volvo 2030

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stubate

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Have just bought my first real yacht, a Beneteau 351 with a Volvo 2030 engine. Any way went to winterise it, when i opened the raw water pump, found the impellor starting to break up. Ok not a prob, am an old diesel maintenance man, will soon fix that. Go to back of PBO and see adverts. First one (the biggest ad for volvo spares) wanted £24 for an impellor !!! and went to tell me about the probs with the water pump and horror stories and how the casting breaks if you try to replace bearings, and how volvo had changed it and a new pump was £240 !!
Went back to the boat and took off the whole water pump and had a look. No1 the pump bearings looked and felt fine, the seals looked fine and I couldnt see what the prob was with taking off a drive gear, undoing a circlip and pressing out a plain shaft and bearings. Ho Hum. Phoned the next ad up and found they were wanting only £14 + vat for the impellor and £8 + vat for the oil seal that seemed to be the crux of allthe so called probs.
They arrived this a.m, the impeller turns out to be a pattern one (which is ok) and the seal to be a bog standard lipped one. Out of curiosity i went to Goldline Bearings ( a motor factor) and priced one, £1.41 each!! Ouch!!
I know better now and I bet that there is some one selling bog std impellors to suite for the same sort of price reduction.
By the way the volvo 2030 is in fact a Perkins 103 and any motor factor will sell you v belts, fuel filters and oil filters for a lot lot less than even pattern parts sold thru the boat industry. Come on Ed how about an article about matching up engines and parts from motor factors, we dont have to stand in a cold shower tearing up fivers cause we love boating.
 
I have a Perkins Perama M20 which is the range that Volvo Penta took over when Perkins got out of the small marine engine market. Mine is rated at 17 HP but the volvo 2020 equivalent is rated at 19HP!! Its the identical base engine, badged as Perkins but built in Japan. I suspect the water pump is identical to mine; when I got mine 5 years ago, the water pump was leaking so I removed it at the first winterisation and repaired it at home with new bearings & seals from Fenner/BSL, I can't remember the cost but it was only a few pounds - much cheaper than the Perkins spare prices.
www.asap-supplies.com is good for spares, also for engine spares try the Perkins dealer as he might be cheaper(except for the exhaust elbow when Volvo Penta was MUCH cheaper than Perkins...)
I get fuel and oil filters from local car factor now - mucgh cheaper.

dickh
I'd rather be sailing... :-) /forums/images/icons/smile.gif
 
I have the volvo md2020 and about to change all the filters. Can you tell me what the part numbers are for the non volvo equivalents available from motor factors please ?
 
The small Volvo engines, taken over from Perkins weren't built there either.
They are in fact KUBOTA small industrial engines from Japan.

I haven't found out more, but having a 2020 myself I keep digging

chris
 
Re: volvo 2030 - NOT KUBOTA!!

No!! the 2010;2020 &2030 are badged PERKINS, not Kubota(If I remember correctly the name plate says' DEsigned by Perkins - Built in Japan') I can't remember the manufacturer off the top of my head. I'll try and find out more tomorrrow.
Kubota are marinised by BETA & NANNI and I believe Westerbeke? in the US.

dickh
I'd rather be sailing... :-) /forums/images/icons/smile.gif
 
Tom,
I'll get back to you tomorrrow with the part No's.

dickh
I'd rather be sailing... :-) /forums/images/icons/smile.gif
 
VP2030 - NOT KUBOTA believe what you want

ahem, what did I write ?
"The small Volvo engines, taken over from Perkins weren't built there either.
They are in fact KUBOTA small industrial engines from Japan."

So, would it be possible that your "made in Japan" is consistent with that ?

The rest is opinion, for me a machine that is designed by Perkins and built by Kubota is quality-wise more a Kubota, as it will be their manufacturing standard that drives it

Alternatively, you can certainly say that nothing beats a good (or bad) design... and call them Perkins.

