mitsubishi vs yanmar

[30boat]

I have just put the old Bukh back in the boat after a rebuild.
I'm not really confortable with it as it is 22 years and although it turned out to be remarkably unworn it still is an old engine.So I have decided that at the first hint of trouble I'm going to replace it with a new one.The question now is wich one.Mitsubishis(Vetus) are cheap and Yanmars a little dearer but of very good quality.Anyone has experience with Mitsubishi engines?I'm thinking of 25HP for my boat.
Thanks

 

[Plum]

Hi, I have the M3.10 Vetus (Mitsubishi) engine, freshwater cooled, 21HP (the latest version is rated at 25HP) which is 12 years old, still going strong and has not given any problems at all. Last year I replaced all the water and fuel hoses, for peace-of-mind, and cleaned out the heat exchanger and exhaust/water injection casting. The exchanger and exhaust casting were in perfect condition. I have also just replaced the engine mounts which were getting very rusty. The engine always starts perfectly, has never stopped when I didn't want it to, uses almost no oil and the exhaust has no visible smoke. Oil, filter and belt are all available from the local car spares shop.

 

[dickh]

You should also consider BETA and NANNI, both are marinised Kubota industrial engines and have a good reputation.

dickh
I'd rather be sailing...

 

[Mirelle]

No hurry, but all three are good

I said just the same thing about my Volvo MD2 at that age. It's just had its 35th birthday and is still quite happy, so I eckon I have had 13 years of effectively free motoring out of it. I have now decided that I will wait until it actually dies before doing anything about it - compression is still good.

IMHO problems with yacht engines are almost always installation problems, so a new engine will have all sorts of teething troubles - which can be serious, such as water in the exhaust backing up and getting into the cylinders, which happened to my sister's nice new Vetus-Mitsubishi (perfectly good engine).

The Yanmar is good, but beware of the cost of a new Hitachi alternator should you have the misfortune to need one. The Mitsubishi is also good as is the Kubota.

All three are products of giant Japanese industrial combines, all three are made in hundreds of thousands and are in constant use across the globe. The essence of the question is the quality of the "marinising" - whilst doing the same exercise myself I put Yanmar top, then Nanni, then the other two, in that respect. But there is very little in it.

 

[Guest]

Re: No hurry, but all three are good

had three yanmars so far. first had initial oil pressure problems but the second had to be replaced after 11 years use. its replacement has started burning oil heavily after only 350 hours - and no it wasnt use for battery charging on light loads. the gearbox in the second engine also gave way - its a cone type clutch on the small yanmars, and once it starts slipping its hundreds of £ to replace.

all in all, i'm not impressed and would lean towards a marinised kubota next time. engines made for the construction industry have to withstand abuse