Recon engine advice

Baggy

Baggy

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Im thinking of replacing my mercedes OM 636 engine with a reconditioned OM 636 from
a well known company.. oop north

The rebuilt engine will cost approx £4000

Basically.... anybody had good or bad experiences with these recons, will the engine last another 30 years ?
 
Thanks boo2 .... good point

Im aware that a new engine would be better for many reasons....
maybe not for my bank balance..

but would like to know if any westerly owners out there have put in a merc recon
and are happy with the results.. or not

I do think that £4000 is a bit steep .. and that without the 20% vat...
 
If "oop North" means Westfield , I can give a 100% recomendation from my own experience.
Possibly only Boo2 could include the word "lunatic" in a technical discussion when he is not trying to be offensive.
Checking Yanmar prices at: http://www.barrus.co.uk/pdfs/shire_price_list.pdf I find that a 45hp engine can cost between£6,750 to £11,500 depending on the spec. Since you are not changing like for like I think the upper figure with a new control panel etc is more likely.

If you want to stay with Mercedes and cheap parts from their commercial vehicle garages and you don't want to change your engine mounts , gearbox coupling plate etc then going reconditioned (or rather "rebuilt") is a good option. Westfield replace everything that could wear and reline the cylinders rather than rebore and you end up with an engine which is as good as new.
PM if you want more details.. . No connection just a satisfied customer

Check out: http://www.west4x4.demonweb.co.uk/OM636/index.html
 
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oh come on.... you westerly owners out there in forum land

someone must have replaced merc engine
with a recon

love to know how it worked for you....

get typing.....
 
Here is a recent discussion on the Westerly Owner's Forum. That poster's situation is affected by him being in Spain.

I switched from 30 y-o MD2B to a 3YM30 Yanmar about 4 years ago. But my ancient MD2B had been rebuilt several times & the time between rebuilds was reducing as the cost increased! The new engine is smaller, lighter, quieter, smoother, easier starting & uses less fuel as well as being more powerful then the MD2B. But the MD2B was an old design when it was built in 1973 & the Merc has a much better reputation than the old Volvos.
 
Thanks for all replies... or lack of..

big thanks to SHRUG...

Im off to WOA to see if I can get a better response on there....
Just got me new password from them..

seeya
 
LittleShip said:
Your not a mate of Latestarter are you :)
Click to expand...

Hi LS,

Don't understand the reference to Latestarter but Searush's point above says it all for me "rebuilt several times & the time between rebuilds was reducing as the cost increased!".

I've never owned a marine engine but surely most people's experience of garagista's is applicable here ? I had a car top end rebuild and it was never the same again afterwards : £600 down the drain.

I don't want to impugn the marine services industry in any way, least of all the companies mentioned in this thread (about whom I know absolutely nada), but the economics of engine reconditioning are obvious : spend as little on parts as possible and perform as much labour as possible => big billing opportunity and low expenses. Anyone who's ever had to complain to a garage about poor work will be familiar with the likely response when the engine runs badly : "nothing to do with us mate, we only changed the engine, that fault must be the mounts/prop shaft/<whatever else they can shift the blame onto>"

So I'll repeat my unexpectedly contentious :p statement above : you'd have to be nuts to spend £4k on a recon engine when ~£6k will buy you a new one.

And if that makes me sound like a cynic then my defence is that I wasn't born one...

Boo2
 
dab123 said:
Im thinking of replacing my mercedes OM 636 engine with a reconditioned OM 636 from
a well known company.. oop north

The rebuilt engine will cost approx £4000

Basically.... anybody had good or bad experiences with these recons, will the engine last another 30 years ?
Click to expand...

Loved the Mercedes OM636 was a cracking good motor, however it is still 1950's technology and parts for the Bosch pump are no longer that easy to obtain.

Better starting and quieter/sweeter motors in 40/50 Hp node are based on Japanese industrial motors. VW Marine SDI 40 may have been decent option however dealer network is some disarray.
 
It is indeed a dilemma. Not necessarily a concern about the specific engine and the quality of the rebuild as the MB engine is a good bit of kit compared with some older marine engines. The dilemma is about future supply of spares when you are looking at something that should last 30 years when even now some parts are scarce and there are very few sources.

Leaving aside the functional differences a new engine from one of the big manufacturers will have support for the rest of its life, so ther is no gamble. (it will of course be lighter, smoother, more economical and take up less space), but all of this comes at a cost - nearly double when all the ancilliaries are included. You need to consider long term ownership to justify spending 30-40% of the value of the boat as whichever route you go will not significantly change the value of the boat in an early sale.
 
Gee Boo, you have had an unfortunate life, ripped off at every turn, it has not been that way for all of us though.
Completely rebuilding the same engine several times in one lifetime is not such bad news either, not many of us manage to live so long, even if the engines last a bit less than the normal thirty odd years.
 
If an engine is rebuilt properly by somebody who knows what they are doing it should outlast and out perform the original. Relevant tolerances e.g bore clearances, ring end gaps etc etc should all be set to maximise the performance and life of the engine. A good builder will do all this, including balancing parts like conrods and pistons.
I am not saying that in this case the OP would not be better with a new engine - I do not have any specific experience to comment on that. All I am saying is that irrational fear of a rebuilt engine is unfounded - as long as it was rebuilt properly.
 
[- as long as it was rebuilt properly.[/QUOTE

Not a boat, but I rented a Lisbon Taxi for the day some years ago. A Merc 180. It had over 1.3million miles on the clock. The guy took a holiday in Andorra every time it needed a rebuild. " Too expensive here". The rest of the car was a mess (as was his driving!) but the engine was a good un.

Personally, I do my own rebuilds and yet to have needed to go to the small claims court...

Boo does seem to have been unlucky.................
 
I had to make the same decision 4 years ago with a Thornycroft BMC1500 - which like the MB is old technology and spares will get harder to get. I went for a Beta Marine engine based on Kubota diesels. Excellent chopice with good prices, excellent service and the engine has been a great success. I also fitted new sound insulation, new exhaust system and non leak stern gland.
 
PetiteFleur said:
I had to make the same decision 4 years ago with a Thornycroft BMC1500 - which like the MB is old technology and spares will get harder to get. I went for a Beta Marine engine based on Kubota diesels. Excellent chopice with good prices, excellent service and the engine has been a great success. I also fitted new sound insulation, new exhaust system and non leak stern gland.
Click to expand...

I'm interested to know what the total cost was when all said and done ?

Boo2
 
dab123 said:
Im thinking of replacing my mercedes OM 636 engine with a reconditioned OM 636 from
a well known company.. oop north

The rebuilt engine will cost approx £4000

Basically.... anybody had good or bad experiences with these recons, will the engine last another 30 years ?
Click to expand...


Hope it's not Engine World of Bolton!!
 
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