Replacing a 25 year old inboard 18hp do I need too ?

[Gnasher70]

The 2nd 18 hp engine that is currently in the 1980 contessa that I'm the custodian of seems to be a trooper and doesn't show any signs of giving up . Apart from it going bang when would I be expected to replace it and what might be an economical refurbished favourable replacement. If diesel inboards are similar to my motorbike or car engines I'd favour engines less modern than their modern counterparts sometimes . Is there a golden era of engine I might want to consider

 

[PetiteFleur]

Just keep it going until it finally gives up...What make and model is it? Beta Marine is a good replacement, reasonably price, excellent backup, spares reasonably priced, base engine is a Kubota. I am biased as I fitted a Beta 25hp to replace a knackered BMC 1.5 diesel in my Moody 33 mk2.

 

[srm]

Do you have reason to expect it to go bang? Look after it and it should just keep going.

Even if it does go bang you have a sailing vessel so nothing too much to worry about. Reliable engines are a fairly recent addition to the history of yachting. I only saw the engine run once on the first boat (30ft gaff ketch) that I regularly sailed, that was most weekends for a season. Admittedly, it was kept on a mooring in a harbour so fairly straight forward to sail in and out.

PS. As you prefer older engines, if you have serious concerns why not take it out and rebuild over a winter, cheaper than scrap and replace. Did that with a BMC 1.5 in the 80's after getting salt water in it from a corroded exhaust manifold.

 

[Tranona]

The 2nd 18 hp engine that is currently in the 1980 contessa that I'm the custodian of seems to be a trooper and doesn't show any signs of giving up . Apart from it going bang when would I be expected to replace it and what might be an economical refurbished favourable replacement. If diesel inboards are similar to my motorbike or car engines I'd favour engines less modern than their modern counterparts sometimes . Is there a golden era of engine I might want to consider

The "golden age" is now. Current engines are superior to those from the past. However there is no reason why an older style engine should not be kept running, although the main reasons for "dying" are neglect and failure of the marinising "bits". Rarely do the basic engines give trouble. Typical life of a small diesel is 8-1000 hours or over 50 years of typical coastal sailing use.

 

[MisterBaxter]

A diesel maintenance engineer once told me that if a decent diesel engine was fed with completely clean fuel, air and oil, and serviced to schedule, it would run more or less indefinitely. Not sure how true that is but if it's running well, keep on looking after it and it should be good for a very long time.

 

[nevis768]

The 2nd 18 hp engine that is currently in the 1980 contessa that I'm the custodian of seems to be a trooper and doesn't show any signs of giving up . Apart from it going bang when would I be expected to replace it and what might be an economical refurbished favourable replacement. If diesel inboards are similar to my motorbike or car engines I'd favour engines less modern than their modern counterparts sometimes . Is there a golden era of engine I might want to consider

Unless you have money burning a hole in your pocket, I would not replace an engine that was running well however old it was. I would also try to carry out economical repairs myself because it is good to learn about your engine.