Vetus Engines - are they any good???

[vicmatt]

Hi I had a vetus M206 coupled to a ARS hydraulic pump/shaft motor so my engine was mounted accross the boat giveing easy accsess to all servicable parts, fillters raw water pump dipstick i couuld also get at the sump drain plug. this was a 1998 motor and I was very pleased with it ,so much so that when I swaped my Halcyon 23 for a cobra 750 I swaped the engines before selling the Halcyon. last year I stirpped the engine and replaced the piston rings the bores showed no sighns of wear and I expected to get several more years use from it, Sadley my boat broke free from her mooring in September and washed up several miles away and was decleared a total loss.
PS the engine was reguly serviced, the key to long engine life.

 

[Koeketiene]

-Finally colour is important as it should be co-ordinated with the colour scheme of the boat. Must admit it always grates seeing my green Volvo in a boat where the only other solid colour apart from white is blue!

Tell me you are joking - please

 

[david_bagshaw]

I have a 3.10 and I can't stand the thing. Even after a complete rebuild, new injector pump, and I can't even remember what else the thing is a nightmare. Hard to start, runs rough, burns oil, and leaks oil. It is nearly 30 years old though. I also have had a lot of trouble getting parts at reasonable prices. There's a repower in my future, and I am either putting in an electric system or a smaller Beta.

Welcome to the fora....
we have a m3.10 powered generator, and after many years of problems with exhaust valves, probably initiated by previous abuse, it finally let go with broken rings and exhaust valve head in no 1 cyl. The unit must have been very robust to have continued running for as long as it did. replaced with an ex farm machinery sourced engine, transfering all the marinisation casings, pump drive gear etc.
Couldnt use the new type as it would not allow the degree of power take off on the front pulley for the hydraulic pump for the bow thrust. Had fantastic service from the Vetus Maindealer Alphen aan derRijn, both with parts and lifting help removing the old and its replacement. Can send you the details of the farm machinery firm if you wish.

 

[vicmatt]

Not jokeing but glad I was withagood insurer GJW they paid out in full very quickly .

 

[Tranona]

Tell me you are joking - please

Wow! The things that come back to haunt you! In the context of the discussions about which engine to choose, there is so little to choose between them that colour has to come into it. In my Bavaria I had no choice - the factory fitted the green Volvo, but given the volume they use and their penchant for the use of blue in everything that is not white, I am surprised they have not persuaded Volvo to paint them blue - after all the Perkins engines they were originally were blue.

When I had a choice in re-engining my other boat, it did come down to Red (Beta) or Blue (Nanni) because in all major ways they are identical - but fortunately the Nanni does seem to have a better heat exchanger and sump pump (as well as a bigger alternator as standard) so of course it was a bonus that it was blue to go with the boat that has been painted blue for nearly 50 years (but has survived a green Stuart Turner and a grey Yanmar).

Hope this satisfies your curiosity.

 

[TNLI]

Good afternoon:

Having a few problems with my engine (Orca 21 HP built from a Kubota) and had a sudden brainwave and am wondering about buying a new Vetus engine - either a M 2.06 (16 HP) or a M 3.28 (27 HP). Will probably get the M 2.06 as 16 HP is more than my boat originally had which was only a 10 HP Volvo (MD 2 B). My boat is a Dufour 29 built in 1977.

I know nothing about Vetus engines nor do I know anyone who has one so am looking for comments from those who might have some experience with them.

Of course, like everyone I have heard people singing the praises of Yanmar engines but what about Vetus engines?

Thanks in advance.

Squeaky

P.S I did a search on this site and got over 500 suggestion but after reading through several hundred gave up and posted the above.

YES I did see the date, but I'm currently looking to replace my totally kaput BMC 1500 diesel (About 38hp) with a Vetus 4 cylinder donkey.

I had a 3 cylinder Vetus in my 34ft Van Der Stadt and ver very impressed. They do burn a tad more fuel than a Yanmar, BUT they are far tougher, as they are not a close tolerance job. That more modern type of block does not survive overheating , bad fuel or bad oil incidents.

