1977 Volvo MD2B - future problems

[dylanwinter]

I am now considering another elderly motorsailer... this time with a Volvo MD2B - 42 years old.

What are the chances of getting another five years out of the engine?

I shall get her fired up from cold - any pointers for me?

I confess that having had some tough times at the hands of an old volvo of the same vintage ( MD1 and its associated gearbox ) I am a bit nervous about getting involved for a second time.

At least this one does not have a Dynastart hidden anywhere about its person.

Dylan

 

[Tzu]

If the oil isnt gritty, it doesnt smoke too much, doesnt knock when started from cold, starts reasonably quickly (but dont be dissapointed by anthing more than 10 seconds!) and doesnt sound odd then its probably ok. other clues are how grubby does it look - which is an indicator of how well it hasnt been looked after.

If it passes those tests give it an oil and filters change (and another at least every year) and cross those fingers

I took a similiar gamble on a 25 year old 2002 and so far its paying off.

Welcome back

Steve

 

[Kukri]

Is it raw water cooled?

If it is, walk slowly away... the MD1 and MD2 eventually die of this, but the MD2B being a souped up version dies sooner.

Don't ask me how I know this... but let's just say I could still hand start my MD2 when is was so clagged up internally that it would overheat after 20 minutes.

 

[dylanwinter]

Is it raw water cooled?

If it is, walk slowly away... the MD1 and MD2 eventually die of this, but the MD2B being a souped up version dies sooner.

Don't ask me how I know this... but let's just say I could still hand start my MD2 when is was so clagged up internally that it would overheat after 20 minutes.

raw water cooled

D

 

[VicS]

I am now considering another elderly motorsailer... this time with a Volvo MD2B - 42 years old.

What are the chances of getting another five years out of the engine?

I shall get her fired up from cold - any pointers for me?

I confess that having had some tough times at the hands of an old volvo of the same vintage ( MD1 and its associated gearbox ) I am a bit nervous about getting involved for a second time.

At least this one does not have a Dynastart hidden anywhere about its person.

Dylan

Its pretty old. Many spares will be unobtainable. those that are available will be expensive ... but you can check these things yourself . l
Look at the parts catalog to see if things you might need are still available and if so their price.

It'll be like having two MD1s one behind the other but at least with a better gearbox. You are less likely to seize the clutch on one of these.

 

[Aja]

Ours died due water between the raw water cooled waterways breaching the head gasket and eventually etching a tiny 'bridge' between the water gallery and the front cylinder. We knew it was happening for some time. the front cylinder ran considerably hotter than the rear. If the cylinders are a different temperature to touch I would walk away.

Donald

 

[Lodesman77]

Is it raw water cooled?

If it is, walk slowly away... the MD1 and MD2 eventually die of this, but the MD2B being a souped up version dies sooner.

Don't ask me how I know this... but let's just say I could still hand start my MD2 when is was so clagged up internally that it would overheat after 20 minutes.

Exactly my experiences with my old 1977 Volvo MD7A - now being replaced with a second hand Yanmar...

 

[Topcat47]

I walked away from a competitively priced 30'er simply because it had wrap round the boom main furling and an MD2B. A friend's died when the exhaust manifold crumbled away, and I do mean the manifold, not the mixing elbow; which is made from unobtanium.

 

[dylanwinter]

Ours died due water between the raw water cooled waterways breaching the head gasket and eventually etching a tiny 'bridge' between the water gallery and the front cylinder. We knew it was happening for some time. the front cylinder ran considerably hotter than the rear. If the cylinders are a different temperature to touch I would walk away.

Donald

they do rot from the inside - or so I had hear

and if spares are not available at all .....then that is a real bumma

I had some miserable weeks with the MD1 - I lost the best bits of two summers....

hmmmm

it looks a nice tidy compartment

it seems as though the engine has been looked after

https://brighton.boatshed.com/fisher_25-boat-234616.html

D

 

[Max Campbell]

You hated the engine problems so much before, that if I was in your shoes, I'd put "low hours modern engine" at the top of my requirements. You've been there, done that, and learned.

 

[ghostlymoron]

You're asking a question no one can answer. There are loads of MD2Bs chugging away but a proportion of them give up every year.
Yours looks very good except for the missing air filter so would probably last a few more years yet. I think you can get service spares easily enough - belts and filter - but other parts are like hens teeth.
The rest of the boat looks nice so would probably justify a new engine for £5k or so.

