'05 320 with penta 5.0 OSi

[politby]

John,  Just search this incredible site for XDP and read on.

Stay away from the XDP drive not even thinking about the heads.  Just my humble 2 cents. BTW, i have the same single engine config in a 27 and no compression problems with about the same hrs. 

Good Luck!

Who's the dealer?

Interesting, these XDP issues. I've noted that there are a lot of negative opinions expressed on this form about VP - is this mainly beacuse of the XDP problems?

An interesting factoid about the XDP drives is that they have never been available here in Sweden - which is Volvo Penta's home market and where 95% of all sterndrive boating is in salt (well, brackish) water. One would have thought composite drives would be ideal for this environment - but evidently the XDP drives are/were U.S market only. Odd.

VP, obviously, being a Swedish company, has a rock solid reputation over here - here it's more like "stay away from Bravo drives, they eat gimbal bearings". 

Maybe that's the reason they never offered the XDPs in EU - afraid they would ruin the brand's reputation?

[ParkRode360]

Could very well be. To be honest, when I bought my boat, the B3's had a bad rep and the XDPs were supposed to address the issue, they were the hot setup. Of course, after multiple bellows redesigns, the resulting spate of water intrusions made the XDP drives eat almost as many gimbals as the B3's, plus the added "benefit" of having the transom shield wear out and endanger the boat.

I like Volvo products, having owned four sedans, from a 144S up to an S80 T6.  But Volvo stood behind those products, and has done nothing but seem to try and avoid rsponsibility or "doing the right thing" for these XDP drives.

So tell me, are the OceanX drives available in Sweden?

[politby]

So tell me, are the OceanX drives available in Sweden?

I don't think so. The English language web site says "available in selected markets only" and the local one lists the SX, IPS, DPH, DPR and DPS drives only. Of course, the retail/replacement market is a small fraction of the total, with most drives installed on new boats. I don't know if VP restricts OEM sales as well, say if Rinker wanted to export an OceanX equipped boat to Europe. None of the local builders offer them.

All the VP gasoline engines and stern drives are manufactured in the U.S; only the diesel engines and IPS drives are made in Sweden.

After I discovered my starboard BIII had digested its gimbal bearing I was seriously considering installing a couple of 260-hp D4s - until I saw the price tag...   

[osead]

VP doesn't seem to be supporting any manufacutrers in the US. 

I searched other boat manufacture sites regarding XDP drives , e.g. Cruisers, and they have the same complaints on XDP drives.  Everyone seems to be saying "never VP again".  I don't know if VP has a clue or even if they care. 

They also seem to be inconsistent in support since "Rob Boater" has the same engine/drive as I do and he got warranty work 4X while they totally refused mine.

Never had so much trouble with a manufacturer.