TAMD P63

steved

steved

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Good afternoon all

I am possibly going to look at a boat fitted with a single Volvo TAMD P63 370hp circa 1997, I'm sure it's been asked before, but what are the general opinions on this engine, any weaknesses etc. Engine hours are around 1100.

Thanks in advance.

Steved
 
Volvo Tamd 63p

Had two boats fitted with these engines and one with its predecessor. Never gave me a moments trouble though none reached 1000 hours in my use. Provided, as ever, it has been properly maintained it should continue to give good service for a long time to come. Nice uncomplicated engine.
 
Thanks for the positive responses.

I run a haulage company with fleet of 30 trucks which are all Volvo, and over the past 25 odd years the reliability of the volvo engines has been good (we have 10 year plus trucks still doing 1500+ hours per year!) and as you say its all down to maintenance.

I guess I was checking for any weaknesses in the marinisation side of things.

If I go for the boat at least the spare parts costs can disappear as 'volvo maintenance'........
 
63p a great motor.

Early ones suffered from bad timing gears, the case hardening was poor leading to gears failing.

Waste gate suffers from wear on it's seat causing poor boost figures.

Fuel stop solenoids fail, not cheap!

Coolers block up especially the intercooler on it's end cover.

That's About it.
 
I have had 63p's on two boats including current boat.

A good solid no nonsense mechanical engine, check service history, check fuel i8s clean and tank free of water.

Get one of your blokes who loves engines to cherish it.
 
Another thumbs up! Had two in a 1998 Princess and they had done just over 1000 hrs when we sold her and they did not miss a beat.
 
I have 63Ps in a phantom 38 from 1998 and I can also confirm the earlier commments that these are great engines. I had a diesel bug problem on my port tank which was treated with fuel polishing and Starbrite Tank cleaner and I have no more black gunk in my separators. This has of course nothing to do with the engine except that the relatively simple construction allows the use of fuel additives. I have had some issues though, one was a bursted raw water hose and another was a broaken oil line connection. Both of these had some kind of recall but in my case they were left unchanged for some reason. Both are easy fixes although the oil line can lead to engine failure if omitted. I have heard about the timing gear issue however I do not know how to check this. It seems that the oil pan has to be removed in order to remove the timing gear cover. This again cannot be done without lifting the engine. Volvopaul, is this really the case, or is there another way?
 
baylabayla3288 said:
I have 63Ps in a phantom 38 from 1998 and I can also confirm the earlier commments that these are great engines. I had a diesel bug problem on my port tank which was treated with fuel polishing and Starbrite Tank cleaner and I have no more black gunk in my separators. This has of course nothing to do with the engine except that the relatively simple construction allows the use of fuel additives. I have had some issues though, one was a bursted raw water hose and another was a broaken oil line connection. Both of these had some kind of recall but in my case they were left unchanged for some reason. Both are easy fixes although the oil line can lead to engine failure if omitted. I have heard about the timing gear issue however I do not know how to check this. It seems that the oil pan has to be removed in order to remove the timing gear cover. This again cannot be done without lifting the engine. Volvopaul, is this really the case, or is there another way?
Click to expand...

Yes sump off or at least drop it, you can cheat if there is room at the front which on a p 38 not really, easier to liftengine out of boat and repair on a stand.

A way to check is remove sea water pump to check gears for poor case hardening.
 
Thank you very much for your reply! I will check the gears next winter as suggested. Maybe an endoscope can help to have a deeper look through the waterpump base withouth removing too many parts
 
The oil pipes are fairly easy to spot.

There are two:

One comes out the top of the turbo. Grab hold of the pipe and pull, if it comes off then it MUST be replaced.

The other is on the port side of the block slightly forward. It's the same design black rubber pipe with metal crimps on each end.

The problem is the crimps are weak and it should not be possible to pull the pipes off. These pipes take high pressure oil and if they fail could cause engine failure.

As far as I understand it affects 63p around 97/98 approx. there was a recal but Volvo don't seem to try and find the owners.
 
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