Volvo 2002 engine

[Caer Urfa]

Going to look at a boat with a Volvo 2002 18 hp diesel engine (1989) anything special to look at and how reliable are they

Does this engine have an engine anode??

How often does the Volvo rubber shaft seal need replacing

 

[Spuddy]

I bought a boat with a raw water 2002. A bit apprehensive because of critical comments about Volvos in general. However it's been fine; keeps chugging away with no need for expensive parts. It did overheat but a clean out of exhaust elbow sorted that. As a treat for it, I then degunged the block with Rydlime. Also got a Speedseal but no longer available; even so, access to the impeller is not bad.
Engine anode on the raw water cooled version is right on the front, towards the top.
Could the number of critical comments be because so many Volvos produced? Mine's been fine ( knock knock ).

 

[johnalison]

I had one for many years. I was unlucky enough to have it blow a gasket after about 4yrs and had a fresh-water cooled replacement, which was better. I liked the engine for its serviceability with all the bits on the front, and with the original raw-water cooled one I could even hand-start it. On the other hand, they are getting a bit long in the tooth now and you should be thinking in terms of a possible need to replace it at some time. There was an anode, also accessible at the front.

 

[Tranona]

How often does the Volvo rubber shaft seal need replacing

Others will comment in detail about things to look for on the engine, but in general be aware that they are not the best engines even when new and are now well past their sell by date. Spares are expensive and becoming difficult - after all they were a low volume production engine and now out of production for 30 years so spares will become more scarce as time goes on.

The seal will last indefinitely if properly installed and greased at least once a year. Volvo say 5 years but i have just replaced one that did over twice that and no sign of wear or leaking. Only reason for replacing was that the engine was out anyway and I replaced it with a Radice which has a vent and a greasing point. Cheap and easy to replace if necessary. Great bit of kit.

 

[agroundagain]

I have a 2002. I bought the boat in 2013 with the original 2002 engine (1990 vintage), raw water cooled and reliable but difficult to start. Over the next three years it became increasingly difficult to start; it seemed to have crossed a threshold in terms of compression.

After much reasearch I replaced it for the start of the 2017 season with a refurbed 2002 with fresh water cooling. This was as near a like-or-like replacement as you can get and really reduced the amount of work and cost involved.

The refurb has worked like a dream; always starts in one or two seconds.

To my shame, I had not serviced the shaft seal until the engine was swapped. Despite this, it was in excellent nick. The engine is easy to work on. Servicing has been simple.

I think the main drawback that hasn't been mentioned is noise. It's not a quiet unit.

 

[Stemar]

I have a 1989 vintage 2003, which is 1 1/2 2002's. Any engine of that vintage is getting a bit long in the tooth now, but mine (touch wood) has been reliable, starting in sub-zero temperatures, albeit with a bit of churning, and using no oil.

I suspect that most of the reputation for poor starting is due to ignorance of the proper starting procedure. the trick is to apply full throttle, pull the stop cable out all the way and push it back in before turning the engine over. There's also an issue with the mainshaft, but I reckon any engine still going will have had that dealt with by now.

If you can see it start from cold on a cold day and it runs happily with no smoke once it's warmed up (a bit of a smoke screen when starting, especially on a cold day is normal), I'd be quite happy to buy it, making allowances for the fact that any engine of that age could do something terminal at any time - but probably won't.

As for noise, I doubt it's much worse than most marine twins of that vintage, which is loud by modern standards.

 

[essexsj]

I find it easy to work on, rather economical in terms of fuel and oil.
Engine anode is towards the top front face and on mine is a 'square' bolt.
Good quality OEM parts are available at good prices online.
Not sure if mine required major rebuild that I'd repair, I think I'd upgrade to something newer and with a little bit more power.

 

[johnalison]

As for noise, I doubt it's much worse than most marine twins of that vintage, which is loud by modern standards.

I improved mine a lot by putting proper sound-deadening in the Sadler 29 in place of the basic foam. I got our daughter to do much of the dirty work, so she ended up with glass-fibre marks on her hands instead of me.

 

[[70521]]

A cracking wee engine. Mine is the original one that came with the boat, launched in 1985. Chugs along when needed I have a sailing boat not a motor boat and only do about 30/40 hours a year. Easy to maintain, parts are easy to get despite what is said above. I looked at re-engine my last boat and not impressed with the quality of materials and engineering that modern engines are made of. I wonder if any of them will stand the test of time.

P.S. If it does not start first time when cold, pull the stop device twice and she will start.

 

[Tranona]

Easy to maintain, parts are easy to get despite what is said above.

