Life Expectancy of a Yanmar 3GM30

[clockwork orange]

I disagree that a marine engine has a harder life than an automotive diesel,i drive an old VW passat tdi, it has over 230000 miles on it,i live in minnesota where it gets very cold,i live less than 4 miles from work so when i start my diesel in the winter at anywhere from 20 degrees F above to 20 degrees F below zero the temperature gauge has barely started to rise when i shut it down again,even in the summer it dosnt get fully up to temp.In the summer the amount of dust i get on my dash is an indication of what the engine has to breath(no dust at sea) I would think that my engine would love to be running at a constant rpm around its max torque of 1900rpm fully warmed up and happy..I think a truck has a better life as it gets to be properly warmed up but car engines can have a horrible life and still last well.
Re the yanmar,a friend of mine bought a 2GM20 as a running takeout with 8500hrs on it,it was in a Cat and the other engine had failed,the boat motored back to Florida from the Bahamas on this engine and then was repowered,my friend put this engine in a 37ft ketch in Bellhaven,NC and then motored it several thousand miles to Duluth MN with no issues and no excessive oil burn etc,its a nice engine so 10000 seems quite realistic.
Steve.

[speedoo]

Often, what ends the service life of a marine diesel is obsolescence. I think there are quite a few 30 year old marine diesels out there that could easily provide another 10-20 years of service if replacement parts were available.

[clockwork orange]

You are so right with that speedoo,we recently replaced a perkins with a new yanmar for that reason mostly.
Steve.

[FraidNot]

I was recently shopping for 10 year old boats - many out of charter work. About 4000 to 5000 hours was common.
The advice at the time was that they were at or less than half life as long as they had been adequately serviced.
I had an oil spectral analysis done on the boat I chose. The oil had been in the engine for several months - and the expert opinion on the oil was that it was in excellent shape - as I look around the marina - I see the majority of boats and engines are that age or more.
I'm no expert - but I honestly expect 10k hours is a fair bet. Then a heavy overhaul ($7K)or a new one ($15K).

[Ram]

Originally Posted by FraidNot

Then a heavy overhaul ($7K)or a new one ($15K).

is that cost installed?

[FraidNot]

If I recall - that was a very rough rule of thumb for a 40 footer. Another 5k perhaps for the install, extras and slipping etc etc etc
$20k installed walk away for a brand new donk - this is the general analysis for Australia I've been told - probably much cheaper in many other parts of the world.
I ain't no expert.

[Sailmonkey]

The worst thing you can do to an engine is not run it.
If the engine is on the fairly young side and has a ton of hours on it.....you're ok
on the other hand I've worked on quite a few engines that had low hours, and leaky valves, dried out gaskets.

[sabray]

This is my last sailboat with an engine. Iis not worth the mental Fatigue. I sail off the mooring because I can but I run the engine because I should. Then I run the engine longer then I intended because that's better. Meanwhile the engine has more hours which is okay if they are the right kind of hours as long ad there arn't to many hours. I only needed the engine for a few minutes if at all I like it just in case. So I'm sailing along in a fine breeze wishing I could enjoy that moment when the engine is turned off and a calm is cast over the boat. But I can't because that's bad and I might need that engine I wouldn't want it to fail me or ehhh . For sale cummins 4b3.3 300 hours.

[clausont]

Sabray - I wish that we could sail off the mooring (or out of our slip anyway ) I don't think it would be possible in our marina due to the configuration of the marina and the prevailing winds and currents of the bay. Or maybe it is because I lack the skill to do so anyway.
Cummins 4b 3.3? I had not even heard of one of these. I was just looking at an Islander 37 and thinking it would be a nice boat for the price. But then I saw that it had an A-4 in it. Then the price looked a lot different thinking of the cost to repower it to diesel. Some would say that gas in the sailboat is ok and it might be for them, but for me, my personal preference is diesel.

[sabray]

The. Cummins is a 65 hp that replaced a Perkins 4-154. It's a marinized b series cummins diesel. I'm happy with it. Very simple low rpm. Cost about $12k us with the tranny and some pieces exhaust etc..I did the install I'd guess if I hired it out maybe another $5k.
Islander 37 could be nice.

[HobieFan]

I just slagged my Westerbeke 30 with only 1500 hours, because the oil pan rusted through and leaked all the oil out. I neglected to check the oil before starting it, but it's also entirely possible that the leak could have been generated from the vibration after starting it and drained out while it was running.

Point being that a thorough engine survey is REQUIRED if you want to rely on the engine. I wish I had done that. My mechanic looked at it and said "why didn't your engine surveyor see the rust on the oil pan?" Hah. Cos I didn't hire one.

$12,000 "whoops"

[Pa La O La]

Life expectancy of Yanmar
Well it will be a longer life if it never smokes. If it starts smoking try to get it to quite. If not at least smoke lights and no none filtered.

[frankie46]

The small Yanmar diesel is great engine, the problem start when you marinise it with heat exchangers and wet exhausts, they are the items that will go before the engine dies. Furthermore if a problem with a heat exchanger isn't picked up quickly it could destroy the engine.

I had a small yanmar diesel running a genset in a ferry, she done 12000 hrs and all I've done is oil and filter changes.