Stupid question

[jimi]

How long does an engine last?

 

[sarabande]

I have a feeling that car engines are more stressed than boat engines, so a few guesses.

Car lasts 150k miles, with average speed of 40mph, so 3750 hours.

With a wild assumption that a well used boat notches up 200 hours per year, that gives a very approx lifetime of 18 years. Does that seem reasonable ?


Caveats on longevity would be servicing intervals, short runs below opt running temp, layup time in winter, etc.

 

[pvb]

How long does an engine last?

If you're talking about boat engines, it can be decades. But ultimately it's the non-availability of replacement parts which brings about their demise.

 

[Tradewinds]

Well, on my 1980 Nic39 the original Ford 2401E had unknown hours when I bought her in 1992 but I guess 1500-2000 just because of where she'd been. On my travels I put on 4600 hrs (I put an engine hour meter on when I bought her). In my ownership the engine did some passages under engine 48-72 hours non-stop but mostly short duration under load or just ticking over charging the batteries to keep up with the watermaker, fridge, fans etc. So that marinised Ford Transit engine probably did 6.5k+ hours.

It didn't go bang - I changed it to a new Ford 2.5l because I wanted to. Might have lasted another 1000 hours or more - who knows.

Why are you asking this 'stupid' question

 

[awol]

How long does an engine last?

As long as you want to keep pouring oil and money in its direction. I have worked on engines over 100 years old but they needed a lot of TLC to keep them going - on the other hand my shiny new Yanmar starts almost before I turn the key.
So what's gone wrong with your donk?

 

[mainsail1]

I have just replaced my Volvo Penta at 16 years old. No idea the mileage or hours but it needed a new sail drive seal and a possibly new water pump and had started to smoke a bit so I went for replacement rather than repair. I see the engine as an important piece of safety equipment that must not let you down on that dark windy night entering harbour near rocks.

 

[jimi]

my Volvo MD2040 is over 25 years old now, and I'm having to replace the sail drive cos of water ingress so was wondering if I'd be profligate in changing the engine as well. To be fair its never let me down . Only issues I've had are calcification of cooling stack (to be expected) sooting up of elbow and alternator falling off.

 

[pvb]

my Volvo MD2040 is over 25 years old now, and I'm having to replace the sail drive cos of water ingress so was wondering if I'd be profligate in changing the engine as well. To be fair its never let me down . Only issues I've had are calcification of cooling stack (to be expected) sooting up of elbow and alternator falling off.

I'd expect it to soldier on for a good few years to come.

 

[jdc]

A truck will often do 1 million km, say at 70 kph, which is 14,000 hrs. If one does 350 hours a year, that's still 40 years. I think talk of 18 years is way too pessimistic: my engine is now 15 and seems as new after about 4500 hrs. New seals on the raw water pump is about all the changes it's had.

Another way to look at it (although this is a bit dubious as not all engines have rollers and there may be no equivalent wear-out mechanismfor journal bearings) is that roller bearings will do something like 1.5 billion turns. At 2000 rpm that's 12,500 hrs.

 

[awol]

What else are you going to do with the £6k or so a new engine would cost? Leave it to the kids? Peace of mind is nice to have.

 

[Poignard]

My BUKH engine is 38 years old and while it has an owner capable of carrying out any repairs it needs, and who enjoys doing so, I don't see why it can't go on for many more years.

Whether the "owner capable of carrying out any repairs it needs, and who enjoys doing so" will go on for many more years is, however, a moot point!

 

[vyv_cox]

I know of flotilla lead boats with engines that have exceeded 15,000 hours.

 

[[3889]]

A friend manages construction plant and plans on the basis that a 30 HP yanmar, running at constant high load will last 10000 hours.

 

[jimi]

I wonder if it’s not so much the running time but the non running time that affects Diesel engines.

 

[mainsail1]

An older diesel engine is a smelly beast and I think that swayed me to replace. I motor sailed in a light breeze from astern last year and thought the exhaust fumes spoilt the trip.

 

[duncan99210]

My Volvo 2030 is now 20 years old and has about 4500 hours ru time. It starts easily, runs well and doesn’t smoke. Burns no oil and seems to thrive on benevolent neglect: it gets serviced on time but that’s about it. I fully expect it to last a good few years yet. I wouldn’t change an engine unless it started to suffer frequent failures: trouble is knowing when that’s going to be....

 

[Concerto]

It all comes down to servicing. There is a Volvo P1800 car in the US that has turned over 3.2 million miles.
https://www.autoblog.com/2018/11/16...bDvKpNABDpiHX0YqBdv4AnYV1ydTkgFsRq7CNOg0MFrAL

 

[Stemar]

My 2003 is 31 years old. Still starts & runs well, and doesn't use any oil.

If it ain't broke...

 

[scotty123]

I have a feeling that car engines are more stressed than boat engines, so a few guesses.

Car lasts 150k miles, with average speed of 40mph, so 3750 hours.

With a wild assumption that a well used boat notches up 200 hours per year, that gives a very approx lifetime of 18 years. Does that seem reasonable ?


Caveats on longevity would be servicing intervals, short runs below opt running temp, layup time in winter, etc.

If buying a used car, unless evidence to the contrary, have alwys insisted on timing belts changed, but not known any one doing so when purchasing used boat.

 

[pvb]

If buying a used car, unless evidence to the contrary, have alwys insisted on timing belts changed, but not known any one doing so when purchasing used boat.

How many boat engines have timing belts?