While service parts are easy to find if any major work is required for example to "recondition" the engine then you will discover the difficulty as all the internal components are unique to this engine. As many have found it is uneconomical to recondition, hence the tendency to re-engine with a modern engine. BTW the engines you refer to (presumably Beta, Yanmar, Vetus, Perkins etc) have been happily running for getting on for 30 odd years and as you may know Volvo swapped to Japanese engines as quickly as they could as soon as they became available through their partnership with Perkins.

 

[Caer Urfa]

Cheer's gents all interesting constructive comments for and against and will have a good look at the one in question,

Only down side is they do not appear to have the engine hours recorded

 

[Tranona]

Only down side is they do not appear to have the engine hours recorded

Sort of irrelevant in a yacht engine, even of this age as engines don't die of overuse and in this application rarely get anywhere near their design life. more important to ensure that oil and filters have been changed regularly and with seawater cooled ones especially there is no sign of overheating.

 

[ithet]

If this is fitted to an MS2 gearbox (probably) there was an issue with the gearbox input splines wearing. Check if a modification has been made or unit is a later one which was improved ( record the engine and gearbox serial numbers to check). I had this mod done when I bought my 1986 boat in 2007, the splines were very badly worn.
The mod involves machining the shaft to hex shape then re-hardening. This is then mated to a rubber mounted drive plate. If the splines are not worn then just the drive plate can be updated, this is the approach VolvoPenta took in the later engines. The full mod was a reasonable cost (c£250) when I had it done, but I think it has now got much more expensive.

http://www.dbmarine.co.uk/ms2.php#

Other issues with this engine to look for are cooling water leaks where the copper cooling pipes are clamped to the engine using rubber ferrules located by U shaped tangs. The rubber engine mounts need careful checking as It is likely that one or more will require replacing at +£60 ea.

As already stated there is an anode on seawater cooled versions (on front of engine near thermostat housing with square head) but a previous owner may not have released (i.e. changed it ) so worth innocently asking the question!

The 2002 can be prone to cylinder glazing if run too much on low load. In my case my engine gradually improved in starting performance and cruise "smokeness" throughout my ownership, by being cruised at highish revs (approx 2500). As has been already stated the correct cold start procedure must be used, this injects extra fuel into one cylinder (no heaters) so is accompanied by some blue smoke, although I avoided this on warmer days if possible.

 

[ithet]

Could the number of critical comments be because so many Volvos produced? Mine's been fine ( knock knock ).

Probably loved by builders. I saw the builders 1986 costings for my old boat with the VP2002, the engine cost was approx £50.

 

[Caer Urfa]

One thing I found today I understand on re launching the Volvo seal needs burping by squeezing it until some water comes out, tried this on two boats today and the seal was almost rock hard
so how do others do it or do I misunderstand what is required, or is a hard seal need replacing

View attachment 74531

 

[[70521]]

Only down side is they do not appear to have the engine hours recorded

Do you record the engine hours in the car?
How was the engine run in those hours, flat out or at 60% of max revs.

 

[johnalison]

One thing I found today I understand on re launching the Volvo seal needs burping by squeezing it until some water comes out, tried this on two boats today and the seal was almost rock hard
so how do others do it or do I misunderstand what is required, or is a hard seal need replacing

View attachment 74531

I had one for many years and don't remember having a problem with burping it. If the rubber is really as hard as that maybe it is due for replacement. If you squeeze it near the front end and pull it up towards you you should be able to distort it enough to release the air, and I'm not particularly strong.

 

[Pete7]

Were does that black wire go to? also why is there a jubilee clip on the propshaft?

Our 2003 is now 30 years old. We have a starting problem in that the mechanism that moves the rack an extra amount when carry out the cold start procedure. Problem is in the box on the port front of the engine, there is a series of springs and levers which wear eventually.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...cold-start-fuel-enrich-schematics-164269.html

That aside it has been very reliable for the last decade. If its raw water cooled worth thinking about replacing the thermostat if it hasn't been done in a while. Made a big difference to how fast the engine and the calorifier warmed up. Otherwise parts readily available either via Volvo or one of the third party suppliers.

As already mentioned worth checking the gearbox to flywheel mod has been carried out. The shaft splines don't have any lubrication and chatter so after several decades that are worn. There is a cheaper volvo solution to the problem if the DB price is too much.

Pete

 

[ithet]

One thing I found today I understand on re launching the Volvo seal needs burping by squeezing it until some water comes out, tried this on two boats today and the seal was almost rock hard
so how do others do it or do I misunderstand what is required, or is a hard seal need replacing

View attachment 74531

I put my hand around the underside of the seal near the shaft input and pull upward.

 

[homer]

I would certainly check that it starts easily from cold - in my experience, some of them don't and the seller just might warm it up before you get there!