Tappits

[Switch]

Looking to get my engines serviced (KAD300's) just spoke to an engineer (well known volvo service agent) he told me that the tappits on KAD300's need to be checked every 200 hours or once a year which ever is sooner. He says it is a pig of a job requiring two days labour !!! /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
Is he right or is he just talking up the job... my engines are 4 years old with only 150 hours. I owned the boat for a year and as far as I know the tappits have never been checked.

 

[RobWales]

Quite sure that Volvopaul will be along soon to give you an answer.

 

[dsw]

if they are not tapping/chatering and the engines running sweet then leave them alone.

 

[ians]

Terry

I helped a mate do his tappets on a pair of Kad44s which are pretty much the same at the weekend, took us 8 hours start to finish.
Quiet a job to get all the stuff off to actually get the rocker covers off



Volvopaul is the man on this

ians

 

[DavidJ]

[ QUOTE ]
if they are not tapping/chatering and the engines running sweet then leave them alone.

[/ QUOTE ]
No! No! No! The 200hrs must be obeyed on the 44's and 300's as the MBY craft (Sealine I think) realised to it's misfortune a couple of years back. The 43's are more forgiving and after 200 hrs needed practically no adjustment (The job on the 43's is a doddle but you don't want to know that!!)
best of luck

...............await Volvopaul!

 

[DavidJ]

[ QUOTE ]
as far as I know the tappits have never been checked.

[/ QUOTE ]
You can check this by looking at the rocker box nuts. If they have been disturbed there will be some paint chipped off.

 

[jfm]

As DavidJ said, the tappet adjustment is important on that engine.

It's illogical to do tappets "every 12months or X hours, whichever is sooner". Tappets go out of adjustment only by reference to engine hours, not becuase 12 months have elapsed. Nevertheless, Volvo have promulgated this illogical rule for years.

However, Houghn made a post a year ago saying that Volvo had officially retracted its "every 12 months" requirement and now required tappets to be adjusted only every X hours. Sensible stuff at last from Volvo on this subject.

I can't find his post though, cos the search function on here is useless. If he reads this he may be able to enlighten

 

[wbartram]

I think the guy is taking the p**ss, in the manual it states that they need checking every 200 hours only. Forget the once a year. Had mine done at 200 hours by RK marine and not one needed adjusting. Also had the ourdrives serviced at the same time total cost £1200.00.

But I did hear that they only need doing at 800 hours.......

Its a lorry engine (correct) so lets say 200 hours @ average speed of 40 miles per hour is 8000 miles. There is no way the tapets need adjusting at 8000 miles!

Regards

William

 

[jfm]

I think the manual does actually say every 12months, crazy though that seems. My manual does (for Volvo D12s). But see the update from Houghn in my post above

Incidentally, the KAD300 is (I think, but happy to be corrected) a marine only engine, not sold by Volvo for lorries

 

[volvopaul]

Sorry DSW either your a rich man or dont own a pair of kad 300 engines or a chancer, or you dont know all the pittfalls of these engines, im not trying to make you look unknowledgeable either.

Yes quite right its a pig of ajob as all fuel injector pipes have to be removed, plus the oil filter housing and cables etc.

Get them done as it may cost you if you dont, if you want a competitive price PM me to discuss it.

The engine is a basic kad 42 plus the valve clearances so the rest is straightforward, time depends on what boat there in, a nice engineroom makes all the difference, a snug tight sportscruiser can be a nightmare on my back, thats if there is room to stand in front of the engines, you have been warned.
I would say that in 2 days the engines can be fully serviced and valve clearances carried out too, I also do work on the southcoast, southampton areas.

 

[volvopaul]

William its not a lorry engine, never has been used in anything else only marketed as marine use.

 

[jfm]

Volvopaul, what's your view/information on the "every 12 months if sooner" aspect? Do you have access to the official Volvo bulletin saying that instruction can be ignored and that the tappets should be done just every X hours?

