Volvo IPS improvements

its a $30k rebuild. Quite honestly, if most of these pod owners were changing the oil annually, most would catch the water intrusion before it did any damage.

Capt J

I never gave a quote for rebuild, it was New trans and pod.

Around 25-40k for a rebuild and 100k for a new unit with flushing out all bad fluid and metal particles from destroyed bearings and cooler replacements. These are from what I've read on the Volvo IPS forum and other forums where owners had to replace trans and pod.

I've never owned one and would not.

I've read where several owners checked fluid before a trip all was good and after a trip then again when they checked it before next trip had water in one of the drives the oil. They staited that no fishing line was wrapped around prop shafts. Again, i've never owned an IPS but did a lot of reading and research, they will leak for no reason at times.

As a long time IPS owner I can't let go the comments. We have a number of friends who hit bottom at full throttle and two knocked off a pod. They were recovered and reinstalled and the cost was less than half the cost of a replacement pod. And there was NO damage to the boat. We also have friends who managed to hit something with shafts and lost the boat as they pulled out.

While the maintenance cost is higher on IPS, if you use the boat, the fuel savings, and they are real, mitigates a large portion of the extra cost.

If IPS was such a risk, why are they so popular even though they cost more?

Just wrong. We have someone in Sgawiser who actually owns a boat with IPS and knows several other owners relating real world experience, and I agree with his assessment. I've run quite a few boats with IPS and they're a pleasure to maneuver with. I also believe the fuel savings (which rack up fast), but that's dependent on many factors so can be debated till the cows come home. One thing that hasn't been mentioned and can't be debated is the space savings that result in a much less crowded engine room or more space in the cabin. How many people do we all know who have bent shafts or struts, bad cutlass bearings or trouble with shaft logs and rudders. Also when you're figuring the cost of conventional drives vs IPS don't forget to add in the cost of bow (if not bow and stern) thrusters. Running hard aground is expensive and lays your boat up no matter what drives you have. There is no perfect boat nor perfect drive system, but IPS has made for a lot of happy boaters since it was introduced.

[QUOTE=" We have a number of friends who hit bottom at full throttle and two knocked off a pod. They were recovered and reinstalled and the cost was less than half the cost of a replacement pod. And there was NO damage to the boat. We also have friends who managed to hit something with shafts and lost the boat as they pulled out.[/QUOTE]

You need to improve your friendships

I doubt that. Of many hundreds of friends who have pods, and have traveled thousands of miles, the issues reported to me are significantly more in shaft boats.

But as a statistician, I have to admit that these are anecdotal reports that do not represent a scientific sample of boats with or without pods.

What's with the animus I constantly see here against Volvo? Is it just a desire to knock down a company that's innovative and an industry leader? Are they resented because they protect their patents? Remember all the griping when they came out with the duo-prop? What's unusual about a company giving retailers incentive to promote their product? When they first came out with IPS there seemed to be a united front by certain members against IPS and in favor of Zeus which is now all but out of business. Then there's the bashing because it's expensive when you break off a drive. Then there's bashing because someone's drive didn't break off. And forget all the debate about forward facing props. News flash: You're not supposed to run aground, and when you do it at high speed it's going to be expensive. I seem to remember a thread right here a few weeks ago about an 80' Azimut running aground by Merritt Is, and the result was they sank despite having conventional running gear. The fact is that I've seen a ton of people buy boats and be afraid to use them because they couldn't dock without hiring a fiberglass repair guy. They were bought, crashed, cost the new boaters a bunch of money then sat on the dock until sold. Joystick control IS rocket science. It's a game changer that has persuaded a ton of people to buy a boat and kept a ton more in boating. Should they not be allowed to own boats because they don't have the skill level some of us have? As for the cost of IPS, it's maintenance and repair costs it's a ridiculous argument when you hear members here talk about the money they pour into these toys and putting (3) $100,000 outboards on the back of a boat. Them from a company that came into the industry and sold out a few years later. I've got a ton of experience running boats with conventional drives. I prefer conventional drives, especially on larger boats. But there is a definite place and market for IPS in the industry. It's great technology and I think the use of pods will become more prevalent in the future not less. Many of the same people I hear complaining about IPS wouldn't think of running a boat without a bow thruster if not also a stern thruster. Those aren't exactly cheap, and talk about unreliable technology. Go to any marina and you'll here thrusters being pushed like crazy. Then someone will come in with an IPS boat and they'll just slide into a tight slip smooth as silk.

