Perkins 4.108 - Rebuild or Replace?

[Stillraining]

Glad you posted that ben500...I wanted to but then didn't want too..

[smilie]

The first time I had a massive leak. The job wasn't done right as I had the same problem 2 1/2 years later. Second time around ( different yard) it appears they did the job right. So far so good. That is the way it goes I guess. My perkins will run and run and run, I 'll give it that but if I had it all to do over I would have simply upgraded the first time. Hindsight being what is.

[Cheechako]

rebuild... the oil leak thing is over promoted in my experience... also... parts are probably more readily avail for the 4-108 than for a Yanmar! (read the "making oil amd smoking posts"!)..I know...I'm a yanmar basher and a Perkins lover...I just like things that are simple and work well for a long time!

[Stillraining]

Originally Posted by smilie

The first time I had a massive leak. The job wasn't done right as I had the same problem 2 1/2 years later. Second time around ( different yard) it appears they did the job right. So far so good. That is the way it goes I guess. My perkins will run and run and run, I 'll give it that but if I had it all to do over I would have simply upgraded the first time. Hindsight being what is.

I feel your pain.....It is a Bear-Cat getting one in and out that is for sure...and you just Pray everything Interior gets put back together in the same condition as before...not likely though..
So Im with Ya in that regard!....Im not looking forward to it ever again if I can help it...But I think you know how I feel about and trust the Perkins line..
Probably in the top 5 best products to ever come from the UK.

[anjou]

Originally Posted by Stillraining

Probably in the top 5 best products to ever come from the UK.

What or who are the other 4?

[Stillraining]

LOL!!!...That came quicker then I expected........well...... They have a big fat Diamond I wouldn't mind having for one..

[gandalf]

Thanks to all who responded. I've pretty well settled on rebuilding but just wanted to know if anyone had bad experiences with doing so. Simplicity and availability of spare parts as well as no need for modifications in the hull have sold the reconditioning idea to me!

[Laidback]

Originally Posted by gandalf

Thanks to all who responded. I've pretty well settled on rebuilding but just wanted to know if anyone had bad experiences with doing so. Simplicity and availability of spare parts as well as no need for modifications in the hull have sold the reconditioning idea to me!

Here is an outfit for Diesel Spares and Rebuild Kits in your neck of the woods
Perkins 4.108

At GOOD prices compared to others.

DIESEL SPARES.com.au
3 Hantke Place,
Welshpool.
Western Australia,
Australia. 6106

phone
Within Australia - (08) 93506566
International - (country code) + 61893506566
fax
Within Australia - (08) 93518965
International - (country code) + 61893518965
------------------
If you don't rebuild - then consider repowering with an Isuzu 67 naturally aspirated professionally marinised in Brisbane Qland Aussie.
I have done 2 = excellent.

[Algernon]

Hi Frank,

My name is Chris Kuchling. I was an early owner of Evenstar. We bought her in Seattle in 1987 from an older couple who we think were the original owners. As far as we know she had never been outside of Puget Sound. After outfitting her with additional electronics and gear we sailed Evenstar down the coast to Mexico, crossed the equator down to French Polynesia, where that same Perkins 4.108 which is now giving you grief gave me a forced crash course in diesel mechanics (more about that later), then through the Cook Islands to Tonga and Fiji and then down to New Zealand. Six months later back up through Tonga to Samoa and then against the trade winds to Penrhyn. Then north to Christmas, Fanning and Palmyra and finally to Hawaii, where we arrived four years after buying Evenstar. We lived on Evenstar for three more years in Hawaii before we sold her, with great sadness, in Seattle, through the same broker and for the same price for which we had bought her seven years earlier. That was in 1993. The buyers were a couple from Alaska who sailed Evenstar at least as far as South Africa before we lost track of her.

A few years ago Evenstar was sold by Lee Marine in Thailand. We have no idea how she got there. As you can see your Evenstar has been around the block a few times! She is a wonderful and sturdy boat, undoubtedly capable of providing you and your family with many more wonderful memories. We loved her very dearly and it was with considerable nostalgia that we came across your post. I have no doubt that Evenstar gave me, my wife, and our two young children the best years of our lives. We'd love to hear more about her, your family, and your plans with her. We'd also love to see some pictures of her.

OK, now back to that Perkins 4.108. My recommendation is to replace this old and tired motor with a new and more powerful one. With that Perkins Evenstar was badly underpowered even when it was new, barely making four knots against a choppy sea. We tried all kinds of propellor combinations, but the Perkins simply does not deliver enough horsepower to push Evenstar at a reasonable speed in anything but dead flat water. Having said that I must confess that my trouble with that Perkins in Tahiti was entirely self-inflicted. I installed an oil filter incorrectly, completely shutting off all oil flow to the bearings. Two months and a painful education later I had her running again with new bearings and a re-ground and re-hardened crankshaft. Other than that and its lack of power we never had any problems with this motor. It always started and never once let us down.

My email address is concor1@mac.com

Regards, Chris Kuchling

[zeehag]

i would rebuild before even considering a replacement unless there is a large hole in block..lol..th e4-108 is a good and reliable engine when rebuilt properly--i will stand by mine for looong time--more than 10 min...LOL

[Randyonr3]

As stated befor in the posting, we fixed our leak.......
BUT, what I wanted to bring up was that while searching other motors the Yanmar came up.. saw the people at the boat show and they said the moter they had to replace mine would set on the same mounts, easier to work on and had twice the power..(it was turbo charged).. and at a resonable price...
They had quoted me around 10k for the complete motor and use my herth trans...
And then I found out they wanted around another 10k to install it and said that the only way they would warenty the motor was if they put it in and the price was so high because, as they said, "they would have to rewire my electrical system for their motor"...... I passed on the system.......
If anyone does decide to repower.........read the fine print.......

[slomotion]

Originally Posted by anjou

What or who are the other 4?

The long bow

steam engine

London dry gin

Lotus Super 7

[bastonjock]

They are still making engines at the Factory,its just down the road from where i live,these days the engines have Volvo and Caterpillar on them but they are still built in Frank Perkins factory.

You come accross old river boats that still have their 50 year old perkins engines thumping away

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by Randyonr3

As stated befor in the posting, we fixed our leak.......
BUT, what I wanted to bring up was that while searching other motors the Yanmar came up.. saw the people at the boat show and they said the moter they had to replace mine would set on the same mounts, easier to work on and had twice the power..(it was turbo charged).. and at a resonable price...
They had quoted me around 10k for the complete motor and use my herth trans...
And then I found out they wanted around another 10k to install it and said that the only way they would warenty the motor was if they put it in and the price was so high because, as they said, "they would have to rewire my electrical system for their motor"...... I passed on the system.......
If anyone does decide to repower.........read the fine print.......

the fine print is exactly why i went with 4-108 over yannie--i love yannie but not for 20 k total LOL

[BornSailor2]

Originally Posted by jkleins

I just repowered from a 4.108 (it is for sale for parts if you want it. ) on it's second rebuild and it was pretty expensive to modify everything for a Yanmar 4JH4 due to having to lower the engine to line up the shaft. I have to admit though that the new engine is significantly quieter then the other. It used to sound like a factory in the pilothouse and now more like a loud car

Jim

What Parts do you have and what price?

BS