Diesel Engine Evaluation

[tdoster]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

This is classical moment for a repower; however, be sure that you are not flushing money down the drain. I mean -- be sure that the investment in repowering is roughly, at least, reflected in an increase in the value of the boat afterwards. Otherwise, you are better off selling or scrapping the boat and buying another one with a functional engine. It's simple math; however many sailors don't do it, and regret it later.

A repower is a delightful thing; kind of like buying a new car. A complete fresh start. Yanmar motors are very good, but as a Yanmar owner, I would suggest looking at Beta and Nanni first. Simpler and more reliable than Yanmar.

Don't forget peripheral expenses of a repower. You will not be able to just drop a new engine in. You will need probably to redo the engine beds, you will probably need a different prop shaft, you will probably need a different prop, and you will want to replace the stern gland and cutless bearing. Don't forget about these little details, which can really add up in cost.

That is kind of like saying move out of your house if the entire Heating / AC unit needs to be replaced. Replacing it is not going to increase the value of the home, but it will make it more attractive to buyers than putting more money to patch an old system and KEY - become a known expense for X. Simple math is knowing going in that you will NOT EVER recoup your investment when you sell your boat and don't even use it as a factor. At best, your boat will sell a little more or at market value faster than the others same make/models.

The math really is not that simple as there are so many things to consider and use as factors. Can spend hours adding factors to the equation and in our case, even though we fixed the engine we have with a 2K top-end job, the math still added up to where we were better off with a repower. Chiefly, we can afford it right now and can put off leaving for a few more months to make up for the added expense now, but knowing our budget wont be blown down the road when we are on a fixed income. It will be the last purchase before we leave as the warranty is another factor.

You are absolutely correct on peripheral expenses, but appears the OP is going about this the right way and asking the right questions to build his own equation.

[tdoster]

Originally Posted by Eddiefuego

Head is off....exhaust, intake, fuel lines, radiator. Banged the devil out of the pistons ...to no level of movement.

Declared dead this morning at 10:40 cst. I am now deciding to rebuild this old girl or buy a used/remanufactured beast in the US and have shipped down. It looks like I can have the shipping done pretty reasonably and quickly. David in Panama has a place that has a good rep for rebuilding diesels in the marine community down here. They need the engine I.D. to know what rebuild kit to price. Any idea where this might be located?? Westerbeke 4-107 as far as I know....deceased party.
One mechanic says...buy a new Yanmar and come into this centuries technologies. I can get the engine swapped down here for 1.5K$ or 40$/hr. While the engine is out I can remove 40 yrs worth of wires and find all/most of the additional work necessary to be done that I now know not. And so it goes. Any words of wisdom are appreciated...especially the location of the magical engine ID.

As I recall, it is on the left side of the block up high, but my memory is not as good as it used to be.

Panama has some great talent for rebuilding motors, just can't be in a hurry. Problem of having an engine shipped down, a good rebuilder will want a core back in return, so that is a negotiating point. dieseltrader.com is a good source. If you have a source and agent for cheap shipping, that is a big hurdle.

My opinion is to get the engine out of the boat and assess everything at that time and then decide the best course of action moving forward. Once the engine is out, you can look at the beds (use a moisture meter), shaft, packing, cutlass, diesel tanks, wiring, etc... and decide how much you can afford, how long you plan to cruise/keep the boat, and what all the added expenses will be with the various options.

Keep in mind the ancillary things like exhaust size of the new engine requirement compared to what you have. Some require 4" where 3" was the standard when made. Things like that can get expensive in a hurry as well as set you back on time.

[brantleychuck]

I repowered a 36 sloop that was wrecked in a storm. I was rebuilding the boat to use, not sell. While out cruising I was one of the few who had zero engine,tranny problems. When motoring for days at a time I enjoyed the smooth quietness and confidence my little red beta gave me. If your plan is extended cruising then I would recommend a repower over a rebuild.
8 years later finds me repowering another boat, 40 motor sailor. The old Nissan/ Chrysler diesel was a rusted hulk after sitting idle for 18 years. Because of my experience with the Beta I chose a beta 50 for the new diesel. The Beta Marine 50 came with engine mounts, top of the line control panel, oil cooler for trans with oil lines, damper plate, just bolt to trans, bolts included also, 100 amp alternator with serpintine belt. $12,000 . I do all the labor myself. Took 2 days work to build new engine beds, 200 bucks for fiberglass materials. New 1 1/4 shaft, fit and face new split coupling, rd flexible coupling, new stuffing box, $1500. Rebuild BW. Velvet drive trans $800. New water lift muffler,exhaust hose, clamps, fuel lines, raw water hook up,etc about $ 1000.
It is very easy to align the shaft coupling when using the RD flex coupling. Not because you can have slight misalignment. Took me 1 1/2 with a feeler gauge adjusting the mounts that came with the engine, same as last time.
Installing a new engine is a lot of work but like most things just a bunch of small steps, not much harder than changing a car engine. My 2 cents. Chuck

[Eddiefuego]

Thanks you guys. I'm going to take the engine/trans out right where she is, at the dock. Then we'll see how to proceed. I'll have full access to the bilge to clean/paint run wires, bilge pumps..
You're not the first to advocate Beta's. Good idea if I were going to go off shore or keep the boat for 10 yrs. Likely not in the plans....famous last words.

[v40163]

If you still need to know where the engine serial number is I can tell you exactly...

1. Locate the fuel injection pump. You will see two nuts and one socket head capscrew securing it to the block.

2. Look at the pump mounting flange (on the engine block) between the upper nut and the capscrew. You will find the number there. It should start with 107-something if it truly is a 4.107.

Ray Russell
Valiant 40 #163
Enshalla