Engine reconditioning

[Sneaky Pete]

West of Scotland Engineering in Glasgow is a good place to start.

I've used them many times over the decades even obsolete engines from vintage motorcycles, good starting point.

 

[Aja]

Yes, finding somebody on a small(ish) forum like this who has direct experience of engine reconditioning anywhere, let alone in Largs or thereabouts, and for a relatively unusual engine in marine form is a bit of a shot in the dark. There was a time when every decent size town had an engine reconditioner of some sort - because engines needed it. where I was brought up in Romford (Ford land) there were 3 within 2 miles, one run by my brother. The popular small engines (Ford 85 bore, BMC A and B series etc) had a life of maybe 50K miles but the car would last probably twice as long. My brother's best seller was a Ford Anglia exchange, fitted in a day for £100 (£75 for the engine and £25 for fitting). It kept the car going for another 5 years or so before it rusted away! These were simple engines with few "add ons" and lots of common parts.

The Ford XLD which the OP has was the first really high speed diesel Ford made for passenger car use. Much better made and very lightly stressed (less than 60hp out of 1800cc) and the 8000 hours the OPs engine has done is nothing out of the ordinary and compares well with half that which was the norm for the BMC and Perkins engines of that size/hp from the previous generation. Plus it started and stopped when you asked it to and did not leak oil. It filled a real gap in the market before the even better Perkins Prima/Leyland Montego/Volvo MD22 came along followed by Beta etc 10 years later.

All this of course is over 30 years ago and while parts are available and plenty of machine shops who will do the basic machining (my brother still has one in Essex, but does not touch small vehicle engines if he can avoid it) it is no longer economic to have somebody else do it for you. If as the OP seems to say he is looking at long term cruising and wants a totally reliable engine in "tip top condition". It might be different if the intention was to prolong the life of the engine in a lower value boat for a few years light use.

It is the age old dilemma that many face when buying a larger older boat for serious cruising. You find most of the gear is past its sell by date and while you can soldier on replacing bits as you go there comes a point where best to either pass the boat on or bite the bullet and buy new, finding of course that costs are at today's prices and not 30 year old prices you bought the boat for.

I gave solid information in post #41. Up to OP whether it is followed up or not

 

[Snowgoose-1]

The information is great .

It is often the way it is given that is the problem. It also deters others from asking it.

 

[fredrussell]

But he rec'd many suggested people / co's to do the work ... so the query was not ignored. He got his answers ... but it was obvious he was not content with them ... so please don't blame me or others for taking another tack on the subject.

What’s obvious is that he was not content with you lot telling him to buy a new engine, and he gave the reasons why.

 

[dunedin]

What’s obvious is that he was not content with you lot telling him to buy a new engine, and he gave the reasons why.

I wasn’t in that category, as I don’t have relevant experience either way - but sometimes It is important to hear the experience of others who are very knowledgable (as many of the posters were, quite a few with recent direct experience), even if they recommend rethinking your approach. All has been given politely. If the OP chooses to ignore then that is fine, but done knowing the risks.

 

[fredrussell]

Fair enough. Funnily enough I spent 10 years of my life reconditioning engines - back then, it was very much cheaper to recondition an engine than buy a new one but I accept things have changed a bit.

 

[Refueler]

What’s obvious is that he was not content with you lot telling him to buy a new engine, and he gave the reasons why.

Please tell me where I specifically advised to buy a new engine ???

 

[Refueler]

Fair enough. Funnily enough I spent 10 years of my life reconditioning engines - back then, it was very much cheaper to recondition an engine than buy a new one but I accept things have changed a bit.

No-ones arguing that point - if you know what you are doing ... but you of all people must admit that costs and parts required can soon escalate out of original expectation ... it can be such that abandoning attempt can lead to higher costs because of what's already gone into project etc.

Not so long ago - workshops were around to do such work .. and it was cost effective to eek another xx years use out of the engine. Today - not so easy to find such workshops - if it was - then maybe OP would never have asked !!

 

[Tranona]

I gave solid information in post #41. Up to OP whether it is followed up or not

Appreciate that - there was another suggestion as well. I hope the OP follows it up and achieves what he is aiming for. Now seems to be going the DIY route so makes sense to strip it down and then make a decision depending on what he finds. While this rules out selling the engine as a going concern he will at least get a good idea of what an 8000 hour engine, gearbox, ancillaries need to get it back to usable condition.