In article ,
Don W wrote:

Hi Dennis,

Dennis Pogson wrote:

These Yanmars are not the sort of rubbish you get from dump-truck and
converted auto engines, they are known to last far longer than the
equivalent Volvos, and to assume that in X years you will have Y
deterioration is crazy.

By all means replace the wearing parts, fuel pump, injector pump etc etc,
but keep the engine in good serviceable use until at some future time, the
wear on the block which you seem to fear most, is obvious. This might well
be after you are long finished with sailing, but so what?

Get the 3 injectors serviced annually, this is probably the best money you
will spend, and I always found that this simple service reduces smoking and
gives a fair amount of extra SHP at the start of the season.

Change the engine oil every 100 hrs running, and pay scruculous attention to
winterising the engine if you live in an area where winter means a longish
and frosty lay-up.

I think your engine could well outlast you!

Dennis.

I hope that you are right.

The engine in the boat was put in just a few months ago by the previous
owner, and he purchased it out of Connecticut where it had been traded
in to a dealer and "overhauled". I can always _hope_ that the engine
spent a lot of its life properly flushed out and in a boat that was
sitting on the hard. If I knew that to be the case, I'd feel a lot more
comfortable about the situation when going offshore.

Don W.


Just a note here. Just because the previous owner had new paint and
said the engine was completely rebuilt, doesn't nessesarily mean that it
was. Fresh paint covers a MULTITUDE of problems. I would have asked
for a copy of the Rebuild Invoice and look at what was actually done.
Did in get a Topend? InFrame? or just a new paint job? Who did the work,
and is he experienced on that model and make engine. What was the
criteria used to evaluate Replacment of Worn Parts? What were the main
Bearings and ConRod Bearing Cleareances and Tolerances? I have seen way
to many "Supposed Rebuilds" that weren't, or weren't done right to go by
what a previous owner stated. Diesels can be very good on Engine Time,
but only if they are maintained, and Oil is the cheapest Insurance you
can buy.

Me who has 50K hours on a diesel genset and still going strong...