Seeking used 50-60hp diesel engine

[Dick Stapleton]

Need to replace my Peugeot-Lehman.
Thanks
Dick

[Boracay]

Taking a wider view you don't say what sort of boat you have or what you use it for or why you want to replace your current engine.

The problem with second hand diesels is that they are, well, second hand. That is, there is going to be a reason that they are being sold.

Rebuilding an old diesel can be an expensive and risky process. Before buying an unknown engine do check the cost. You could find it works out to be more than a new engine.

And since you are doing a repower the cost of installing the engine and upgrading associated systems is going to be expensive. I have seen estimates that suggest that installation costs about the same as the price of a new engine. While I did my own work my experience bears this out.

The only marine engines that come up repeatedly as being rebuildable are the Perkins 4108 and the 6 Cylinder Ford Lehman, and these are getting old, though parts are reportedly still available.

The engine/gearbox is the one component in a cruising boat that gives the most grief, and rebuilding is not practicable in many cases. My opinion is that the gearbox needs to be well oversize and anecdotal evidence seems to bear this out.

Rater than go second hand unit if you can "fix" your present engine to last a few more years while you build up your kitty for a new one that would be better. This is a good time to start upgrading fuel, electrical and control systems so that the next engine is coming to a good home, and this may reduce or even solve some of the problems you may be having.

Marinised Kubota diesels have received good reports and Yanmar and Volvo continue to be popular with good reason. My experience has been that new pricing can be very competitive with rebuilding a second hand motor particularly when longer term benefits are considered. I'd strongly suggest calling your local dealers and discussing your requirement with them.

After months of fiddling round I removed the old Ford in Boracay and installed a John Deere 4045/ZF63. I have found it to be an excellent engine/gearbox combination though it may be too big and heavy for your boat.

After saying all of the above I did see a Peugeot-Lehman for sale on this Forum and it could be worth checking if it is still available.

I also found an article on repowering from a Peugeot-Lehman that would be worth reading.

[Rocketman]

Boracay, has a lot of great information there and you should concider it all before buying anything. With that said, I bought a Perkins M-60 engine as a back up for my M-50 that I thought would need to be replaced in the next few years. Since I bought the engine I have done some work on my M-50 and now it seems to be running like a new watch so, I may be willing to part with my spare. My spare has about 2000 hrs on it, looks and runs like new. I bought it from a guy that thought it was going to need rebuilding but turns out it was the transmition that was bad. Long story, but if you have interest in my M-60 engine PM me, I would take $3000.00 for it.