The caps are a bit over the top, don't you think so ?

chris

btw they were designed for forklifters rather than boats - yes ,I have a forklifter engine myself ;-) <P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by quaelgeist2 on 28/11/2002 18:20 (server time).</FONT></P>
 
Tom,
The Fuel filter is a Crossland 370 and the Oil Filter is a Fram PH2954. Your local car accessory shop should be able to get other named equivalents - but be careful if you are offered any REALLY cheap ones - look at the box carefully, my daughter was sold a filter for her car which looked as though it was a Fram filter, in a similar coloured box and a name almost identical, but made in China!
Another alternative is to buy from www.asap-supplies.com who supply Fram/Crossland cheaper than Volvo/Perkins.
I also have a CAV Prefilter and use a Lucas HD096 in this.
A tip when changing the fuel filter is to wrap it in a heavy duty plastic bag as you unscrew it and you catch all the fuel and it doesn't drip onto the engine mount(which will ruin it!).


dickh
I'd rather be sailing... :-) /forums/images/icons/smile.gif
 
Re: VP2030 - might be a Kubota?

Chris,
Hmmm - when I looked at the engine manufacturers plate I can remember it was a Japanese company, but not one I recognised; I'm sure if it had said Kubota I would have noticed. Perhaps it was sold through another Japanese company for various reasons and that is the name I saw.

If it is Kubota based I will be absolutely delighted... I too was involved with Kubota Industrial engines, albeit several years ago, but I've got rid of all the catalogues I had.
I have also looked up my notes on my 'Perkins' and notice that the engine number is 'KB 30293J 06764T' which suggests it's a Kubota... I'm 99.9% convinced...

Sorrry about the caps - I honestly thought I was correct - time to eat humble pie I think...

Incidently, I have a workshop manual for the engine, if you ever need any info on it please PM me - which engine do you have incidently?

dickh
I'd rather be sailing... :-) /forums/images/icons/smile.gif
 
Tony,
Thanks for the link, I was aware of the site but there is very little on the 2020/2030 apart from a problem with possible 'water hydraulicking'...

dickh
I'd rather be sailing... :-) /forums/images/icons/smile.gif
 
Thanks for the part numbers and thanks for the fuel filter changing tip.

Any other 'volvo alternative' money savers for MD 2020 would be gratefully received. Are there alternatives to the volvo impellers for instance ?
 
Re: volvo 2030 - first winter service

Started my first winter service on my 2030 at the weekend. First the new oil pump fell apart with oil all over the place. Then the trick with the oil filter and plastic bag that fell out of my fingers into the engine bay sump with oil again all over the place. Followed be some choice words. OK learn from experince I guess. Dont have these problems with the old Volve.
Having problems with the Vacumn valve on the 'Y' unit I can't get the small brass washer out and I cant get at the cooling drain tap which is well out reach and the non excessable side of the engine. Well that the boating life!
 
Is it risky to fit pattern parts whilst the engine is still under warranty?

My 2020 has a three year guarantee and has to be serviced by the dealer, but despite this I want to keep on top of things that might affect safety at sea, what should the priorities be?
 
David, 'pattern parts whilst still under warranty' - difficult to answer, depends on what the actual warranty terms say. If they specifically say 'must be serviced by Volvo agent to maintain 3 yr warranty' then to play safe you have to follow this. How it would stand up in court if you had problems, and you had had it serviced by a competent marine engineer/competent DIY engineer(like me!) I really don't know.
Volvo buy in all consumables like Filters, impellors etc from reputable suppliers and have them branded with the Volvo name - they probably do a deal with the OEM suppliers for the spares, and going from experience of supplying spares for both automotive use and industrial use, there is a considerable markup on these items. In fact some Volvo dealers will give a discount, especially if you push for it.
Regarding safety, when out of warranty, it is not difficult to service a marine engine with non Volvo parts as long as you use a reputable name like Fram, Purolator for filters and Jabsco for impellors. Always carry a spare impellor and know how to fit it - a good idea is to fit a SpeedSeal cover on your pump, which means you can change an impellor without tools in under a minute - one of the best investments I have made.
Other items like Antivibration mounts are considerably cheaper if you can buy direct from the original manufacturer - my Perkins mounts were quoted at £78 each, I got the identical mounts direct from the manufacturer for £25 each!

dickh
I'd rather be sailing... :-) /forums/images/icons/smile.gif
 
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