Volvo D3-190

[AHoy2]

May need to make a quick decision on a boat with above engine - anything to look out for (shaft drive on planing hull)?
How does it compare with TAMD41P 200hp and Nanni 200HP for reliability, maintenance, economy.

 

[goochie]

Can't comment on the D3 but experience with others shows the AD41 to be solid but smokey. I have the 200hp Nannis and they are great. Very reliable, extremely economical and very rugged. Good low down pull, sweet spot is about 3100 rpm. A more basic engine compared to the D3, but possibly better for that.

 

[Chris_d]

In my completely biased opinon /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I wouldn't buy anything Volvo unless they had been making it for at least 10 years, and hence properly developed it. Volvo's perform well, but in my experience seem to be made out of chocolate for the leisure market. So i'd go for the proven TAMD41 or the Nanni, in fact just the Nanni /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Kipper]

I second that! I have never had a bad report about a Nanni. I would also look at Yanmar, They do a 200hp thats commercialy rated and is capable of 250 hours between services.

 

[Fire99]

Well for what its worth a chap at the Marina has two pretty new Nanni's in his cruiser and they have not put a foot wrong.. so to speak.
I heard somewhere Nanni are Toyota based engines?

 

[No Regrets]

I have a D3 160 and asked similar questions before buying Shamby.

The engine is based on the Volvo 2.4 5 cyl. car engine, which has no known issues so far. All users report satisfaction, and it's a smooth yet charismatic sounding unit, with lots of mod cons.

A new one is circa £16K, so not cheap!

Mine is lovely. No smoke, very economical on the river (half a gallon per hour!) and looks easy to service.

 

[D3B]

Shamby
D3-160's........
I wonder if you have had any extended runs at high revs (3300+) to find out if there are any overheating problems?

and whether you have any oil seepage from the overflow pipe which lays in the intercooler? the resultant leak splatters oil all round the engine room....

 

[DAKA]

I had a play with D4 s yesterday. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
I was amazed how smoke free and smooth they were.

I was impressed that Volvo had managed to get their range caught up with other units that had been on the market for 15 years .

Surely Volvo wouldn't release cruppy engines until they are ready ?

My father has a Volvo S70 with the Diesel 5 pot, it is a beautiful engine and doesn't drip oil, why would it leak in a boat /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[PowerYachtBlog]

I have 2 x 200 hp Aquad 41 with stern drive
I have no smoke issues and the reliabilty is the best,
still my mechanic tells me it is the best marine engine Volvo ever built...
I would go for another Volvo after this, that is sure

 

[D3B]

Think the car has the same engine......


Ive been asking VP and Burton Waters to answer that one for 2 1/2 years!


All they keep telling me is that its a breather hose and that on a car engine would normally return oil to the engine but they dont do that with a boat. Solution has been to drill larger holes on underside of intercooler, tap and add some drains so that oil and any condensation water gets drained into two bottles bolted to inside of transom.

Now if someone like spannerman or volvopaul wants to tell me thats a load of crap and let me know what to say to VP and BW i might have a claim for loss of proper use. and as the pipes to the bottles have been falling off = oil all round the engine tray again.....

 

[DAKA]

I dont know if this helps Doug but my engines breather goes into two oil recovery bottles and then the air/ slight condensation goes into the air intake.

There would be a cost but the oil recovery bottles can be added and it would be easy to put the breather into the air intake.

If you dont really know what these are I hope someone with better knowledge than me comes forward or I will try to photo or scan workshop book ???

 

[D3B]

Pete

sounds pretty much like wot i got....
Im told the condensation is from the turbo heating up and cooling down in a marine (wet) enviroment and normally drains out of the tiny hole under the intercooler.

they added the drains from the intercooler where the breather hose also lays.
keep meaning to take a picture of it......but with all the other things to rememeber to photograph i keep forgetting.

 

[Nautorius]

Shamby,

£16k is a little steep. I can get a D3 190 with DP outdrive for £11,258 + VAT!

You need to barter a little harder!

Cheers

Paul /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[No Regrets]

Oh it's OK, mine came with the boat!

I haven't tried any high speed runs, as it's on the Thames, so 10 hours at 1400rpm is the longest rip.

Mind you, we knocked up 40 hours in the last four months which is fair usage...

I have no oil leaks, but 75 hours is all she's done from new.

 

[Nautorius]

Great,

and glad you like them!

Cheers

Paul /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[KevB]

The D3's are new technology with common rail and variable turbo. The others are old designs which no longer meet eu omission regulations. A known problem with the D3's is making sure it has the correct air filters otherwise it causes problems. Not sure Volvo know which is the correct air filter though.

 

[volvopaul]

Im not sure if volvo have cure dthe ongoing problems or not, personally I think they have made a mistake with this engine and should have given it a miss, do you have your warranty work done by burton waters? as steve from newark marina will no doubt do it on there behalf.

If you have too big a drain on the intercooler theres a chance you will loose boost pressure so be carefull what you do unless its on vp reccomendation.

 

[AHoy2]

Thanks for the responses so far. Anyone in addition to Shamby actually running a D3 (or preferably D3-190) at a serious work load or are they a bit rare in the real world?

I have no problem with the technology (common rail, variable vane turbo etc.) as I work a similar technology unit hard in road use with no issues, and hydraulic valve adjusters are fine for reduced servicing :>) Also like the view that they are clean running. I am more than a little curious why they don't appear to be a main stream engine with any of the volume boat manufacturers - price possibly.

 

[AHoy2]

[ QUOTE ]
Shamby
D3-160's........
I wonder if you have had any extended runs at high revs (3300+) to find out if there are any overheating problems?


[/ QUOTE ]

Any specific grounds for this query?

 

[D3B]

Yes

If the incorrect coolant was used the heat exchanger got clogged up and the engines would overheat.....as confirmed by VP in a recent magazine article
se MBY September pp 48
Actually answers a lot of questions you may have had on the D3's

Im sure someone will send you a copy of the article if you dont have hard copy.

Doug