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

Check the engine visually for cracks and corrosion; start the engine from cold to establish how easy is to start it and hence compression; check the condition of the oil for any metallic particles, check the engine bearers. If the engine overheats, it can be easily rectified by removing the calcium deposits within the waterways (use Zero limescale £2 Tesco). It is hard to tell how long it will last, it may last for another 5, 10, 15 years??. Mine is even older.

 

[dylanwinter]

Check the engine visually for cracks and corrosion; start the engine from cold to establish how easy is to start it and hence compression; check the condition of the oil for any metallic particles, check the engine bearers. If the engine overheats, it can be easily rectified by removing the calcium deposits within the waterways (use Zero limescale £2 Tesco). It is hard to tell how long it will last, it may last for another 5, 10, 15 years??. Mine is even older.

thanks for that

how old is yours.... and have you had many problems in recent years

D

 

[ghostlymoron]

Incidentally, an old Volvo Penta is no more likely than any other old engine to fail. They are very uncomplicated and robust engines. Like any raw water cooled engine they said are prone to blockage of the water ways which can be restored by rydlime treatment. The exhaust cooler is also prone to failure/blockage but the lump itself is very heavily built and will continue to function provided it hasn't frozen up and cracked.

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

thanks for that

how old is yours.... and have you had many problems in recent years

D

The boat was build in 1971, 47 years old. The existing engine is a MD11C (very similar to yours) which I believe is approx. 43 years old. I have been using the boat for the last 12 years and the engine has been trouble free. I use fully synthetic oil and I change the oil and filter every year (oil get contaminated with fuel passing through the rings) Every couple of seasons I use "Zero Limescale" to keep the head waterways clear of deposits (pour in through the temp sensor) and change the fuel filter. I also check the gearbox oil. During cold weather, I use a bit of "easy start" so not to put unnecessary strain on the engine. I dont idle the engine for too long, to avoid wear due to lack of oil circulation.

 

[ghostlymoron]

You're asking for trouble admitting to synthetic oil and easy start!

The boat was build in 1971, 47 years old. The existing engine is a MD11C (very similar to yours) which I believe is approx. 43 years old. I have been using the boat for the last 12 years and the engine has been trouble free. I use fully synthetic oil and I change the oil and filter every year (oil get contaminated with fuel passing through the rings) Every couple of seasons I use "Zero Limescale" to keep the head waterways clear of deposits (pour in through the temp sensor) and change the fuel filter. I also check the gearbox oil. During cold weather, I use a bit of "easy start" so not to put unnecessary strain on the engine. I dont idle the engine for too long, to avoid wear due to lack of oil circulation.

 

[dylanwinter]

easy start in the ship's tool box is seldom a good sign

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lJyaAhn2gA

 

[jamie N]

I reckon that any means that I have of helping the engine start, when it might be having a problem for any reason, be it a very cold day (mine doesn't have a pre-heater) is OK, but I take your point.

 

[VicS]

I reckon that any means that I have of helping the engine start, when it might be having a problem for any reason, be it a very cold day (mine doesn't have a pre-heater) is OK, but I take your point.

The trouble with using Easy Start in diesel engines is that you have no control of the point at which ignition occurs. If it occurs too soon before TDC it can cause mechanical damage to the engine.

It is not a problem with spark ignition (petrol) engines.

 

[Kukri]

Is it raw water cooled?

If it is, walk slowly away... the MD1 and MD2 eventually die of this, but the MD2B being a souped up version dies sooner.

Don't ask me how I know this... but let's just say I could still hand start my MD2 when is was so clagged up internally that it would overheat after 20 minutes.

I see that several people have said that using a limescale remover in the raw raw water cooling system prevents this.

Such was not my experience. I even went to the lengths of taking the heads and the manifold off (before doing this, check the price of gaskets!) and physically poking out the waterways. The problem that I found was that, for the descaler to work, it has to get to where the encrustation is. If the passages are already clagged up, it will never get to where all the limescale is, and the limescale builds up much faster where there are hot spots, so you get Catch 22 - limescale build up leads to local overheating which leads to accelerated limescale build up which the descaler cannot get to.

I am sure that if you take the engine out of the boat, strip it right down (cylinders off, not just heads off) and meticulously clean out every passageway using a combination of methods, you could rebuild the engine to "as good as new" (and then fit a heat exchanger!) but this would not pay because no buyer would ever believe that you had been to so much trouble.

There may be more mechanically competent people here (well, I am sure there are!) but that has been my experience over three decades of MD2 ownership.