Ridiculous price of secondhand engines?

I had an effer of a petrol Stuart Turner on my first boat back in the 1980s - it stopped just as we got into every harbour. They may be more reliable now, but I remember coming from Newlyn to Ireland with cans and cans of petrol (a potential bomb with my smoker of a crew). Petrol surely takes up much more space than diesel? My current tank is 100l. I presume it would have to be much larger if there was a petrol engine in the boat.
 
Secondhand engines? Reconditioned?

When you are as cynical as I am you understand where the knackered engines went that were replaced by shiny new Vetus/Volvo/Lombardini/Beta/etc. engines.

You may well find there is a long-running deal between the companies that fit new engines and the ones that sell ‘reconditioned’ engines.

My perception of a ‘reconditioned’ engine would be a rebuilt including new bearing shells (big/little ends), new rings and new pumps for oil and water in addition to checking all other parts remain within service limits. Then, all should be assembled with new service parts/items (fluids, filters, belts, etc.) and bench test run to confirm function. Of course, perception would necessitate a steam clean and lick of original colour spray paint.

I guess many of these ‘knackered replacements’ make it back to the open market with a pressure wash, aerosol paint and an oil and filter change. This would ensure that the engine is unreliable enough to be replaced again in a couple of years…

But maybe I’m being too cynical?
 
AntarcticPilot said:
Cars are open at the bottom so any leaks or fumes get left behind. Boats are sealed at the botom so fuel leaks accumulate.
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Are fuel leaks still a thing in cars? In the days of carburettors with float chambers they were probably inevitable, but I can't see any reason why a properly maintained injector system would leak. I have an LPG system on one of my cars and it's completely tight.
 
JumbleDuck said:
Are fuel leaks still a thing in cars? In the days of carburettors with float chambers they were probably inevitable, but I can't see any reason why a properly maintained injector system would leak. I have an LPG system on one of my cars and it's completely tight.
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As you say. And hopefully, a marine system would be equally leak-proof! But IF fuel leaks (and we have probably all had diesel leaks from a very similar system), then there's nowhere for it to go. Further, I think there's a big difference between a fuel system built by robots to extremely tight tolerances in a factory producing hundreds a day and one put together by a boat builder using workshop tools, and where each installation may be different depending on options chosen by the purchaser.
 
Ohlin Karcher said:
We used an oxy-propane torch to cut some access holes in a ship's bunker, which still contained several tons of diesel :encouragement:
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I used an angle grinder to cut up my old central heating oil tank at home. It burned nicely - the tank, not the angle grinder or the house - for some time. Mind you, that was 28 second stuff.
 
AntarcticPilot said:
As you say. And hopefully, a marine system would be equally leak-proof! But IF fuel leaks (and we have probably all had diesel leaks from a very similar system), then there's nowhere for it to go.
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On the other hand, diesel from as low drip stays around and petrol from a slow drip evaporates. And I'd be willing to bet that I have one of the few petrol-free sailing yachts around, unless are Torqeedo are selling more than I think.

I agree in principle that diesel has safety advantages, but I don't think petrol is quite as scary as is sometime suggested.
 
I suspect that a lot of the prejudice against inboard petrol engines comes from wooden boats that almost always leak a bit, tired stuffing glands, etc, resulting in a damp environment. Ignition systems and damp are not a combination conducive to reliability, nor is an ageing carburettor, especially when it's being bounced around. A diesel with clean fuel and a decent battery can be expected to start and keep running, but petrol engines in sailing boats seem to need a special relationship with the deity of your choice before you could have any faith in them. I suppose that petrol engined mobos tend to be in drier environments, so are more reliable - perhaps a bigger engines and the heat it develops helps to dry things out, but the idea of fuelling one for a cross channel trip gives my wallet severe palpitations, which comes down to the other advantage of a diesel, fuel economy.
 
JumbleDuck said:
Are fuel leaks still a thing in cars? In the days of carburettors with float chambers they were probably inevitable, but I can't see any reason why a properly maintained injector system would leak. I have an LPG system on one of my cars and it's completely tight.
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Stupidity will always come into play. I bled my diesel system went home and discovered the next day that I hadn't tightened up properly. About 20 litres of diesel in the bilges.
 
dgadee said:
Stupidity will always come into play. I bled my diesel system went home and discovered the next day that I hadn't tightened up properly. About 20 litres of diesel in the bilges.
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I wonder if these things happen because diesel, being fairly un-volatile, doesn't smell much.
 
