In the process of purchasing a 34' sailboat with a Volvo 30HP engine. Have
heard "not good" things about the Volvo. This one has 1900 hours and looks
to be in good shape, but have not seatrialed yet. What specific problem
areas should I look out for and what problems in the future should I expect?

Regards,
Bob





"Leanne" wrote in message
...

"Ken Coit" wrote in message
. com...
Presuming you were looking to buy a used boat, which engine would you
rather
see in her:

Remanufactured Perkins 4-108
New BetaMarine 1505
New Yanmar 3JH3E

I would go with the Perkins, but if I had to buy new, I would like the
Yanmar.
I was on a boat for 5 years that had the Perkins. My own boat, I tossed a
Volvo
and replaced it with the 3GM Yanmar. Kubota is a good engine also.

Leanne
s/v Fundy

"Bob Schneider" wrote in message
nk.net...
In the process of purchasing a 34' sailboat with a Volvo 30HP engine. Have
heard "not good" things about the Volvo. This one has 1900 hours and looks
to be in good shape, but have not seatrialed yet. What specific problem
areas should I look out for and what problems in the future should I expect?

My Volvo had close to 2000 hours before changing it out.. Twice in the previous
two years, it filled the lower end with salt water. I found that in rebuilding
it, the parts were made out of gold. It was a MD-11D and in ordering parts like
gasket sets, you had to order for each cylinder. Head gaskets alone were between
75-80 dollars. The water jacket/exhaust manifold was going to be over 500 if
they could find one. That was the reason for going to the 3GM30, besides having
a more modern engine, I have one that is very much quieter. I still have the
MS-7 transmission, Panel w/wiring harness, and the engine. I guess that most of
it is reusable if someone wanted it. The cylinders are also the same for the
MD-17 and probably the MD-5.

Leanne
s/v Fundy

1900 running hours suggestds that overhaul time is due soon, maybe
very soon....

Brian Whatcott Altus OK

On Mon, 14 Jul 2003 01:21:55 GMT, "Bob Schneider"
wrote:

In the process of purchasing a 34' sailboat with a Volvo 30HP engine. Have
heard "not good" things about the Volvo. This one has 1900 hours and looks
to be in good shape, but have not seatrialed yet. What specific problem
areas should I look out for and what problems in the future should I expect?

Regards,
Bob





"Leanne" wrote in message
...

"Ken Coit" wrote in message
. com...
Presuming you were looking to buy a used boat, which engine would you
rather
see in her:

Remanufactured Perkins 4-108
New BetaMarine 1505
New Yanmar 3JH3E

I would go with the Perkins, but if I had to buy new, I would like the
Yanmar.
I was on a boat for 5 years that had the Perkins. My own boat, I tossed a
Volvo
and replaced it with the 3GM Yanmar. Kubota is a good engine also.

Leanne
s/v Fundy

1900 running hours suggestds that overhaul time is due soon, maybe
very soon....

1900 hrs. on a diesel and it needs a reuild? You sure aren't talking about a
Perkins.

Brian Whatcott wrote in message . ..
1900 running hours suggestds that overhaul time is due soon, maybe
very soon....

Funny, my Perkins 4 cyl diesel has over 2500 hours on it and runs
perfectly. It was made back in 1965 (no, I don't use it much).

Right, I forgot - it's in my tractor. Seems an engine changes when
it's in a boat. Or perhaps it's the lack of maintenance.

Any well maintained diesel fed clean air & fuel, run under proper
load, should last pretty much forever. 2000 hours is nothing.

Peter Wiley

"Peter Wiley" wrote in message
om...
Brian Whatcott wrote in message
. ..
1900 running hours suggestds that overhaul time is due soon, maybe
very soon....

Funny, my Perkins 4 cyl diesel has over 2500 hours on it and runs
perfectly. It was made back in 1965 (no, I don't use it much).

Right, I forgot - it's in my tractor. Seems an engine changes when
it's in a boat. Or perhaps it's the lack of maintenance.

Any well maintained diesel fed clean air & fuel, run under proper
load, should last pretty much forever. 2000 hours is nothing.

Peter Wiley

My 1987 Perkins 4.108 is still going strong at 5,250 hours. It's had new
crankshaft oil seals at both ends at 3,500 hours, 100 hour oil changes all
its life. It's starting to rattle a little, but still gives good power
shoving 10 tons along at 6kts with 2,500 rpm. It runs in a cramped, hot
little engine room with poor ventilation, and above 3,000 rpm (rated at
4,000 max, 3,500 for commercial use) rattles rather louder. Tappets are OK,
so I think the little ends are beginning to die.

So they don't run for ever, but 5,000 hours plus in an ill ventilated
cupboard isn't too bad.
--
Jim B, Yacht RAPAZ,
Summers in the Med, winters in UK
jim[dot]baerselman[at]ntlworld[dot]com

Brian Whatcott wrote in message . ..
1900 running hours suggestds that overhaul time is due soon, maybe
very soon....

Brian Whatcott Altus OK

1900 hours time for a overhaul? I am not a mechanic, but I thought one
of the reasons one would go with a diesel is for its reliability. If I
had a piece of equipment that operated 8 hrs a day, 1900 hours would
be about 237 days of
operation . Most of the machinery ( diesel powered ) at my work
operates 24 hrs a day. The equipment does get a service ( oil and
filter change) every 250 hrs of operation. What a huge liability if
they had to overhaul every 1900 hours.

