Buying old diesel engines

I

ibz2013

New Member
Joined
24 Nov 2013
Messages
10
www.smartcharteribiza.com
Right, so I am looking to buy a boat with 20 year old Volvo Penta AQ41s. The engines have 1200 hours on the clock with one owner who I believe has taken very good care of them, doing all the necessary maintenance. He reckons they are in great condition. I will go this week with a mechanic to check them out and get his opinion.

So, is 1200 really that much for diesel engines? What kind of maintenance should I be expecting in the next few hundred hours/couple of years?

Thanks for any advice.
 
My AQD 40As had over 4000 hours on them when we sold my boat.
Provided they have been serviced regularly in past the measly little number of hours you have are nothing.:)
You will be interested in conditon of assorted others bits such as oil and water heat exchangers and poss turbo conditon.Nice if the boat has been used through out its life rather than left standing.
Please (God Forbid) tell me its not got outdrives.
Older engines are less weedy than newer stuff and less inclined to throw expensive sicky
because less prone to very expensive and terminal electronic gremlins.
Buy with care and you should be OK.
It usually oil/water filter change every 12 months and keep an eye on heat exchanger anodes plus fix anything else that drops off as you go along.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for that reply, good to hear that these engines can keep going so long. I will have a good look at the items you have listed.

Unfortunately the boat has outdrives, but one of them is brand new (0 hours) after the owner hit a rock at the end of the season and got it replaced by his insurance. So that means that I will have one brand new Z drive and one old one. I´m guessing that this will not be a problem, but I will just have to expect plenty of maintenance and maybe even a rebuild on the old one. I will check to make sure that there is no water in the oil.

And sorry for posting 2 very similar threads! I thought that the first one had not been posted, so I started again!
 
>>Unfortunately the boat has outdrives, but one of them is brand new (0 hours) after the owner hit a rock at the end of the season

If the boat was on shafts, and the owner had hit a rock, you'd be asking about a boat that had sunk.
I'd keep £1000 to one side for a refurb on the older outdrive, just in case.
 
"If the boat was on shafts, and the owner had hit a rock, you'd be asking about a boat that had sunk."

"Owners of shaft drive boats tend to go round rocks" :):):)


Feel sure ibz2013 will have lots of fun with his boat and there are plenty of people out there to help him if he does have any problems.
Anywho welcome to forum.:)
 
Last edited:
Weicome to the forum. I have an AQA 41 a in my boat. Great engine, Cheapish parts, Be aware of all the points listed by previous posters, But simple. Loads of Torque, and derived from a proper Volvo Truck engine designed to run thousands of hours.. I will not be part of the outdrive/ shaft debate. In my experience, bad maintenance and servicing of both can lead to problems, and probably that is the key. Good service history and loads of hours is better than few hours and no service history.. Good Luck..:encouragement:
 
At that age you need to think about sump replacement, exhaust horn replacement and water injection elbow replacement none of these are massive money but require the engine out . A sump failure would kill an engine and an exhaust horn failure would sink the boat. But unless already done all three would need doing. Also a good time to clean up your diesel tank and probably Rydlyme the engines seawater side.

Other wise the 41 is pretty bullet proof providing you keep up with good servicing and maintenance.
 
snipping<<you need to think about sump replacement,>> snipped

This piqued my interest , being an absolute tyro in these matters, but what is the deal on engines needing sump replacement? Is it just a matter of cleanliness or is there likely to be some mechanical issues at stake?

regards as always

David B.

(breezy in the Pyrenees)
 
14000 on the last engine and it didn't wear out, 10000 so far on this one, Ford Dovers. I would be more worried about the lack of use over 20 years, but only, I suppose, in terms of anciliaries, heat exchangers, raw water pumps, exhausts. 1200 hours is unlikely to damage the engine itself.
 
On the outdrive version of the Volvo 40 series ,the aluminium exhaust horn normally corrodes at the top underneath the rubber "hose" connected it to the exhaust riser .The cast iron riser mixes exhaust gas from the turbo with cooling water leaving the engine block.
Normally problem only exposed when iron exhaust riser fails and thing has to be dismantled, revealing even more grief.
On the vast majority on installations the top of the horn will be well above above the water line. So no real problem with water getting into boat.
On my P33 it was about 10mm and some hasty repairs took place as boat was afloat when top of exhaust horn came away when hose was removed to replace split exhaust riser.
 
Last edited:
To a degree, hours are irrelevant as long as the engines have been maintained and serviced properly at the correct intervals. Most pleasure boat engines suffer more from lack of use not over use. I had a pair of 41's and they were fantastic and incredibly reliable.
 
Good to know. These have apparently been used every single summer since new, but never in the winter. Just doing the math, they must do an average of 60 hours per year. Pretty light, but consistent use I guess. Hopefully off to see the boat today.
 
You can buy an inexpensive repair kit for the top of the exhaust horn.Trying to remove the 4 tiny well hidden bolts that hold the bottom of the horn onto the transom shield,after 30 years of water vs steel is probably beyond hope.
 
Engines were in great condition - bought the boat and they have been running beautifully. Only thing that need changing now is one of the starter motors.

Thanks for the advice.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top