Should these D3's be avoided?

[alt]

Hi all,
Friend is interested in a RIB with 2 x D3's, owner says they are 2006.

Serial no's:
D3-160 A-A1
869501 / 2003003980
869500 / 2003003340

Drives: SX-MTD3 1.66
3869295 / 4202151660
3869295 / 4202151445

Does the 2003 at the start of the serial no. mean they're 2003 engines?

Any advise much appreciated.

 

[BartW]

the D3's in my Karnic have sr nr
2003013882
2003014724
and these are from 2008
so, no the 2003 doesn't mean they are 2003 engines,

these are old model D3's, (had a bad reputation here for reliability)
bad maintenance can create all sort of trouble,
make sure a Volvo engineer give them a thorrow investigation and a serious sea trial.
especially the drives need a good inspection at that age,
if needed I can give a list of things to look at.

 

[alt]

Hi B,
Thanks for the info.

The RIB is in UK, we're in Ireland. My fear with D series (Hence why I like my KAD's), is that there is no Volvo agent locally with diagnostics if things did go wrong.

I would of course appreciate a PM (or public if you're happy to do so) of things to look out for.

For what it's worth, I would avoid these engines from tales posted here.... i'm just trying to get info for my friend.

 

[BartW]

The D3's are very nice engines to use, sporty and powerfull for the weight, (would be impressive in a rib)
but if you don't have a Volvo specialist in the neighbourhood of the useage, you better stay away from such old D3 engines,

if you can do a bargain on the purchase price,
count in a replacement of the turbo's, and the HP CR fuel pumps, (>15Keuro)
and a complete overhaul of the drives.

other points of attention; in a small boat such as a rib, they might have had salt water in the bilge / spray on the engine,
creating lots of corrosion on many parts
all hose clamps are galvanised steel, not SS !
some parts are painted mild steel, (very sensitive for corrosion)
injectors might corrode in the alloy engine block,
etc..

 

[Andyroonot]

Shipping date from Penta was 3rd October 2005, so allowing vessel build time a 2006 boat sounds right.

As others have said there are a few common issues - turbo's can get stiff with lack of use, the fuel filter needs to be nice & tight and the negative terminal/post on the front port side needs to be kept clean and free from dirt/corrosion or it can cause poor contacts and random faults.

No reason why they shouldn't be OK though if they have been (and continue to be) used and looked after, but neglect (either lack of use or lack of servicing) will not be good news.

If they are working now without fault on a seatrial (and they will soon sound an alarm if not happy with something) then that's a good start. Get someone familiar with the engine/drive model to check it all over and see what they think.

 

[CLB]

Early D3 engines did have a few problems, which is why I understood that a whole new D3 was launched a few years back. My own experience with early D3 160's is from a friends boat, which I went out on often. He was beset with faults and error codes that would put the engine in limp mode. The engines ever actually stopped, or had anything mechanical go wrong with them, it was just electronic gremlins that completely spoilt his use of the boat.

 

[[2068]]

Putting a variable vane turbo on an automotive engine is fine in regular use, but not such a good idea in a marine engine, as the vanes can stick.