On 16 Jul 2003 08:48:08 -0700, (brad) wrote:

Brian Whatcott wrote in message . ..
1900 running hours suggestds that overhaul time is due soon, maybe
very soon....

Brian Whatcott Altus OK

1900 hours time for a overhaul? I am not a mechanic, but I thought one
of the reasons one would go with a diesel is for its reliability. If I
had a piece of equipment that operated 8 hrs a day, 1900 hours would
be about 237 days of
operation . Most of the machinery ( diesel powered ) at my work
operates 24 hrs a day. The equipment does get a service ( oil and
filter change) every 250 hrs of operation. What a huge liability if
they had to overhaul every 1900 hours.


It's pleasing to hear about long-life engines.
Used to be, recips used on light aircraft had a mandated overhaul time
- for most of them it was 2000 hours. Now its "on condition" like
jets....

Comparing auto engine lives:

You would like to make 150 thousand miles plus before tearing an auto
down (certainly we are making those numbers on a pair of econoboxes
we own.) If you averaged 40 mph long term - that would be 3750
hours.
But at the margins: the old carb fed auto engines sometimes gave up
after 100,000 miles (~2500 hours) of start/stop.

Around here, those same engines, fed LNG and with a little prep like
hard seats and valves and special rings etc., can go many seasons in
24/7 irrigation pump duty - more than 10,000 hours - and those aren't
diesels.

I personally wouldn't expect a 20 year old gas engine in a boat to
have done very many hours or to be up to much good, - but I could be
wrong.

Brian Whatcott Altus OK

On Wed, 16 Jul 2003 18:12:25 GMT, Brian Whatcott
wrote:

On 16 Jul 2003 08:48:08 -0700, (brad) wrote:

Brian Whatcott wrote in message . ..
1900 running hours suggestds that overhaul time is due soon, maybe
very soon....

Brian Whatcott Altus OK

1900 hours time for a overhaul? I am not a mechanic, but I thought one
of the reasons one would go with a diesel is for its reliability. If I
had a piece of equipment that operated 8 hrs a day, 1900 hours would
be about 237 days of
operation . Most of the machinery ( diesel powered ) at my work
operates 24 hrs a day. The equipment does get a service ( oil and
filter change) every 250 hrs of operation. What a huge liability if
they had to overhaul every 1900 hours.


It's pleasing to hear about long-life engines.
Used to be, recips used on light aircraft had a mandated overhaul time
- for most of them it was 2000 hours. Now its "on condition" like
jets....

Comparing auto engine lives:

You would like to make 150 thousand miles plus before tearing an auto
down (certainly we are making those numbers on a pair of econoboxes
we own.) If you averaged 40 mph long term - that would be 3750
hours.

Yes, but if the auto engine spent a very high percentage of it's life
at, say, 80% max hp, you wouldn't be getting anywhere near those hours.
Cruising along at 55 mph, the average auto engine is probably only
operating at around 10% load.

Steve

(Steven Shelikoff) wrote in message ...
On Wed, 16 Jul 2003 18:12:25 GMT, Brian Whatcott
wrote:

On 16 Jul 2003 08:48:08 -0700, (brad) wrote:

Brian Whatcott wrote in message . ..
1900 running hours suggestds that overhaul time is due soon, maybe
very soon....

Brian Whatcott Altus OK

1900 hours time for a overhaul? I am not a mechanic, but I thought one
of the reasons one would go with a diesel is for its reliability. If I
had a piece of equipment that operated 8 hrs a day, 1900 hours would
be about 237 days of
operation . Most of the machinery ( diesel powered ) at my work
operates 24 hrs a day. The equipment does get a service ( oil and
filter change) every 250 hrs of operation. What a huge liability if
they had to overhaul every 1900 hours.


It's pleasing to hear about long-life engines.
Used to be, recips used on light aircraft had a mandated overhaul time
- for most of them it was 2000 hours. Now its "on condition" like
jets....

Comparing auto engine lives:

You would like to make 150 thousand miles plus before tearing an auto
down (certainly we are making those numbers on a pair of econoboxes
we own.) If you averaged 40 mph long term - that would be 3750
hours.

Yes, but if the auto engine spent a very high percentage of it's life
at, say, 80% max hp, you wouldn't be getting anywhere near those hours.
Cruising along at 55 mph, the average auto engine is probably only
operating at around 10% load.

True, but proper diesel engines are designed to operate under load.
The usual and only worthwhile rating is the continuous one, and it (at
least used to) mean what it says. Fed clean air, fuel and with routine
servicing, diesel engines will run for many, many thousands of hours.
Boat engines have a pathetic life mainly due to their operators'
ignorance. The other problem is engines that are started, run for 5
minutes and then shut down again.

Personally, provided spares were still available, I'd rather have an
older engine running at 1800 rpm than a newer one running at 3600 rpm.
You need a 2:1 reduction in the first case to get your prop shaft
speed below 1000 rpm and can swing a big 2 blade prop slowly. Finding
4:1 reduction boxes - I haven't seen any commonly offered.

My nearly 40 y/o Perkins diesel in my tractor *always* starts and I
bought it in 1988. Over the last 15 years, all I've ever done is
change the oil and filters.

Peter Wiley