Refurb or replace? Volvo 2003

[Gwylan]

That is a helpful insight.

The myth of the drop in engine seems to prevail and I nearly fell for it.

On reflection, considering how many Westerly boats there are with 2003 installed it might be viable for an enterprising supplier to make 'drop in sets' Got to be cheaper than some local 'engineer' bodgin something to sort of fit.


**Good engineers are available, but others also practice under the title of marine engineer - like the motorbike mechanic passing himself off as a marine indian ear who delivered so much expensive grief when I first bought the boat.

 

[Heckler]

This is a difficult one. The 2001/2002/2003 range perhaps wasn't a brilliant engine, but many of them are still happily running some 30 years later. I had a 2003T for nearly 20 years - it was a bit smoky, but it always started easily and ran smoothly. I had no problems with the turbo, or the exhaust elbow, in that time. The only problems I had was that the oil cooler corroded (not a great design) and had to be replaced. And an oil circulation pipe corroded giving a pinhole leak of oil. But apart from that the thing just worked. It was about 25 years old when I sold the boat.

I agree. My MD22 is the same, low compression direct injection, smokes on startup, they all did. Very economical with my average consumption about 1.8 ltrs an hour however. This was one of the surprises when this engine was first developed by Perkins and BL. My point of course is that even the new replacement engines are based on old technology push rod industrial engines so that is not a minus point to be used against the old engine when weighing up the reasons to change.

 

[Heckler]

That's really the bottom line. Continuing to fix this engine is like furiously trying to pump the bilge without fixing the hole.

Sorry, have to disagree, if repaired properly by a decent engineer and looked after properly they are not a problem.

 

[Heckler]

sorry, I picked the wrong post of yours - I was referring to overhaul kits.

Not sure what replacements they are offering but there are already more than enough on the market as just about all the 20-30hp engines are easy replacements for the 200X.

Although cost may well have been a consideration the main reason for replacing the range was because it was very troublesome for them with high warranty costs, particularly the 2001 and 2003T. Competitors were coming out with better engines and Volvo did not achieve the volumes necessary to justify a unique engine. The range was only in production for about 12 years - much less than the typical 20 years for this type of engine.

Thanks for the apology, something I should do more often.
:encouragement:

 

[erich27]

We recently bought an early 1990s 35' yacht with the original VP2003 engine (raw water cooled ) and it overheated a couple of hours into the delivery trip ! when we eventually got her back home I checked the flow from the water pump, it was weak so took the impeller cover off , took out the impeller then noticed that the brass washer behind the impeller had broken up into 3 pieces ( one had disappeared ! ) plus the wear plate was very thin. I replaced the impeller, brass washer & impeller ; overheating problem solved.
A friend has the same class of yacht and when his VP2003 was damaged in an accident he replaced it with a BETA 30HP and is very pleased with the result.
A possible mid-way option from a cost/simplicity point of view is to buy and have fitted a recon VP2003 from a supplier such as " Power-afloat " see article below from YBW in 2006 :


Replacement Volvo 2003
These folks - www.powerafloat.co.uk - supplied me with a reconditioned Volvo 2003 a couple of years ago at a significant saving on the new alternatives. It is like a new engine with no fuss about changing footings, controls or anything else. An option worth checking. No connection - just a happy customer.

Read more at http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?260745-Replacement-for-Volvo-Penta-2003#1iI3p0elCWQS1rjw.99

Good luck with your choice and would be interested in your final decision as we may go the same way ?

 

[Gwylan]

We recently bought an early 1990s 35' yacht with the original VP2003 engine (raw water cooled ) and it overheated a couple of hours into the delivery trip ! when we eventually got her back home I checked the flow from the water pump, it was weak so took the impeller cover off , took out the impeller then noticed that the brass washer behind the impeller had broken up into 3 pieces ( one had disappeared ! ) plus the wear plate was very thin. I replaced the impeller, brass washer & impeller ; overheating problem solved.

Good luck with your choice and would be interested in your final decision as we may go the same way ?

Well, the pumps, raw and fresh are items I have a lot of confidence in.

The water pump is an item I wondered about when I found a spare in a locker. Either the previous owner knew something or he was even more pessimistic. His foresight was excellent, not so long after that we had to use the spare. The faulty one went off to some company in Cheshire that refurbs pumps and we have it back on board awaiting the call of duty. Hopefully a long way ahead.

The sea water pump seemed not to have been looked at for some time. So of course I had to open it and replace the impeller. This seemed to be the right thing to do. A couple of missing vanes from the impeller didn't seem too significant at that point on my learning curve.
Shortly after this the bearing went and it took to leaking salt water into the bilges. Not an emergency but a pain. So off it came and the bearing was replaced and the whole thing sucessfully restored.

This seemed too good to be left alone, so I decided to install one of those easy to remove covers. That was a good move and it encorages me to replace the impeller at regular intervals. What do people think is a regular interval? My defininition seems to be when I am changing the oil and remember.

We always have spare impellers on board. The previous owner left me three and I have settled on two after a 'well meaning crew' experience.

A well meaning crew was asked to check that the sea cocks were open. What they did, we discovered after the free and frank shouting match that ensued, was assume the open valve was closed and move it to the other position - which was closed.

Steam and an odd engine pitch - really an exhaust tone alerted me. The consequence was that I found myself with an inexperienced crew and sailing wind over tide around Lavernock Point whilst replacing the impeller.
On a Seahawk this requires you to remove the companion way to get access to the pump and hence the impeller.

At the same time I am trying to coach the helm to keep us on a good steady tack and not luff up all the time.

The company that makes the cover for the pump has been the subject of some communications around here. Has the manufacturer been revived yet?

I begin to wonder how I could part with an engine that has accompanied me on such adventures? It seems quite heartless....

 

[Tranona]

That is a helpful insight.

The myth of the drop in engine seems to prevail and I nearly fell for it.

The older engines have different widths between engine mounts. However what you are asking for does in fact exist. Beta have been making adaptors to fit their engines direct onto the same bearers for years and the 30hp engine is as close to a "drop in" exercise as you can get (same with Nanni). Not difficult to make adaptors to take either a Volvo D1 or a Yanmar - all of these have been fitted in place of old Volvos.

Re-engining is not a trivial exercise, but it is well trod territory and any competent installer should have no problem doing a good installation.

 

[[70521]]

That's really the bottom line. Continuing to fix this engine is like furiously trying to pump the bilge without fixing the hole.

Utter tosh...

A good diesel mechanic will be able to fix anything. These are simple engines designed to be simple to use and maintain.

I had problems with my 35 year old 2002 last summer, that I was able to diagnose and with the help of an excellent mechanic we had fixed and this summer it has worked without missing a beat.