dylanwinter
Active member
Going to see a boat with this engine in it
Any advice gratefully received
Dylan
Any advice gratefully received
Dylan
1983 Bukh 20 hp. Indirect injection
- Thread starter dylanwinter
- Start date
Champagne Murphy
Active member
Indirect injection? What that? No matter, I like our Bukh 20. Similar vintage, done new wetliners, refurbed injectors, high pressure pump and head. Now it starts better than the Volvo. They do seem to produce steam at the exhaust, if there’s a lot of black smoke be prepared to walk away or do some work. Some say they are a bit noisier than a modern engine (everyone loves a Beta nowadays) but they still seem to be the engine of choice in a lifeboat. Parts are expensive. Ours is raw water although I think there is an indirect cooling variation which can take a calorific.
PaulRainbow
Well-known member
A good one is little different to anything else of the era. Commonly fitted to a lot of Westerlies. Simple enough to work on for routine servicing and plenty of pattern service items available. Check the usual diesel/engine things.
dylanwinter
Active member
the indirect injection came from an email
I hope it means indirect cooling
but maybe not
D
I hope it means indirect cooling
but maybe not
D
PaulRainbow
Well-known member
The engine is indirect injection, it has pre-combustion chambers. This is pretty much irrelevant to you Dylan, it is what it is.
Most of these are raw water cooled.
dylanwinter
Active member
thanks
so...
do they rot from the inside out like the old volvos?
and is 1983 old enough for that to start happening?
D
VicS
Well-known member
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PaulRainbow
Well-known member
They seem fine if looked after properly. I look after a couple and they get serviced and winterised each year. Just recommissioned one in a Westerly Konsort, started first time and runs like a watch. Exhaust elbows usually need changing every few years so worth a close look there.
dylanwinter
Active member
are there any symptoms of impending elbow failure?
Champagne Murphy
Active member
Did mine last year but there were no warning signs. Wasn’t a big job at all but heat was required to separate the elbow from the ‘base’ to which it was threaded.
Champagne Murphy
Active member
Did the wet liners about 4 years ago and no sign of rot.
dylanwinter
Active member
Thanks for that
Do you know how old the elbow was when it failed?
Does it happen suddenly?
can you keep running for an hour or so after it has failed?
D
sgr143
Active member
As Champers Murphy said, they have a tendency to emit steam from the exhaust. Mine does. Worried me at first. I Rydlymed it, took off all the removable bits off the cooling circuit and found them clean as the proverbial whistle, checked the thermostat opening temperature (spot on), checked the exhaust elbow (looked and felt fine). It still steams. Starts nicely, runs reliably, water splurts from the exhaust in large amounts... so I just go "Bukhs do that," hum a few bars of "Casey Jones" and steam on rejoicing.
dylanwinter
Active member
thanks for that
re-assuring to hear
I will have an outboard bracket on the back and the Tohatsu long shaft 6hp slumbering in a locker somewhere just in case
D
stevie69p
Active member
Concur with most of the above points made, including 'steam' being normal it seems. If you do a wee search you will find a thread I started recently where my Bukh DV20 was becoming a pig to start. Turned out to be a cracked cylinder head causing that. 2nd hand head sourced and fitted and has now run 50 hours without issue. Starts reliably, uses not very much oil for a 43 year old engine, and is fairly smooth for a twin. I found it an easy engine to work on and it's a solidly built big lump. Parts are expensive though.
Champagne Murphy
Active member
I think the elbow was over 7 years old. It developed a small longitudinal crack in the upper surface so it would have run for some time I suspect without too much trouble. I don’t know if that’s typical or not.
There is an interesting mod you can do. Normal oil removal is through the dipstick tube but that leaves 1/4-1/3 of the oil behind. Attaching a hand pump to the sump plug hole at the gearbox end of the sump let’s you pump the lot out. The thread is interesting, it’s the same as a Peugeot wheel nut. Fact of the day.
VicS
Well-known member
M12 fine ( 1.25mm pitch ) ????
Poecheng
Well-known member
Yes, the engine is red and says BUKH on it
Seriously, they just go and think of them as an expensive service item. On full use they might go after about three years. If they have little use then about twice that.
I like Bukhs - having had the triple cylinder and the single cylinder. You can pick up what looks like a decent 20hp on Ebay for about £1,000 so, if the worst happens, it is not as bad as it might be otherwise.
Check the engine shut off solenoid works - when the engine is working, turn the key to 10 o'clock and hold it there. Engine should stop and then when fully stopped you return key back to 12 o'clock.
Good luck
Champagne Murphy
Active member
Crikey! Dunno, it just fitted.
Mistroma
Well-known member
Mine went many years ago without warning and had to turn it off quickly due to not salt water spray. Probably ruin alternator fairly quickly if left running in hot, wet, salty environment. I think elbow would be approx. 7 years old (age of boat when I'd had her for a couple of years).
I bodged a replacement from cast iron fittings to get home on return trip from Holland to Scotland. I painted inside of replacement with some sort of paint which had glass fibres in it. Fibres were meant to interlock and form a shield. I checked and repainted every couple of years and replaced the elbow after 10-11 more years. Replacement was still in use when I sold her and engine would be >30 years old by then.
I helped a guy service his BUKH DV20 and asked when he last replaced the pencil anode. He had no idea it had one and had never replaced it since new (approx. 15 years earlier). I replaced ours annually and rinsed system with antifreeze each winter. I reckoned that when his corroded and died mine should still have another 10 years life left. His neglected engine was still running when I sold the boat.
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