Volvo Lack of Concern

[LAMOUISSE34]

Hi,

I was many times told many bas stories about Volvo .
What happened to me is unbelievable.

Having ordered some parts from a Ma dealer.shipped to Phoenix Az,I drove back to mazatan.Mexico with them.
Among the spares were pistons rings,

I took all necessary precautions,mailing and faxing:
- the engine type;MD2030D
-the serial No and year
-the correct part No

The oil rings don't fit the pistons,and I have soon to leave.

The most surrealistic answer was given to the dealer by Volvo:

quote

Piston ring kit 3580337 may not fit.

If Piston ring kit don't fit on the piston, as the oil scraper ring is too wide, please make
sure that the ring grove on the piston is 4mm wide. If it is 3mm wide, the pistons have to
be changed.

The width must be 4mm, otherwise you will get to high oil consumption."

unquote

The dealer flies away and report the mistake on Volvo.
'

Which means that when you order spares from Volvo,they may fit or the may not fit.

And if you order a piston,you may have to change the engine because they are unable to know what part fits what engine..

I will never buy ant boat in the future with a Volvo engine, Swedish brand made in England, with spares from japon.
Everything overpriced ,and a total lack of respect for their customers.

I am not aUS citizen and is not familiar with going to court when such things happened.

[JPA Cate]

Lamouisse34,

First, let me say I feel for you, what a lousy situation for you!

Actually Volvo has had a bad reputation among cruisers for a very long time. Nickname:
"Green Death". Mnemonic: "Volvo won't go". Their reputation is so bad that coming up on 14 years ago or so, when we were looking for our new boat (but long before we found her) Jim said that having a Volvo engine would be a deal breaker for us.

I think that by mentioning this on the internet, you've started the revenge process, but you're still left with an engine that isn't running. Maybe you can get all the measurements you'll need, and go to another supplier of rings, there in Mexico if that is what you're needing; I'd think there'd be someone. They use small diesel engines in many applications, and it's only rings.

Good luck with it, you're in a really tough situation.

Ann

[LAMOUISSE34]

Hi Ann,

thank You for your answer.
I am short of time and and no other option than to reuse the same old oil rings.
What surprises me is the lack of responsibility from a dealer and/or mother company in a country known rightly for having a high sense of commitment and sense of PR.
The answer is not only irresponsible.
It shows a lack of organization and a very administrative mentality.

It is more than a fault,it is a mistake.

[MarkSF]

Sounds like you need to use the new compression rings, and the oil scraper ring.

[Vasco]

There was another thread recently on useless Volvos and it gave all the blocks etc. Think the MD30 was a Perkins with a Kubota block. But do a search for the thread. Might be able to get the parts from a farm implement dealer.

[Vasco]

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...vo-104755.html

here it is.

[FlyingCloud1937]

The MD2020, 2030, and 2040 are Perkins engines. There will be a Perkins Plate on the engine, It will include the build number, this is the as built engine. So any Perkins dealer with this number will be able to give you all the right parts for that specific engine, absolutely no guessing.

Lloyd

[NCboatrx]

Originally Posted by Vasco

There was another thread recently on useless Volvos and it gave all the blocks etc. Think the MD30 was a Perkins with a Kubota block. But do a search for the thread. Might be able to get the parts from a farm implement dealer.

This is not correct. Volvo have never used a Kubota block.
The engines that they use with a Perkins label are actually made by Shibaru.
Stanley

[goboatingnow]

I like to find a marine engine supplier thats does care, Ive had awful problems with Yanmar and Nanni in the past. I don't think any one of them is better the other

dave

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by NCboatrx

This is not correct. Volvo have never used a Kubota block.
The engines that they use with a Perkins label are actually made by Shibaru.
Stanley

Yes, that's why I referred the OP to this thread:
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...vo-104755.html

It's all in the thread including the reference to Shibaura, which is the company I presume you meant.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, LAMOUISSE34.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

I like to find a marine engine supplier thats does care, Ive had awful problems with Yanmar and Nanni in the past. I don't think any one of them is better the other

dave

Don't know about your side of the pond but over hear Beta Marine is excellent. Have heard nothing but good from any Beta owner. They use Kubota blocks so basic parts IE anything not involved in the marinization are readily available from any Kubota tractor dealer. I believe Beta is a UK based company so would assume they are available around the EU.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Don't know about your side of the pond but over hear Beta Marine is excellent. Have heard nothing but good from any Beta owner. They use Kubota blocks so basic parts IE anything not involved in the marinization are readily available from any Kubota tractor dealer. I believe Beta is a UK based company so would assume they are available around the EU.

yes good things from beta, and the base kubota block is solid. Parts however tend to have to be shipped from Beta, which can be a pain and non euro issues when in mainland eu. etc.

Dave

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

yes good things from beta, and the base kubota block is solid. Parts however tend to have to be shipped from Beta, which can be a pain and non euro issues when in mainland eu. etc.

Dave

Not sure if this applies to newer engines like the Beta but my experience in working on older diesels is even most of the marine specific parts are not brand specific or can easily be replaced with generics.

Recent examples.

- W58 water pump">raw water pump. A standard off the shelf Sherwood pump, available from any Sherwood pump dealer. I paid half what the Westerbeke dealer quoted.

- Heat exchangers. My engine has a large one for fresh/raw water cooling, and smaller ones for engine oil and transmission fluid cooling. All three are standard round tube coolers with passages for the water and oil. Don't see why you couldn't use any old cooler as long as the capacity is close enough to the original. Mounting might take a little ingenuity if the replacement is a different size or shape but any third world welding shop should be able to manage that.

- Fuel lift pump. My engine has a Westerbeke specific pump to feed the secondary filter and injector pump but I have a spare, off the shelf truck diesel pump with the correct psi and flow rating.

- Incidentals like throttle linkage, fuel filters, oil filters, etc all are standard items or can be replaced with such. Alternators? Well alternators is alternators and the options there are limited only by the space, brackets and pulley layout.

I think the main parts you would have to get only from the marine engine supplier would be the exhaust manifold and maybe the mixing elbow and maybe the fresh water pump.

If the mixing elbow bolts directly to the manifold you would probably have to go with original. The fresh water pump. Well, ,had to replace the fresh water pump on a Mercruiser sterndrive which uses a standard Chevrolet small block V8. Thought I could get one cheaper from the autoparts store but the one one on the boat was just a little different so had to go for a genuine Mercury part.

So unless I missed something I think most marine engines could be repaired or at least got into running condition even if you can't get marine parts from the engine supplier. If you can get the basic engine parts like heads and gaskets, pistons, rings, starters, injectors and injector pumps and such from a company that makes the block and is widely sold commercially for trucks and/or tractors (like Kubota) then you should be well covered.

[belizesailor]

I've had similar bad experiences with Volvo distributors in the past, but nothing but good things to say about Marine Parts Express. Knowledgeable, good service, and better prices.