Refurb or replace? Volvo 2003

[Gwylan]

Our faithful, reliable and altogether bullet proof Volvo 2003 has got a drink problem.

She has started to guzzle oil and her breathe smells of oil. Still runs well, economical - we get about 2,5 litres per hour at 2500 rpm.

It has done about 3000 hours, certainly not less - the previous owner seemed to have removed the lead from the hour meter.

Anyway we have been on a mission to get from the South Coast to the West of Scotland. We have also been using the motor a lot more to keep the speed up and reflect the lack of any appropriate wind.

Facing the facts of life I need to recognise that some serious intervention is necessary. Not anxious to splash money about I am looking at the options.
Any of this work is outside my ability span

1 Get the engine out, stripped and refurbed - still a 30 year old engine with 50 year old technology.

2 Replace the engine with a modern, all singing all dancing model. Frankly at a couple of hundred hours a year the saving in fuel efficiency is minimal. So the real reason is security and confidence.

Suggestions for a possible model for replacement?

 

[JanZ]

Replaced my 2003 in our Westerly Seahawk with a Betamarine 30. Best thing I ever did. Starts instantly, runs smoothly, ample power. Easy swop for the Volvo.

Good luck

JanZ

 

[KellysEye]

I would go with a Yanmar they are renowned for their reiabilty and used by the big charter compnies.

 

[Tranona]

Any of the current 30hp engines would be fine and require a similar amount of work and replacement parts to fit such as new prop and worn out equipment - exhaust, controls, shaft etc.

Which you choose will depend on factors such as cost (although not a huge variation) dealer service, professionally fitted or not. You will get satisfied reviews for most engines - more for the popular ones, Beta, Nanni, Yanmar and Volvo.

 

[Tranona]

I would go with a Yanmar they are renowned for their reiabilty and used by the big charter compnies.

As are Volvo, so does not mean much.

 

[Slowtack]

Just replaced mine, not sorry to part with the heath robinson cooling system

 

[Gwylan]

Amazingly clever but not meant to be on a boat. Replaced ours with a straight forward heat exchanger and hoses with jubilee clips.

Replacing the a stern gland with a Radice was also a leap forward.

 

[Topcat47]

If the "thirst" is for lub oil, this is NOT a god sign. Diesels can runaway burning the oil in the sump. If so replace.

If it's diesel and combustion is incomplete, a top end overhaul is indicated. Has this ever been done on this engine? This may be as simple as taking off the head, scraping off excess carbon,lapping in the valves and reassembling. After 30 years, it may also indicate wear in the governor system, which is a bit more complicated. Any good diesel specialist (I use Panda in Fareham) will be able to service the hp fuel pump(s) and injectors. This is not a job for a home mechanic.

I replaced my MD1b because critical spares were no longer obtainable, not because the engine was clapped out. You should look into this before spannering a working engine. My exhaust manifold crumpled when I removed it and there were no spares. At the start of a winter refit, you might find an engineering company to fabricate something to keep it running, but not mid cruise.

 

[Loopy]

Beta Marine seems to specialize in drop in replacements for bad Volvo engines. I'm looking at having to do this with my 2003 sooner or later which seems to have an unfortunately persistent overheating issue.

 

[jwilson]

I would go with a Yanmar they are renowned for their reiabilty and used by the big charter compnies.

Well - I own a moderately high hours 2004 3YM30 Yanmar and would be very tempted by a Beta if it came to replacement, despite the fact that another 3YM would be a cheaper drop-in replacement. It is on it's fourth starter motor, third water pump, has intermittently overheated from new (despite under-warranty heat exchanger replacement), once dumped most of it's engine oil into the bilge through a hidden second dipstick hole with rubber plug retained by fond hope plus factory silver spray paint. Now leaks oil, front crankshaft bearing replaced which cut the leak, but still some from the back. And if you follow the service schedule and replace engine mounts as directed you'll have a nasty shock at how unbelievably expensive they are.

Apart from that it's a great engine, starts instantly, no smoke, pretty smooth.

But then both a similar aged/hours Beta, Nanni, Volvo etc. would also start instantly, run with no smoke, etc., and the Beta/Nanni etc being Kubota based have pretty cheap routine maintenance parts prices as there are millions of them around in plant machinery.

If your 2003 still starts well from cold, the oil burn may be a valves issue not bore wear.... a lot simpler than a full rebuild, which is probably not justified on that engine.

 

[Heckler]

Our faithful, reliable and altogether bullet proof Volvo 2003 has got a drink problem.

She has started to guzzle oil and her breathe smells of oil. Still runs well, economical - we get about 2,5 litres per hour at 2500 rpm.

It has done about 3000 hours, certainly not less - the previous owner seemed to have removed the lead from the hour meter.

Anyway we have been on a mission to get from the South Coast to the West of Scotland. We have also been using the motor a lot more to keep the speed up and reflect the lack of any appropriate wind.

Facing the facts of life I need to recognise that some serious intervention is necessary. Not anxious to splash money about I am looking at the options.
Any of this work is outside my ability span

1 Get the engine out, stripped and refurbed - still a 30 year old engine with 50 year old technology.

2 Replace the engine with a modern, all singing all dancing model. Frankly at a couple of hundred hours a year the saving in fuel efficiency is minimal. So the real reason is security and confidence.

Suggestions for a possible model for replacement?

Now that www.parts4engines.com are doing refurb kits for this engine for a modest sum, why dont you investigate doing a rebuild? Much cheaper than a replacement. Give them a bell for their advice?

 

[Heckler]

Now that www.parts4engines.com are doing refurb kits for this engine for a modest sum, why dont you investigate doing a rebuild? Much cheaper than a replacement. Give them a bell for their advice?