 

[volvopaul]

After warranty has expired we are back to the real world, and to be honest on some older engines the manufacturers said 1000 hours, but todays modern engines are turning out more power for less cc, so there under more stress, modern oils help but I personally think its all gone too far, for eg at the moment I wouldnt buy a boat with either D 4 OR D6 engines as there still having probs with these, I understand if your buying new then you dont have a choice but I like to buy goods that have a long life IMHO i dont think these will be the case, I was speaking to a Targa 40 owner this weekend one of which id just serviced, hes highly delighted his boat will push 43 knots , but I thought for how long???.

I would personally advise tappets to be done every 200 hours or 3 years on a ad41/kad 42/43, these engines are easy to do and take up minimal labour time to carry out.

Kad 44/300 then stick to what volvo say, its your investment thats at stake, if you can afford to go boating then keep up the correct servicing schedule, because if you cant prove whats been done when you come to sell it then you will be knocked down accordingly.

As for your D12 engines ive done a few and they dont seem to wear on the top end, its a good system and carries few problems on the valve train and fuel pump side, its very similar to Volkswagens PD system on the golfs and passat, but on a larger scale of course.

So to summarise your question, stick to what volvo say on the complicated engines and take engineers advise on the simpler models.

 

[jfm]

Yeah, but on these heavily pushed engines that are developing high BHP from small blocks the extra loading isn't on the valve gear, is it? (OK, it is on the engines that are making the high BHP by high RPM, but not if the higher BHP comes from higher fuel/air and injection cylinder forces)

Ref sticking to what Volvo say, do you know what they actually say? I'm confused! I have a manual that says every 12m (regardless of hours) yet houghn said there was an official announcement saying ignore that. I'm getting a new pair of D12s in a few weeks (800s) and will see what their 2009 manual says, but do you know anything official about Volvo's position on this?

Why would you do tappets every 3 years on a very low hours boat? Not arguing, just curious!

Thanks

 

[Marsupial]

Ignore tappet adjustment at your (engines) peril. Tappet clearance is essential if an engine is to run “sweet” and run for a long time. Tappets that make no noise should be suspect and quickly inspected as this WILL lead to premature valve failure. Tappets that sound like trip hammers should also be inspected as this will lead to premature valve gear failure. I would rather hear than not hear tappets on a diesel. 200 hrs under marine conditions (flat out most of the time) sounds about right.

 

[MapisM]

[ QUOTE ]
marine conditions (flat out most of the time)

[/ QUOTE ]Blimey, what sort of boats do you have in mind?

 

[nicho]

[ QUOTE ]
if they are not tapping/chatering and the engines running sweet then leave them alone.

[/ QUOTE ]

BIG MISTAKE! KAD300's and 44's MUST have their tappets adjusted every 200 hours (not every 12 months as was suggested). Mine have been done this week, and at a total of 180 hours were in need of adjustment (though it's common I believe for them to come out factory fresh in this state).

ALSO, dont take too much notice of the lack of broken paint - the guy who does mine is so fastidious, he ensures the paint is touched up afterwards - and yes, he does the job properly being fully Volvo trained, one of the best on the South Coast. Many in our marina would use no one else

 

[dsw]

ok so you rip the bits off to get to the tappits and find that none need adjustment would you still charge the silly rates or would you what ?

 

[spannerman]

I have done dozens of Kad 44/300 valve adjustments and have it down to 3 hrs max if there is good access to the engine, the only problem is resealing the valve cover if you are unlucky enough to damage the rubber sealing strip as this is no longer available so you have to use silicone to seal it again.
The hours are the important issue the valves on these engines, time is unimportant as valve clearances only alter with engine use, they are not something that degrades with time like oil, so stick to 200 hrs and you will be fine, we have had engines that have gone a 100 hrs over service schedule with no problems, its not terminal if you don't get them done banng on 200hrs.
But do the rest of the service once a year regardless of hours.

 

[Nauti Fox]

I would presume the hours would be charged to remove everything to gain access to the valve train, measuring the clearances and putting it all back together, wouldn't you? Surely you wouldn't expect not to be charged because the clearances were alright?