Which Engine Manufactured is most problematic?

[zboss]

The most problematic? The one you have in your boat.

[captlloyd]

Originally Posted by Wonderinlost

First is part supplies determines a good motor. If you can not fix or get parts it will make any motor no good. Second is how you run your motor. It's like a dog it will reflect how it is treated and will determine how good of a motor you have in time. Maintenence is a big issue to got to be dillagent and thoro.

All in all for new I think Volvo is good just expensive. Saw no love on the new yanmars. If there's a 4 cyl cummins I would get one of those always liked a cummins. Kubota has many years in small diesels and are good working motors.

Absolutely right, Cummins are sweet engines and they do make a 4 cyl . In trucks they run 300,000 miles or more with proper care.

[Hard Rock Candy]

My one and only experience was with a Yanmar twenty. It was a stock engine in my 1978 morgan. it was very simple to work on . although I never had to do anything to it except rebuild the starter. It had no glow plugs. you just turned the key on and started it like a car. It was 20 years old when I bought it and had lots of hours on it. it used no oil, did not leak and pulled like a tug boat. The reason I said it was simple to work on, was I met a guy in the Rio Dulce who had one that had injector trouble. I had a service manual, so I helped him repair his injector system. No side mounted injector pump. The two pumps for the two pistons rode in their own bores in the block and were driven off of the camshaft. That old of a Yanmar were very heavy and built like the proverbial out house. Mac

[Stu Jackson]

Julie,

Everybody else's engines.

Mine works just fine.

M25 Universal/Kubota block. 1986.

Yup, they don't make 'em like they used to.

Originally Posted by zboss

The most problematic? The one you have in your boat.

WRONG.

I LOVE our engine.

[sailalibi]

This is a great thread! I am partial to my universal (kubota block) but have tried to source parts as a tractor engine without success. The difficulty is in cross referencing from marine model numbers to tractor models. Perhaps a specific thread for this endeavor would be helpful.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by sailalibi

This is a great thread! I am partial to my universal (kubota block) but have tried to source parts as a tractor engine without success. The difficulty is in cross referencing from marine model numbers to tractor models. Perhaps a specific thread for this endeavor would be helpful.

There are no marine model numbers. Only engine types. I have a Phasor p3-28-05. It's an 1105 engine. When I go to a Kubota engine dealer I tell them it's an 1105. When I go to a tractor dealer I tell them it's a blahblah zero turn mower.


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[Sailing4Jesus]

Ship Mates,

I am soon to inherit two kitty Cats, The Caterpillar 3306, Max RPM 2200, 6 cylinders, 250 HP. I know doodly squat nothing about Diesel Engines, but I read quite a lot. I seem to have never ran across any negative posts concerning Caterpillar, but I am concerned about the New Laws concerning Diesel Engines and their contribution to global climate change. I've read a little about the coming possibility wherein the Old Generation Marine Diesels will become illegal. So! What say my Sailor Mates out there? Any advice for me. Should I consider replacing those two kitty Cats, or hang in there like a rusty fish hook until those kitty Cats are outlawed? I'll be 71 Next Tuesday 24 February, so just maybe I should keep those Two Kitty Cats. In addition, anyone owning a like Cat please let me know what you have found in the Cat 3306.

Thanks From The Old Navy Senior Chief

[SkiprJohn]

Originally Posted by Senior Chief

Ship Mates,

I am soon to inherit two kitty Cats, The Caterpillar 3306, Max RPM 2200, 6 cylinders, 250 HP. I know doodly squat nothing about Diesel Engines, but I read quite a lot. I seem to have never ran across any negative posts concerning Caterpillar, but I am concerned about the New Laws concerning Diesel Engines and their contribution to global climate change. I've read a little about the coming possibility wherein the Old Generation Marine Diesels will become illegal. So! What say my Sailor Mates out there? Any advice for me. Should I consider replacing those two kitty Cats, or hang in there like a rusty fish hook until those kitty Cats are outlawed? I'll be 71 Next Tuesday 24 February, so just maybe I should keep those Two Kitty Cats. In addition, anyone owning a like Cat please let me know what you have found in the Cat 3306.

