint and
propspeed treatment. Well in 2014 I hauled the boat. Insurance
companies love that solution, especially when your boat is located in
a hurricane zone. I hauled my boat late May and launched it again
early November. We did the usual complete service of the engines, as
described in the manual. That included replacing the gear oil in the
IPS and replacing the gear oil filters. The most important is to make
sure to replace all the outside anodes protecting the IPS drives. The
anodes are made of aluminum and there are two per drive plus two
regular zincs for the boats other equipment protection. We also
replaced the engine block anodes. Pretty standard stuff that was part
of the recommended preventive maintenance as described in the Volvo
operating manuals.

Excited about a new season in the Caribbean we took the boat out for a
cruise. As always I check all oil levels and inspected the oil before
any trip. When we arrived at our destination and before we were ready
for the next leg of our trip I checked all the oil levels once again.
This time I found the oil in all the IPS drives looking "milky" a sign
of water getting into the gearbox. I decided to return home and haul
the boat. After some pressure testing it appears we had a leak around
the shaft seals (and possible also on the upper seals) on EACH of the
three drives. And since we have evidence of water in the oil in ALL
three propulsion units it’s clear that the seals on all units have
failed ALL at once. Now how can that be?

We contacted Volvo for some guidance. That was the first sign of
things to come. Volvo was completely unresponsive. I called them and
emailed their customer solution center. NO response. Then I started
talking to authorized Volvo technicians, guys with many years in the
business. Well they basically told me that all the drive seals should
be replaced every five years or you will have a complete failure. Now
I understand why it’s not in the manual or why Volvo wouldn’t reply.
This is pretty expensive and very intensive work. I would have been a
hard sell to reveal this information up front before I bought the IPS
drives.

Now comes the fun part. In order to completely rebuild these drives
because as soon as oil gets in the drives they have to be completely
disassembled and all gears cleaned, seals replaced, clutch packs
replaced and everything realigned and pressure tested. Now only a
certified Volvo technician can do the job and for this job there are
dozens of specialized tools that only they have. These tools are
extremely expensive and so are all the parts so needless to say this
job cost a small fortune. To make matters worse they were no reliable
Volvo technicians available in the Caribbean. I reside in BVI and the
other IPS boats on the island gets maintained by Florida Volvo
technicians which are hard to get and expensive to fly down. My
technicians flew down from Annapolis where I live in the summer. They
spent several weeks getting the drives rebuilt, re-aligned and tested.
Of cause all the specialized tools and parts had to be flown down
there and back. So at the end we were looking at a bill in excess of
$30K to fix.

Looking at an average use of the boat of 100 hours a year (which is
high) and saving maybe 20% in fuel there is just no way this
technology can pay for itself and is worth it.

Volvo finally did get back to me because my dealer contacted them and
told them too. They didn’t do a thing and were completely unwilling to
even admit that these seals should be changed and at what frequency. I
think the fact that I hauled the boat for six month may have made the
situation worse (because of the heat). But even when asked if I could
store the boat on land for six month in the Caribbean they just said
they didn’t see why not.

My plan is to get rid of this boat and the technology. I want the old
prop and shaft solution and with some help of a couple of thrusters
and the new computerized joystick solutions I will have a far better
and cheaper solution for the future. At least I can find someone to
work on my boat without the need for expensive tools and training.

IPS is very cool solution, but it is an over-engineered solution to a
pretty simple problem that has worked very well for many many years;
prop and shaft.
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