The only thing I did find out about the Vetus, was that the 3 cylinder ones really do need a small electric feed pump, OR a full flow fuel filer filter like the Racor 500FG. If you use a CAV 296 (Trucking junk) the fuel pressure will drop low enough to cause the RPM to wander if it gets even slightly dirty, due to the fact it uses the same lift pump as the 2 cylinder versions.

 

[Plum]

YES I did see the date, but I'm currently looking to replace my totally kaput BMC 1500 diesel (About 38hp) with a Vetus 4 cylinder donkey.

I had a 3 cylinder Vetus in my 34ft Van Der Stadt and ver very impressed. They do burn a tad more fuel than a Yanmar, BUT they are far tougher, as they are not a close tolerance job. That more modern type of block does not survive overheating , bad fuel or bad oil incidents.

The only thing I did find out about the Vetus, was that the 3 cylinder ones really do need a small electric feed pump, OR a full flow fuel filer filter like the Racor 500FG. If you use a CAV 296 (Trucking junk) the fuel pressure will drop low enough to cause the RPM to wander if it gets even slightly dirty, due to the fact it uses the same lift pump as the 2 cylinder versions.

My 3 cylinder Vetus is 30 years old 1800 hours and still going strong, although a few parts have been replaced. Never had a problem with fuel supply. I would buy another.
www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

Vetus Engines



My old colleague "Captain Bligh" was asked to look at a Vetus diesel. He knew that the base engine was Mitsubishi and he knew where the Mitsubishi engine number would be stamped. The Mitsubishi engine number seemed to have been painted over so it was a case of scraping the block with a screwdriver. When this was done a piece of filler came off! Vetus had ground-off the Mitsubishi engine number in order to make people buy parts from Vetus! Now I've heard of "Spanish Practices" but Vetus are Dutch!

I would recommend an engine with a tunnel-bore engine block if you can get one.

The Spanish did rule the Netherlands for a time?

 

[Boater Sam]

"Re Volvo - I promised myself when I bought my current engine that I would never again have a green engine and certainly not one that had been touched by Volvo as I don't agree with their spare parts policy of giving the engines away to boat builders and then ripping the heck out of anyone unfortunate enough to buy a boat with one installed. I could buy a new off the shelf TMC gear box for the price Volvo wanted for the sliding cone in the MS gearbox which was designed and destined to wear out every couple of years. "

If you think that you pay a lot for Volvo parts you will die of shock when you buy Vetus spares, they can be frighteningly expensive.
Gearbox, would have no other than PRM.

 

[Plum]

The only thing I did find out about the Vetus, was that the 3 cylinder ones really do need a small electric feed pump, OR a full flow fuel filer filter like the Racor 500FG. If you use a CAV 296 (Trucking junk) the fuel pressure will drop low enough to cause the RPM to wander if it gets even slightly dirty,

I have the machanical pump and the CAV 296 fuel filter and have never had a problem like yours.
www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

 

[Graham376]

I'm on my second Mitsubishi engine but at 35hp (K4D) and 43hp (S4L), somewhat larger. Have proved reliable and parts/spares available from Diamond Diesels the UK importer so no need to be tied to a distributor.

 

[B58]

Vetus are owned by Yanmar, so the quality will be improved.

 

[chubby]

I have a vetus M4.17 which is now over 10 years old and 2700 hours and has been fine, no issues and would have the same. I fitted it as a replacement engine because at the time it fitted physically in the engine bay with least modification.

 

[SaltIre]

I had an 11HP Vetus in a Sadler 25. The engine was fine, but an issue was access to the bits you need access to. Apart from the alternator belt and the raw water strainer not much of it seemed to be on the front, whereas the 35HP BetaMarine engine I had in a Moody336 seemed much easier to manage. Things like the dipstick and impeller were on the Stbd side of the Vetus (click the thumbnails below for a bigger image) and accessed with difficulty via cutouts in longitudinal bulkheads. Clearly the engine compartment was much much smaller in my Sadler25 but access for servicing and everyday use might be worth checking.