Thanks From The Old Navy Senior Chief

Cats are great engines but they don't make em small for most us old sailboaters. Do with what you have and hang in there. The key to diesel engines is oil changes on schedule, clean air, clean fuel (very clean fuel) and a clean cooling system so they never overheat. When you crank them over make certain your batteries are fully charged. Retired CMC here.

kindest regards,

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

I think not all MD were Perkins. We have an old MD (7) and it is not a Perkins block.

This may explain why this MD is such a great engine. See my earlier post.

b.

MD2B were not Perkins. Great engine too! But so were all my real Perkins...

[Shawn67]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

I think not all MD were Perkins. We have an old MD (7) and it is not a Perkins block.

I believe the MD7 was an Albin motor originally. Don't know the accuracy of it but I've read that those series of diesels were the last engines designed for marine duty.

I have a love/hate relationship with my MD7A. I love the simplicity of it. But it was overheating at the end of the season and had a dead fuel injector pump at the start of the season. That wasn't a good first impression.

The overheating is likely a clogged water passages in the exhaust manifold. Plan is to clean that all out and convert to fresh water cooled. That is assuming I can dig the boat out of all the snow....

Shawn

[Cheechako]

I think we have to keep in mind the age of the engine for evaluating if it's a "good" design or not.
I'm thinking maybe an engine should go for 10 years and at least 5000 hours to be "good".
But complaining about a 35-45 year old engine regardless of hours on the meter... doesn't mean anything to me. Neither does complaining about a 3 year old engine that has 12000+ hours on it.
So if you bought an old boat that still has the original engine in it... not sure you have any gripes... you rolled the dice...

[captlloyd]

You can't get much better than a Cat !! They go forever but parts are expensive. I just turned 70, I don't worry much about regulations any more. I think it will be a long, long time before you see the regulations you speak of enacted, don't worry, be happy.

[Island Time O25]

Wouldn't the best way to figure out the thread title's question is to look at the engine preferences of commercial small boat users? The launch people, lobstermen, etc? They're the ones who are putting 5,000hrs or more a year and that's about 20-30 years worth of a light seasonal user or 10 years of an average liveaboard.

[dannc]

Originally Posted by Senior Chief

Ship Mates,

I am soon to inherit two kitty Cats, The Caterpillar 3306, Max RPM 2200, 6 cylinders, 250 HP. I know doodly squat nothing about Diesel Engines, but I read quite a lot. I seem to have never ran across any negative posts concerning Caterpillar, but I am concerned about the New Laws concerning Diesel Engines and their contribution to global climate change. I've read a little about the coming possibility wherein the Old Generation Marine Diesels will become illegal. So! What say my Sailor Mates out there? Any advice for me. Should I consider replacing those two kitty Cats, or hang in there like a rusty fish hook until those kitty Cats are outlawed? I'll be 71 Next Tuesday 24 February, so just maybe I should keep those Two Kitty Cats. In addition, anyone owning a like Cat please let me know what you have found in the Cat 3306.

Thanks From The Old Navy Senior Chief

My understanding from reading the EPA regulations, is that old engines can only be placed in boats that are as old or as older than the engine. A new boat needs a new engine meeting the new regulations.

I think the EPA and MARPOL are linked so the regulations extend to non US countries that fall under MARPOL. How that works in the EU is beyond my understanding. I can barely understand the EPA regulations. I have read that engines need to meet some sort of air pollution standard to cruise some/all? German rivers.

Later,
Dan

[capt jgw]

Like Sandcrab said, there are no marine engines built from the ground up as marine engines, they are auto, tractor, or industrial engines. The marine market is just too small to make that pay. The difference lies in the execution of the marinization job, and the availability of parts from non-marine sources. I currently have an older Universal, which is really a Kubota, and its pretty good. Universal is now owned by Westerbeke and they do everything they can to get you buy thier parts at 10 times the Kubota price. They won't tell you the Kubota numbers, but you can find them on this and other forums. The same is true with Volvo and others. I'm told that Beta, on the other hand, will tell you the Kubota part numbers so you can source them yourself. Their execution is very good as well, built in oil change pump, better gearbox, etc. Probably higher initial cost though, as they don't have that huge parts profit coming in.

You can't really say a Beta is better than a Universal, or Volvo, or any other. It's the bells and whistles they add and customer support that makes the difference.