JumbleDuck said:
I wonder if these things happen because diesel, being fairly un-volatile, doesn't smell much.
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Yes I too once had a boat with a petrol engine which developed a leak at the lift pump. It must have dripped about an egg cup full onto the fibreglass below. I smelt it immediately i stepped into the cabin. It had luminition ignition so no points or problems with damp, the fuel stop valve was always switched off when not in use and the fuel supply from the lift pump to carbuettor had hydraulic fittings.
 
JumbleDuck said:
I wonder if these things happen because diesel, being fairly un-volatile, doesn't smell much.
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It does when it's been fermenting in a damp bilge for a while.

I had a diesel leak that I couldn't track down and the boat stank to the point that bedding or clothes that had been on board for a while was not allowed in the house when I brought it home.
 
I think you have to carefully weigh-up the pros and cons regarding reconditioning an engine.

Most engines that require this are 20+ yrs old, so even if you spend a couple of grand of a re-bore and crank honing, new bearings, pistons, valves, etc., you still have an engine with a 20 year old starter motor, alternator, heat exchanger, gearbox, etc.

I considered overhauling my old TAMD-22. I worked out that for about 3k I could replace most bits, but then as I started taking it apart, I found studs snapping, bits corroded (heat exchanger and aftercooler), and other bits generally knackered (exhaust elbow, wastegate flap), so suddenly it was going to cost more than a new engine.

I would say that more often than not, it is better to just get a new replacement unit and then sell the old one on ebay (as people seem to pay over the odds for old engines).
 
JumbleDuck said:
Are fuel leaks still a thing in cars? In the days of carburettors with float chambers they were probably inevitable, but I can't see any reason why a properly maintained injector system would leak. I have an LPG system on one of my cars and it's completely tight.
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Fuel leaks still a thing. High pressure fuel line leak caused a friends car to self immolate. Lucky no person was hurt. And I saw similar as a car drove past the huts on Portland a few years ago and think it was the same issue.
 
Well I have just sold a Bukh DV20 for £200. Leaky oils seals, and forward clutch has issues but runs and starts well enough. Cant be bothered to strip it all down replace seals and replace or reverse clutch as would still have to get it out of boat and take it 150miles to my backyard but I have done similar in the past and got my oil dermatisis to prove it (no gloves back in the day).

Boatyard said I could have asked £300 but I wanted it gone (as no doubt did boat yard). Bigger Bukh going in - then maybe we will get more than 5kt under power
 
oldmanofthehills said:
Well I have just sold a Bukh DV20 for £200. Leaky oils seals, and forward clutch has issues but runs and starts well enough. Cant be bothered to strip it all down replace seals and replace or reverse clutch as would still have to get it out of boat and take it 150miles to my backyard but I have done similar in the past and got my oil dermatisis to prove it (no gloves back in the day).

Boatyard said I could have asked £300 but I wanted it gone (as no doubt did boat yard). Bigger Bukh going in - then maybe we will get more than 5kt under power
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The heat exchanger was probably worth £200 alone.
 
dgadee said:
The heat exchanger was probably worth £200 alone.
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Raw water cooling so no heat exchanger. I am sure I could have sold engine for parts at some profit but taking it home costs and not convenient and stripping it down laborious likewise listing each part. Let some younger fellow take it on.

However just had phone call that new engine came with no engine mounts so sale of old enables me to buy shiny new ones for newer engine
 
mainsail1 said:
This thread is so relevant to me right now. .....I am about to have a Volvo Penta D2 55 engine with sail drive available for sale and have been researching second hand prices for a few days now. I find that a guy in Dorset has cornered a large part of the market. He buys cheap trade ins, refurbishes and resells at pretty high prices. I think I will put mine on Ebay but I could sell it to him for not a lot. We shall see.
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Given the relatively low prices of overhaul kits from parts4engines Im surprised that more people arent doing a simple overhaul themselves. Nothing daunting about overhauling what is basically a simple Perkins 400 series engine.
 
Yep, complete set of gaskets from P4E for a 2GM20 was £50 odd, less than the price for just the head gasket for a 1GM elswhere. Rings are £12 /piston, though you have to be careful they are the right ones.
 
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