By the way, the replacement engines on offer are still "old" technology being based on industrial engines.

 

[Tranona]

By the way, the replacement engines on offer are still "old" technology being based on industrial engines.

Not in the case of the Volvo 200X series. These were unique to the marine range which in part explains the very high cost of spares as very little is used on any other engine. Before you get too excited about the viability of rebuilding using the kits it would be useful to know the price.

Aside from the cost of rebuild, the engine was, and of course still is not very good and Volvo replaced it with the 20X0 series which is an industrial engine rather than a so called "marine" engine.

 

[Heckler]

Not in the case of the Volvo 200X series. These were unique to the marine range which in part explains the very high cost of spares as very little is used on any other engine. Before you get too excited about the viability of rebuilding using the kits it would be useful to know the price.

Aside from the cost of rebuild, the engine was, and of course still is not very good and Volvo replaced it with the 20X0 series which is an industrial engine rather than a so called "marine" engine.

Your quote of mine makes it quite plain which engines I am referring to and that is the replacement ones which are all based on industrial units. So what you have said doesnt make sense. The 2003 engine in question has lasted quite well considering how old it is! As I posted a few days ago, the owner of p4e has sourced pistons etc for this engine and is now going to sell an overhaul kit similar to the ones he does for perkins engines. If the OP phones them up tomoz I am sure that they can give him a price, their prices have always been reasonable.
PS, your other point about why vp replaced the 2003 with the Perkins 20X0 series, I would hazard a guess that it was easier to paint a finished product green than actually manufacture an engine from scratch as they were doing! The engines themselves were basically push rod engines of similar design as is even the latest replacement offerings!

 

[Gwylan]

Well, an update might be good at this point.

The 'diagnosing engineer', both words require italics and double parentheses, gave me a gloomy, pessimistic forecast and then went away. Had been remotely interested in business I would have bought a new engine there and then.
But he wasn't so we continued with all the gloom that could be added to a wet sail up the west coast to Scotland.

During a week in Girvan I took the engine in hand. Gave it a really good oil change. Changed the filters.

Then checked the oil as we made our way up the coast to Oban. No problems, no excessive fuel use. Just the odd issue with the cooling system.

Spent the Summer of 2017 cruising the western isles, always in a slightly nervous state, dreading a large bang and smoke or worse.
Another vigorous oil change and wintered out of the water at Troon.
Back in the water and wandered down the coast expectin to have to stop somewhere on the english side if something big happened.
Well it didn't.

Then, took a flier and went off to Ireland and out to Kinsale - mostly to say I have been there.

Back and wandered the Bristol Channel and round the end to Newlyn for a change of crew and so on.
Still the oil was not an issue but we were running hot, but not seriously.

Whilst in Newlyn went for an oil change and a quick look at the heat exchanger. Oh dear!

The bracket that the heat exchanger was mounted on had fractured - it was only a bit of bent stainless and had been an interim four years earlier. Irony is that we made that compromise bodge in Newlyn after the previous heat exchanger died on us.
Anyway got a new, more robust, bracket made up for us by some great guys in the town.

Whilst it was all apart I decided to check it out. Everything was fine, except there was an issue about how it should fit back in and which hose should go where to get the right flow.
A trip to the manufacturers web site and, yes, we hade installed it the wrong way round.

Wonder of wonders, put it together with the right liquid going in the right direction through the right bit of the heat exchanger and we have a transformed system.

So much so that went on from Newlyn to the Channel Islands and then wandered along the French coast to our new winter quarters.

Starts first time, hot or cold, the exhaust is still smelly, but not belching clouds of steam or oily smoke. We are not using oil in any measurable amount and the fuel consumption remains less than 3 litres per hour at 2,3k rpm.

But, it has still got > 3300 hours on the clock and is 1986 vintage. I travel with a little less pessimism and hope to wring another season from the engine.

The real lesson is to read the instructions carefully and check that you have followed them.

 

[Cardinal]

Glad that you got that sorted. Reminds me of a Yamaha RD 200 I once had which would never run well and just could not get the two carbs balanced. I eventually took it to a m/c shop who were also puzzled for a few days then realised that some time before I bought it someone had replaced the carbs the wrong way round. All worked perfectly once they were switched back.
Reassuring also since I have a VP2003T which has had a long life but goes well and should continue to do so if treated well.

 

[Tranona]

Your quote of mine makes it quite plain which engines I am referring to and that is the replacement ones which are all based on industrial units. So what you have said doesnt make sense. The 2003 engine in question has lasted quite well considering how old it is! As I posted a few days ago, the owner of p4e has sourced pistons etc for this engine and is now going to sell an overhaul kit similar to the ones he does for perkins engines. If the OP phones them up tomoz I am sure that they can give him a price, their prices have always been reasonable.
PS, your other point about why vp replaced the 2003 with the Perkins 20X0 series, I would hazard a guess that it was easier to paint a finished product green than actually manufacture an engine from scratch as they were doing! The engines themselves were basically push rod engines of similar design as is even the latest replacement offerings!

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.

 

[Loopy]

Aside from the cost of rebuild, the engine was, and of course still is not very good

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

 

[pvb]

Aside from the cost of rebuild, the engine was, and of course still is not very good ...

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.

 

[Pagetslady]

I went through this some time ago, I did a rebuild cost at least £1500, it still over heated and had all original Starter alternator etc etc.
Eventually I re engined with a Beta 35 contrary to popular belief the do not fit straight into the VP mount. Although it cost extra to have the mounts specially made. Despite that I am glad I made that choice, I wish I had done it instead of the rebuild.
Mike,