Yanmar 4JH4-TE owners

[goboatingnow]

Turbos in petrol engines are a completely different animal to those in small diesels. Almost every small diesel in cars now is a turbo diesel. These are small low mass turbos running relatively low pressures. They have proven to be very reliable. The old chestnut about turbos needs to be buried. They provide better fuel economy, more response and a better torque curve.

At around 2500 hours have them pulled and the cores replaced and rebalanced.

Dave

[DennisDW]

Thanks everyone for the cogent replies. The comment about needing a 3" exhaust system is very important as I would have to re-build the whole thing. The Cambria has an elegant stainless fitting on the transom for the exit port and it's only 2". It would certainly be easier and cheaper to go with the normally aspirated version in that regard.

As a side note, my good old "Rosie" is a 1983 Mercedes 5cyl turbo diesel with 300k on the clock and as reliable as the summer is hot. 'Still new at 300K!
Fair winds all and thanks again!
Dennis

[bstreep]

Dennis, we have a 4JH turbo Yanmar. As noted, the addition of the turbo DOES add complexity. A year ago, ours quit spinning. It still ran, up to about 2800 rpms, but beyond that it would blow black smoke.

I removed it, cleaned it up (it had gotten coked up), and it's been running perfectly since then. I now make a point of running it HARD on occasion, to keep it clean. The problem is that at about 2200 rpms we do over 6kts, and burn about a gallon an hour. At 3200 rpms we do 8.5kts, and burn about 3-4 gallons an hour. So, we are often not running it hard enough.

So, the net is, if a 50hp naturally aspirated engine works for you, go for it. If you need the extra 25hp, remember it comes at a cost beyond the initial cost.

[DennisDW]

Wow, Bill! I'm shocked by those fuel consumption numbers. I often motorsail at less than 50% power and it would be an issue to have to run it hard frequently. My Alajuela 38 has a little 3gm30 to push her 28000lbs and does 6 knots at .4 gal/hr. Contrary to what many think, she is not underpowered.

Thank you for that insight. It's very helpful.
Yours
Dennis

[bstreep]

Dennis, here's the fuel consumption data for the 4JH4-TE:

http://www.yanmar.com.au/media/17339/4jh4-te.pdf

On page 2, you'll see about 1 gallon per hour at 2000 rpms, and 3 gph at 2900 rpms.

You'll also see from this link that Yanmar recommends running their engines at 85% power, they strongly recommend not running at less than 80% for extended periods of time, and that if you run slower a lot, that you have to run it up and run hard for 10-20 minutes for every 3-4 hours of slower running.

Yanmar Marine Engine Help

Turbos also need an occasional wash.

[downunder]

It really comes down to the HP you need for your vessel.

Yanmar 54, 75 and 110 are essentially same motor with the addittion of turbo for 75 and turbo/aftercooler for 110hp.

If don't need 75hp and 54 is Ok then non turbo is way to go.

I would also consider the Beta 60.

Cheers

[bstreep]

Originally Posted by downunder

I would also consider the Beta 60.

Cheers

I don't know what I was thinking in not recommending this. This is the BEST advice you will get. I HATE the way Yanmar runs their distributor/dealer program - it keeps them from competing, and therefore parts prices are 2-4x what they should be.

[Jose Pagan]

The turbo version of the venerable 4JH4, the TE, was an option when I ordered the Jeanneau 49, in 2005. The additional horse power was an easy sell for me. The engine makes 110HP at 3200 RPM and easily pushes the boat to its haul speed. The only scheduled maintenance prescribed by Yanmar for the turbo charger is cleaning at 250 hour interval or yearly which ever occurs first. I suggest that if you have a choice, get the TE version. The fuel burn is not much different than the normally aspirated engine about 1 GPH, with a 21 inch MAX prop in my case. In general the engine is quiet, easy to bleed and lighter than most. Having too much fuel is only a factor if you are on fire and too much horse power if you are ramming the dock.

jp

[Oceansailor]

Have the 4JH4-TE. It works OK. I exersice it 10 minutes every 3-4 hours on 70 % load, then back to 2000 RPM.

One advantage with the engine is that Yanmar offers a factory approved second alternator (Mastervolt 130A)

I can only confirm that the 3" exhaus system is important.

The gearbox with a cone coupling is really nice. Go gor the higher reduction to get down the propeller RPM.

[CAELESTIS]

Originally Posted by Jose Pagan

The turbo version of the venerable 4JH4, the TE, was an option when I ordered the Jeanneau 49, in 2005. The additional horse power was an easy sell for me. The engine makes 110HP at 3200 RPM and easily pushes the boat to its haul speed. The only scheduled maintenance prescribed by Yanmar for the turbo charger is cleaning at 250 hour interval or yearly which ever occurs first. I suggest that if you have a choice, get the TE version. The fuel burn is not much different than the normally aspirated engine about 1 GPH, with a 21 inch MAX prop in my case. In general the engine is quiet, easy to bleed and lighter than most. Having too much fuel is only a factor if you are on fire and too much horse power if you are ramming the dock.

jp

The Yanmar 4JH4 is 55hp
The Yanmar 4JH4-TE is 75hp
The Yanmar 4JH4-HTE is 110hp

[casual]

I,have an 2003 4JH3E 56 hp in a full keel 20,000 plus lb displacement boat.Max rpm's 3600.I,have an 18x12 fixed 3 bladed prop.I,just relanched with a clean bottom new mounts and had the prop and shaft trued and balanced.At 2300 rps 7kts in calm water at 2900 rpm's 7.5 kts WOT 3700 rpm's 8 kts and the bow rises a foot plus and the stren sink's a foot plus.Plenty of reserve power.At 23 to 2500 rpm's I,burn about 3/4 a gallon an hour.I,have no idea what I,would do with more power FWIW

[casual]

Originally Posted by casual

I,have an 2003 4JH3E 56 hp in a full keel 20,000 plus lb displacement boat.Max rpm's 3600.I,have an 18x12 fixed 3 bladed prop.I,just relanched with a clean bottom new mounts and had the prop and shaft trued and balanced.At 2300 rps 7kts in calm water at 2900 rpm's 7.5 kts WOT 3700 rpm's 8 kts and the bow rises a foot plus and the stren sink's a foot plus.Plenty of reserve power.At 23 to 2500 rpm's I,burn about 3/4 a gallon an hour.I,have no idea what I,would do with more power FWIW

I,forgot to mention 2.62 gear ratio and a 110 amp custom altenator.

[scoobert]

i had to jump on this one, i have a question.
what do these typically cost with a transmission?

now as far as turbos... OTR on a 5.9L cummins under heavy use i see 125K miles.
thats about 3500 hours. now you do get the extra moisture factor on a boat, so if not used for a long time (1-2 years) i could see someone having a frozen shaft.

[S/V Pearl]

I re-powered from a Westerbeke 58 to a Yanmar 4JH4-HTE 10 years ago, my engine with the intercooler has 100HP output. We couldn't be happier with the engine. I run it at about 2500 rpm and do about 7kts at 1.4 gals/hr for our 45' 40K# boat. An 18" max prop is the largest that could fit in the aperture. We try and run it wide open for 10-15 minutes periodically and always let it idle for 5 minutes at the dock or anchor before shut down.

The out of budget items on the re-power were new motor mounts and the 3" exhaust. Interestingly & FWIW, I recently had discussion on the 3" exhaust and was told by a mechanic that Westerbeke's specs are based on a 3" exhaust but they only require a 2" so they don't perform to spec in the real world. Upgrading to 3" exhaust might make sense regardless of engine choice to get the most out of this big investment.

[scoobert]

how much did you spend on the engines and transmission?