Engine Service Intervals

[Irish Rover]

Well stop moaning about it on here and get on with the service, it's only money.

Who's moaning. I asked a legitimate question which interests me from a technical point of view, and I've given certain facts to prompt discussion. If some idiots interpret that as moaning then good luck to them.
By the way, I do moan about money, because as I've said on other threads I've more money than I know what to do with. I'm addicted to playing Euromillions twice a week, and if you check the thread about it, I'm living in fear of winning a big jackpot which will just add to my dilemma of how to spend what I already have.

 

[Stemar]

every year I ask myself why I'm pulling out and throwing away a perfect looking impeller?! I do this because the book tells me to"check sea water pump impeller and change if worn". But how would I know what "worn" looks like? Either it has all its paddles intact or it has exploded with bits jammed all over the insides of the raw-water part of the system

When I did my own servicing, I'd pull the impeller and examine it, bending the paddles to look for cracking. Anything less than perfect, and it got the chop. If it was a few years old, but looked perfect, I'd put a new one in and keep the old one as a spare. The engines on my cat are harder to get at, so get them serviced by someone who's younger and more agile than me. I expect a pro to change them as a matter of routine, but I still carry a couple of spares.

As for fan belts, I used to check them and, if they looked OK, they stayed, same as on my cars. I changed one belt in nearly 20 years on my Snapdragon; I don't think I ever changed one on a car, though I always had a spare until the last few years. I did change a faulty belt on a friend's boat, but I'm pretty sure it only failed because the adjuster made it very hard to get tight enough.

One money saver on the Snappy was fitting twin duel filters in parallel, with taps to switch. (Spin-on filters from a car breaker, taps from ASAP) Originally a safety measure after a rather traumatic entrance into Portsmouth Harbour under sail, the ability to switch filters in seconds meant that I only changed them when they got rusty enough to be a concern - maybe every 7–8 years.

 

[38mess]

Who's moaning. I asked a legitimate question which interests me from a technical point of view, and I've given certain facts to prompt discussion. If some idiots interpret that as moaning then good luck to them.
By the way, I do moan about money, because as I've said on other threads I've more money than I know what to do with. I'm addicted to playing Euromillions twice a week, and if you check the thread about it, I'm living in fear of winning a big jackpot which will just add to my dilemma of how to spend what I already have.

People buy boats with twin engines and then realise that everything engine wise costs double. Don't skimp on service times or quality of spare parts. Although on our commercial boat I do sometimes wonder if changing the oil after 250 hrs is really necessary. Sometimes we do them hours in less than a month. But we don't skimp and put it down to fixed costs. The guy who services our boat is of the same opinion.
Spend your money, there are no pockets in a shroud as my old man used to say.
Good luck with the Euro millions

 

[Irish Rover]

The guy who services our boat is of the same opinion.

Now there's a surprise

 

[38mess]

Now there's a surprise

I pay for his holidays and kids education

 

[fredrussell]

To the op, are the engines under warranty? If so, I would follow the ‘rules’. Otherwise I’d not be too concerned about it. For me, it’s Oli change and filters every two years. I’ve no idea what hours that is as my engine doesn’t have an hours meter - but I’d guess I do a fairly average amount of motoring.
The service cost you quote is fairly terrifying to this bride on a budget - can you get a local guy to just do an oil and filters change every other year? Couple of hundred quid for that I would have thought.

 

[capnsensible]

So, let's move on. Do we need to change impellers, belts, anodes etc every 250 hours.

It's called preventative maintenance. Rather than defect repair.

Guess which one is very costly and can cause a bit of a drama on a dark and stormy night?

 

[Irish Rover]

There appear to be quite a few philosophers on this forum.

 

[PaulRainbow]

My engines are rated for max 3,800 rpm and my boat has a max speed of 24 knots. I think most users would see 2,600 rpm giving 16/18 knots as a reasonable cruising speed which would give you a range of around 4,000 miles between the recommended service intervals of 250 hours. I rarely run my engines above 1300/1400 rpm which gives me a speed around 8 knots and a range of around 2,000 miles between services. I know all the guff about diesel engines needing to be worked hard, but my wife's X Trail still has the same kilometre travelled service interval, regardless of how she drives it. So is there an argument (YBW loves an argument) for me servicing less often?

Car analogies aren't perfect, but at an average speed on single carriageways of 50 mph, 250 hours equals 12,500 miles. Doesn't seem excessive to me.

The cost of materials from Yanmar does seem excessive.

 

[rotrax]

As far as belts go, you might be able to upgrade the "Yanmar" belts to heavy-duty Gates belts. You'll need to find the right size for your engine/alternator, and they are not cheap to buy, but they seem pretty indestructible. I changed my belts last year and do not expect to replace them for several years to come (I do carry spare belts, of course).

Great Advice. Our Yanmar 4JH4-HTE uses genuine belts up rapidly and they make lots of nasty black dust as they wear.

After changing to genuine 'Gates' belts with internal notching everything is fine I bought five, still got three, the one fitted is four years old, has not needed adjustment for two seasons.