The engine was installed ~2001 and the larger ones may be different, but the manual for the 11HP engine refers to the Stbd side as the service side and the port side as the Starter side...

Edit: On re-reading #26 I realise TNLI already knows about Vetus engines(!) but I'll leave my post up here for others.
This poster agrees about access...

I've got a Vetus M2.D5 in a Contessa 26. It seems to run fine.

The issue I have with this engine is that it is set up for a boat where you have side access to the engine: all the bits that you can play with (fuel filters, impeller pump, oil filter etc.) are on the starboard side of the engine. This is OK if you have side access to the engine. If you don't have side access, it's a real pain. One thing I really don't get is that the impeller pump faces the stern and it is very fiddly to replace the impeller.

If I had bought a Beta or Yanmar 1GM10, it would have been a lot easier to play with the bits as they are all at the front of the engine.

Anyway, I'd have a really good look at the engine and decide whether it fits ergonomically into your boat.

 

[TNLI]

Vetus are owned by Yanmar, so the quality will be improved.

Yanmar make close tolerance blocks, but Vetus (Mitsubishi) do not. There are pro's and con's to both type of diesel block. Close ones are quieter and more fuel efficient, BUT they are far more prone to failures if abused, in overheating, bad lubricant or fuel terms.

 

[Jmc1764]

I have an M4.14 its about 30 years old. based on the mitsubishi K4d engine. The only problem I had was loss of power which turned out to be almost totally blocked exhaust bend. Unfortunately it is integral to the heat exchanger on the early models so I had to buy a complete new assembly. once fitted the engine is like a rocket, loads of power and smooth running, no smoke or any other issues. So to answer the question from my perspective Vetus engines are pretty good.

 

[Rappey]

but I'm currently looking to replace my totally kaput BMC 1500 diesel (About 38hp) with a Vetus 4 cylinder donkey.

You do know companies like calcutt boats specialise in rebuilding bmc's?
I can't find it now but one of them have an article where they say if they had to re engine one of their hire boats they would choose a bmc over nani or beta everytime because 20-30 years down the road the bmc will still be running.
Another plus is how crazy cheap bmc parts are and would be an easy installation.

 

[TNLI]

You do know companies like calcutt boats specialise in rebuilding bmc's?
I can't find it now but one of them have an article where they say if they had to re engine one of their hire boats they would choose a bmc over nani or beta everytime because 20-30 years down the road the bmc will still be running.
Another plus is how crazy cheap parts are and would be an easy installation.

Thanks for that advice and I do know the BMC has a first class reputation, BUT the engine in my lifeboat was so badly damaged before I bought her from a salvage operator for 1 pound (The salvage job cost me 2K) and badly corroded (On the bottom for around 6 months) that it can't be rebuilt.
I've contacted Calcutt boats to see if they can obtain an engine worth rebuilding, BUT I'm rather keen on a good warranty (4 years for a Greenline BETA that fits on the same mounts), keel cooling and dual alternators. So I'm currently looking at Vetus, Beta (Greenline), Volvo and Bukh 4 cylinder diesels in the 30 to 40 hp range.
Of course I'm taking it easy at present as the only crew I have to help me is my parrot and she only helps with the wiring!

 

[Norman_E]

Squeaky: I have sent you a private message with a useful Marmaris phone number. Look at the envelope symbol at the top of the page next to your name.

 

[Rappey]

@TNLI There is a "remanufactured" bmc 1.5 on ebay at £2000 at the moment..
"checked by our in-house engineers,. It has been tested on the test bench "
If compression is good then there is not a lot else that is expensive to replace. The bowman heat exchangers seem to go on forever, injector pump recon is around £200-£300. Injectors around £50 and glow plugs around £20 for all 4. Cam chain kit with tensioner, a whole £18..
In the long term the bmc has to the cheapest option as 30 yrs on a rebuild is a walk in the park and parts when rarely needed are just so cheap..
The only negatives i can think of is they are very heavy and noisy compared to a moden engine
I would say any brand of newish engine is good. Is there really such a thing as a bad engine nowadays?

BMC 1.5 Secondhand Engine | eBay