Volvo jet drive question....

[Donziweasel]

Found a buyer for my engine but need a little info before I sell it too him. BTW, engine was running really bad, did a full tune up and it was still running awful. After hours of messing with it, I found a brand new plug that was not firing. Since I had just put them in, I figured they would have all been firing, so I wasted hours looking at everything else. Oh well......the moral-just because something is new doesn't guarantee it will work.

Now, back to my question. Got a buddy with a Glastron bow rider (around 18 or 19ft and looks like any other bow rider family boat) w/ a Volvo 4.3 and a jet drive (says Volvo on it) w/ thru hull exhaust (not captains call, just straight thru). I have never seen this combo on a stock bow rider. He said it came from the factory that way. He wants to buy my engine due to altitude and the jet drive, power has been killed. Engine was originally rated at 190 horse. Count in jet drive and altitude, he might have 100 at best, might have less. Boat runs low 30's at best and struggles to pull up a skier.

Will a 5.7L bolt up to the jet? How about motor mounts, probably have to move them? Any other issues with this swap? My 330 horse (sea level numbers) would really wake this boat up and make it perform. He has more than enough room for the engine. His jet does not trim, set and forget.

Hell, I told him to find me an Alpha SS for mine and I would sell him the engine and drive.:wink: Seriously, I did tell him that a trimmable Alpha would give him a better ride, pull skiers better, and would give him 25% more hp. On the other hand, this is such a neat setup, I think it is pretty cool with the jet and thru hull on a docile looking family boat. Any input to make sure this swap will work before I sell it to him would be much apprecitated. Hope everyone is having a great 4th weekend, I know I am!

[MOP]

The back end of the 4.3 is the same you may need to use his bell housing if it is a unique fit to the Volvo pump, most use a standard flex plate to hook the two together.

[BUIZILLA]

should be as easy as pie.....

move the engine mounts 4" forward and give it a whirl

the exhaust manifold center to center may be narrower on the Vulva, I mean Volvo..

[Donziweasel]

I never knew Volvo made a jet. Thought it might be another manufacturer with a Volvo sticker on it.

He has the tall exhaust manifold risers. I am keeping mine manifolds, so he will need a set, plus- starter and altinator. The rest of my engine is complete.

Thanks for the advice MOP and Buiz.

[MOP]

He may finally get the full whammy out of the pump with the added HP, he will have a grin for sure.

[BigGrizzly]

I am with BUZZ and MOP. The jet is kind of nice in shallow rocky water. The jet makes every river a little longer:wink:. When I was younger and skied almost every day a friend had a jet and it would yank you out of the water in a hurry. It was fun then he got a Donzi and by by jet, that was 40 years ago.

[Donziweasel]

How much horsepower can you throw at a Volvo jet?

[smokediver]

I think they made a Scarab with the same set up ... Does he have a Place Divertor or Jet-o-vator trim unit on the nozzle ? I had a 351 with an American Turbine with a Place Divertor trim unit in a 18 foot boston whaler bow rider .. it was good for mid 40's and drank gas like there was no tomorrow .. I don't think he will need to change impellors ... Should be just a matter of moving the front motor mounts and switching the bellhousing ..

[Morgan's Cloud]

I never knew Volvo made a jet. Thought it might be another manufacturer with a Volvo sticker on it.
He has the tall exhaust manifold risers. I am keeping mine manifolds, so he will need a set, plus- starter and altinator. The rest of my engine is complete.
Thanks for the advice MOP and Buiz.
What year is that Glastron ?
Somewhere at home I have an older Volvo brochure with that V6 jetpump package in it. Not posotive here but it may have been a later 80's early 90's brochure.

[Donziweasel]

Not sure on the age, looks like a 90's boat, maybe late 80's. I will try and find out.

Kind find anything online about Volvo jets, except the Volvo parts website, which offers parts for it.

I did find an boating article from 1996 that said Volvo had "turned the boating world upside down with it's new jet drive". You had to pay to read the rest of it. Must not have "turned the world upside down" as it has obviously been discontinued for a while.

[MOP]

JMO a jet having no gears just a shaft turning the pump vanes I think they will hold a lot of HP, I have been up on the jet boat sites some of those boys have some monster engines.

Phil

[Morgan's Cloud]

I found that old Volvo brochure ... who says being a pack rat does'nt have it's advantages ?
It's the last and only one I have with the jet package in it . It's a '96 brochure.
It's listed as the 4.3 GS/PJX and rated at 215 hp @ 4800 rpm.
The total weight for the package is 775 lb.
Compare that with the same engine in SX trim @ 880 lb
and DP trim @ 891 lb .
For the life of me I can 't understand why Volvo felt there was a market need for this unit back then.
Yes , PWC's were taking off like mad , but their power plants are completely different than this thing ,and the California style jetboats were almost going extinct at that point and even then they would'nt be caught dead with a 4.3 V6 in them !

[Morgan's Cloud]

Are you interested in this brochure Scott ? (It's actually more like a 'leaflet' than a multi page brochure even though it's a full 8.5 X 11 format)
BTW / Something that only you would understand .... I DO NOT have any vacation time presently filed :bonk:
Steve

[smbarcelow]

...and the California style jetboats were almost going extinct at that point and even then they would'nt be caught dead with a 4.3 V6 in them !

I think the demise of the big motor jet boats was due to the skittish insurance industry. Maybe Volvo thought they could appease the insurance underwriters by offering a V6 and prevent the inevitable.

[BigGrizzly]

Actually the demise of jets isn't over for Calf yet. The slow down was the increase in bigger and faster boats with outdrives. Now most of the jets are show units blinged to the hill. When I lived there it was neat to see, but I never wanted to own one!

[smbarcelow]

My dad has an 18' deep V Checkmate with a Jacuzzi low pressure pump and a 455 Olds that will out-perform my Ski Sporter in just about every dimension. It was that boat that got me hooked on classic Donzis...they share the same basic shape. Don't get me wrong. I'm not panning Donzis by any means...but my dad did a great job with his setup. I'd take it any day...as long as I could keep my 16. :wink:

[Donziweasel]

Morgan's cloud, that is the exact setup he had, the 4.3 with the jet. Not sure why they put this package in a Glastron Bowrider family boat, but my buddy said he bought it because of the package. It was his first boat and he did not know the lake. Said it probably saved him a prop ot two (the Rocky Mountains have Rocky Lakes:wink:)

Jet drives are HUGE out here, but on different boats, like Thunderjets-

http://www.thunderjet.com/maxim/index.html

Most come with big blocks, (496's, 454's) for power, not speed. They run some serious whitewater, but are basically fishing boats. They have hardly any draft and run in rivers and lakes. They are EVERYWHERE out here.

The other big jet industry is the jon boat with the jet outboards, like my G3. Most are under 115 horse, and are Mercs and Yamahas. Once again, run in rivers and lakes. Mine has a draft of under 2 inches when on a plane. They are getting really popular.

http://www.g3boats.com/GatorToughSeries/GatorTough/?m=1860CC#model

I can honestly say I have never seen a jet on a late model family bowrider with straight thru hull out of a 4.3L. Prop would pull better, is trimmable for towing to a nice ride in chop, more fuel efficient, way faster and is easier to manuver at low speeds. Not sure what advantage a jet in this type of boat would have over a sterdrive, excpet draft, which is not a huge factor in a vhull bowrider. mmm..........