A friend with exactly the same model boat had the 'Serpentine' belt kit fitted. No benefit over my use of Gates belts, but cost him plenty.

 

[Irish Rover]

Car analogies aren't perfect, but at an average speed on single carriageways of 50 mph, 250 hours equals 12,500 miles. Doesn't seem excessive to me.

The cost of materials from Yanmar does seem excessive.

Yanmar service parts are a crazy price. I bought 2 x original service packs for the first service since I bought the boat. The bits we took off were all originals except the filter insert for the diesel separator which was unbranded. I plan to do a bit of research for recommended alternatives before the next service, but don’t tell anyone on the forum, or I'll be reported for cruelty and neglect.

 

[Zing]

A major risk from not servicing is getting sludge in the oil. It can restrict flow in the small oil passageways and reduce lubrication and if it sticks on wearing surfaces causes increased wear or even serious damage. The engine can be damaged by the increased acid levels of old oil, by the increased friction from contaminants lower than the size filtered by the oil filter and from the carbon build up from the increased carbon in old oil. Also usually changed annually is the impeller. The cost and stress value of dealing with a broken one is many, many times the cost of changing it annually. It’s tempting to pocket a small saving, but don’t be mean, just change your oil and impeller annually. It’s a false economy to not do so.

 

[Irish Rover]

Great Advice. Our Yanmar 4JH4-HTE uses genuine belts up rapidly and they make lots of nasty black dust as they wear.

After changing to genuine 'Gates' belts with internal notching everything is fine I bought five, still got three, the one fitted is four years old, has not needed adjustment for two seasons.

A friend with exactly the same model boat had the 'Serpentine' belt kit fitted. No benefit over my use of Gates belts, but cost him plenty.

I put up over 2,000 hours on my 2 x 4JH3TE engines on my previous boat over a period of 6 years and never changed either belt.

 

[Daydream believer]

There appear to be quite a few philosophers on this forum.

Is that not why you posted in the first place?

 

[Babylon]

there are no pockets in a shroud as my old man used to say

Love it!

 

[rotrax]

I put up over 2,000 hours on my 2 x 4JH3TE engines on my previous boat over a period of 6 years and never changed either belt.

Probably not fitted with the Balmar 110Amp Alternator like our boat. Tremendous load when the field coil is fully magnetised for its full output. The Balmar 'Smart' regulator also has a 'soft start' function. Allows the magnetism in the field coil to increase gradually, so avoiding belt slip.

In a previous life I was involved in dyno testing BLMC products. A big Jag, with all its electrics in use, caused the big Lucas Alternator to require almost 6BHP to revolve it. They shagged belts out pretty quick too!

 

[Irish Rover]

Probably not fitted with the Balmar 110Amp Alternator like our boat. Tremendous load when the field coil is fully magnetised for its full output. The Balmar 'Smart' regulator also has a 'soft start' function. Allows the magnetism in the field coil to increase gradually, so avoiding belt slip.

In a previous life I was involved in dyno testing BLMC products. A big Jag, with all its electrics in use, caused the big Lucas Alternator to require almost 6BHP to revolve it. They shagged belts out pretty quick too!

Mostly well above my pay grade, I'm afraid.

 

[geem]

Car analogies aren't perfect, but at an average speed on single carriageways of 50 mph, 250 hours equals 12,500 miles. Doesn't seem excessive to me.

The cost of materials from Yanmar does seem excessive.

I have been logging my fuel economy in a new to me car and also, the computer logs the average speed. Even with lots of motorway driving and filling up about every 500 miles or so, my average speed has been only 36mph. Assuming 12,000 miles is a reasonable interval for oil changes on a car, that equates to just 333 hours. Seems about right for a boat engine running good quality oil. My gearbox oils should be changed at 250 hours. I never go beyond that

 

[Jerbro]

My engines are rated for max 3,800 rpm and my boat has a max speed of 24 knots. I think most users would see 2,600 rpm giving 16/18 knots as a reasonable cruising speed which would give you a range of around 4,000 miles between the recommended service intervals of 250 hours. I rarely run my engines above 1300/1400 rpm which gives me a speed around 8 knots and a range of around 2,000 miles between services. I know all the guff about diesel engines needing to be worked hard, but my wife's X Trail still has the same kilometre travelled service interval, regardless of how she drives it. So is there an argument (YBW loves an argument) for me servicing less often?

Not sure if you’ve seen this article, but having a Cummins in my boat, I lean on this site quite a lot (even get my spares from them and it’s still cheaper then buying in the UK)… of course you have different engines, but here they talk about “marine age” to drive service intervals… not miles or hours run..

Marine Age

 

[geem]

Not sure if you’ve seen this article, but having a Cummins in my boat, I lean on this site quite a lot (even get my spares from them and it’s still cheaper then buying in the UK)… of course you have different engines, but here they talk about “marine age” to drive service intervals… not miles or hours run..

Marine Age

Interesting. Quite happy that my Perkins isn't the lightweight, multi-metal short life variety of modern engine. It's just getting it's first TLC in 17 years. Some new engine mounts, a spot of rust removal and a new sump gasket