Absolutely right, but...

Diesels are very sensitive to maintenance and use. They like clean
oil, on time. They also like to be used -- long hours at low throttle
for battery charging will cause problems. I'm also partial to having a
prelube -- an electric pump that supplies pressure lube oil before you
start the engine, so that the bearings don't move until there's oil in
them.

We bought Swee****er with a Perkins 4-236 that had only about 1200
hours on it. I sold it for short money as it had been poorly
maintained and needed considerable work.

On the other hand, Fintry came with a 30 year old Perkins 6-354
driving a big genset. The Royal Navy maintains things well, so we've
kept it to drive hydraulics.

So, 3500 hours is nothing if it's been well used and well maintained,
but a 30 year old 4-108 that's been used two months a year in New
England and then put away for the winter every year without changing
the oil and run for many very short trips without warming up, could be
a cheap mooring block.

Jim Woodward
www.mvfintry.com

Bruce in Alaska wrote in message ...
In article ,
"Barry Brazier" wrote:

Is 3500 hrs too many for a Perkins 4/108?
How many hours is usual before reconditioning/

Barry



3500 Hours "Laugh" That is just barely beyond "Broken In". I have a
4-108 that was rebuilt 10 years ago, and at that time it had 35,000
hours on it, and had a complete top and bottomend done. It sat in my
warehouse for the next 8 years. I then built a PrimePower Genset for my
Big House using the engine driving a 10Kw Genserator, 240 amp 24 Vdc
Alternator, 5Hp Air Compressor, 10 GPM Hrdrolikc Pump, and a 70 Gal/hr
RO Watermaker Pump. I expect to get at least 15,000 hours before I need
another topend, and 35,000 before it should need another bottomend. The
trick to longeveity of diesel engines is to keep the Oil Change Interval
low, and the best filtering that money can buy. New Oil and Filters are
nothing more than "Cheap Insurance" for diesel engines. If I could
afford a centrafuge on the Oil System I would install one of them as
well, but that is a bit beyond my budget. 4-108 is a great hunk of Iron
with a little TLC it will outlive you and maybe even you children.

Bruce in alaska