It's not just about expense, it's about reliability. I want a drive system that will minimize the chance of breakdowns. As an engineer I fully understand how different systems work and how complicated they can be. I study and research products continually and look for failure modes. My 2014 ips 600 were well maintained and driven in a responsible manner. No grounding ever. Not run hard or abused. Been boating my entire 47 years. The motors are not well designed or manufactured. Way to many small and large issues.
Life is about percentages. Trying to buy reliable products reduces the chance it will disappoint you. A few satisfied customers does not guarantee you a reliable product. I'm happy some people have few issues, I'm not one of them. Until you have been in my" broken down in spanish wells" shoes, you will continue to think Vp is fantastic. Few things annoy me more than a manufacturer that gives more power to the marketing department than the engineering department. Diesel motors and azimuth drives are not new. There's no excuse for not building a good product. The $100,000. Volvo got me for two diesel motors cost them millions in lost sales of heavy equipment and generators. I'll never have a good word to say about them again. Bridge burned.

If it's about reliability get a pair of old Detroits or Cats, Quite frankly I've had more trouble with Manns than I ever did with Volvos. No, what I see here isn't about reliability. Now I don't think VP nor any others are the cats meow. Whatever boat I've ever been on I spent my days wondering what would break down next and they seldom disappoint no mater whose name is stamped on it, and the more computerized they are the more trouble they are and the less the shade tree mechanic can do with them. With any reliability is dependent on their usage and maintenance. Let the boat become a dock queen or don't do the maintenance and you've got problems coming. More important to me than the name is availability of service and parts, and especially how the company backs their product. I still remember sitting on a transient dock for a week waiting for a part to be delivered and that wasn't from Volvo.

It's not just what you wrote, but a lot of members. They seem to put a target on anything Volvo, especially IPS and I can see no reason except that they're innovative and successful, and people like to attack the successful. It's like sport. Every motor has some dissatisfied customers, and innovation doesn't come out of the box perfect. Anecdotal evidence proves nothing. You always hear from the squeaky wheel. The happy ones are quiet. There's a reason a lot of people get IPS, and it's because a lot of people are thrilled with it. Yes there's some who are not; same as there are with any motor, boat, car, heavy equipment, etc. etc. Doesn't mean someone's stupid if they buy what you or I don't like. Obviously Volvo is doing something right.
The OP heard rumors. Gee I wonder where they may have come from. I believe he's looking at around a 10 year old boats. Most any problems with any motors generally get resolved during the warranty period, and the rest get fixed by subsequent owners who don't want to fix the same thing 20 times. Now if you're buying a new boat and last year's have a reported problem that's worth paying attention to, but in an older boat I'd be more interested in the sea trial, survey and maintenance logs on the kind of motor or drive I prefer. The fact is that IPS is fun in a really tight marina with the wind howling. It reacts to a turn of the wheel at speed great, and they say there's a fuel saving that some here have debated, but I don't think a few gallons one way or another is going make a huge difference in anybody's boating budget considering every other way boats pry open an owner's wallet.

I've chosen to buy shafts vs. pods when I had the choice, but I think the animus against pods shown here is overboard. There are some very nice boats that come pod only and I'd consider them. IPS is here to stay and will continue to improve. It serves to fill a space in the industry. They aren't perfect, but they're not as horrible as some make them out to be. I've talked to some disgruntled owners but a lot of very happy owners.

I would answer that we use them despite the extra cost...

To start with, the same engine with IPS are almost twice the price vs gearbox from Volvo Penta, then you always need a minimum two of them. I don´t think that two shafts and rudders are that expensive.

No, Delta are not with shafts, but I have three shaft boats myself so I know what they are...

It is hard to compare apples to apples when they're not both apples unless you figure in the cost of rudders, thrusters, fuel savings, convenience, extra space, etc. That's why I say don't worry about the pennies when you're spending hundreds of thousands or millions. Get what you want, stay off the rocks and enjoy your boat.

I just picked the prices from the net, and you must consider that IPS are twins for this price. But still almost double and not LESS as you wrote above...