sterntube
Well-Known Member
hi all looking at a boat with a mercruiser 5 cylinder diesel ,any opinions , good or bad thanks.
mercruiser diesel
- Thread starter sterntube
- Start date
longjohnsilver
Well-Known Member
What hp is it? We've got a 130 in our dive boat, Iveco based, which has an awful reputation in its sterndrive guise, but in 3 years driving our shaft it's been faultless.
sterntube
Well-Known Member
think it is 150hp
CLB
Well-Known Member
Is it a VM based unit?
sterntube
Well-Known Member
not sure will try get more info,,,,cheers,
steve930
Well-Known Member
Think the 5 cylinder is a Volkswagen engine
longjohnsilver
Well-Known Member
I think you're right, I should know but don't actually use our dive boat too often, Im pretty sure that's a 4 cylinder.
omega2
Well-Known Member
Take a good look around the sump joint, my mate had a 6 cylinder VM based job and the sump was Mild Steel and rusted PDQ.
Latestarter1
Well-Known Member
VW TDI 5 with Bosch VP 37 pump. Been a bit of a pass the parcel engine, VW Marine then passed to VW Marine distributed by CAT. At Cummins instigation introduced to replace VM motors and branded Cummins Mercruser Diesel. Cummins had major bust up with Mercruiser leading to dissolution of CMD, now marketed as Mercruiser Diesel.
O.K motor, issue is where do you go far parts and service..........
steve930
Well-Known Member
So are mercruiser still using this engine, or have they dropped it?
Latestarter1
Well-Known Member
Mix of VW and VM as well some smaller Korean motors now form the basis of Mercruser Diesel line up but since the break up of CMD seems like the 6 cylinder TDI 2.5 is no longer current offering.
If ever there was a company without a clear strategy Mercruiser Diesel is it, one only has to look at diagnostic tool support.
If ever there was a company without a clear strategy Mercruiser Diesel is it, one only has to look at diagnostic tool support.
steve930
Well-Known Member
It's strange, when you consider their longstanding relationship with gm utilising the small & big block chevy petrol V8's!
Why they can't achieve the same for diesel engines is anyone's guess:ambivalence:
I know the Detroit 6.2 & 6.5 v8 diesels weren't the best engine in the world, but in automotive circles ( the successor ) the duramax v8 diesel seems to be quite highly regarded & in typical gm fashion probably shares the same bellhousing shape & engine mount locations as the petrol V8's. So surely would be an easy choice from an installation aspect.
maybe look to gm Europe for a smaller 4cyl diesel suitable for smaller lighter craft, if a suitable engine exists!
Why they can't achieve the same for diesel engines is anyone's guess:ambivalence:
I know the Detroit 6.2 & 6.5 v8 diesels weren't the best engine in the world, but in automotive circles ( the successor ) the duramax v8 diesel seems to be quite highly regarded & in typical gm fashion probably shares the same bellhousing shape & engine mount locations as the petrol V8's. So surely would be an easy choice from an installation aspect.
maybe look to gm Europe for a smaller 4cyl diesel suitable for smaller lighter craft, if a suitable engine exists!
Latestarter1
Well-Known Member
Mercruiser/Brunswick do not have special relationship with GM, they used Ford small block motors as well a GM and Renault four pot gasoline motors, however $750 for a small block V8 GM was very attractive.
Mercruiser did have a V8, the 7.3 litre Navistar, real crummy motor, even made GM 6.2 look good.
GM automotive division know squat all about diesels, Duramax is an Isuzu design. You have to understand that Duramax is a complex low emission automotive engine in order to turn it into a marine engine, strip out SCR, EGR, DPF, requiring a complete re write of engine management. Gale Banks has marinised the Duramax 6.6 in 2011 however since then silence has been deafening.
Mercruiser already have a real sweet little 2 litre diesel Korean in origin I think, and back in CMD days plan was that universal diagnostic platform would be Cummins Insite, the VW TDI V6 was done and VW V8 was work in progress at the time CMD all came unraveled.
Mercruiser rushed out some proprietary electronic tooling however at least two dealers I know of want to see an engine population before investing in the tooling and engine sales are difficult without service dots on the map.
steve930
Well-Known Member
Thanks latestarter that's interesting reading & something new learnt.
Being new to the forum, would you mind me asking what you do for a living ? As your knowledge on all things diesel seems immense
Regards Steve
Being new to the forum, would you mind me asking what you do for a living ? As your knowledge on all things diesel seems immense
Regards Steve
Beamishken
Well-Known Member
I still don't think the op has confirmed if it's an early mercruiser/vm 5cyl or a newer vw based engine
The early merc 5 cyl has been out of production for quite a few years and some major parts are nla (cranks intercooler exhaust manifold). All service bits and the parts it shares with the 6 cyl engine are still available from VM and are relatively cheap.
The early engine is easy to identify by its separate cylinder heads for each cylinder
There were two incarnations of the early engine the first had aluminium heatexchanger the later had brass/ copper
The later version was obviously better
Could give more info but need to confirm which engine you have first
The early merc 5 cyl has been out of production for quite a few years and some major parts are nla (cranks intercooler exhaust manifold). All service bits and the parts it shares with the 6 cyl engine are still available from VM and are relatively cheap.
The early engine is easy to identify by its separate cylinder heads for each cylinder
There were two incarnations of the early engine the first had aluminium heatexchanger the later had brass/ copper
The later version was obviously better
Could give more info but need to confirm which engine you have first
Latestarter1
Well-Known Member
Gawd this is turning into a saga............I did due diligence on VM must be near 18 years ago and the 92mm X 90mm bore 4,5 and 6 cylinder engines were already being phased out, warranty RPH (Repairs per 100) was simply dreadful on all individual head IDI motors and whilst Mercruiser had the D183 5 cylinder version in their brochure it never sold in U.S. due to American dislike of 5 pot motors so hardly warranted it being included in in product line up.
Whilst post is valid in principal the chances of an old Mercruiser D183 being found in captivity as well as still running has to be unlikely.
IF this is the engine to OP refers then simply walk.
