Volvo D6 Engines

[derekbland]

People have been so helpful and knowledgeable and so I thought I would pick the collectives brains again.

Does anyone know about the Volvo D6 engines, 430hp? They are circa 2008 and used on shaft drives not pods.
Interested especially if someone has them fitted or knows someone who has.

Cheers in advance.

 

[Andrew38]

People have been so helpful and knowledgeable and so I thought I would pick the collectives brains again.

Does anyone know about the Volvo D6 engines, 430hp? They are circa 2008 and used on shaft drives not pods.
Interested especially if someone has them fitted or knows someone who has.

Cheers in advance.

Have had 2 * D6 - 370 on sterndrives (DPH-D) from new in 2010. 2008 might be a little early for 435s and they may be more likely 370s.

Main experience is that in early days they were subject to error warning alerts because sensors are not properly connected but that has settled down. Be wary of oil changes as often Volvo dealers refill to dipstick level which may be more than 20 litres. 20 litres is sump capacity and should not be exceeded (overfill is worse than underfill). Volvo drained the oil out and modified the dipsticks on my boat. Other than tthat I had trouble free operation and they7 still run to 3400 revs,, we cruised at 1400 rpm, less than planing speed, and got more than 3 mpg but that is easy to do in Spain with no tides and plenty of sun on the sunbeds to keep SWMBO happy. .

Had them serviced regularly by Volvo dealer but stopped them always changing belts and impeller but anodes must be checked. I have always found Volvo dealers good value because they tend to find things that Volvo specialists (unless very good) do not but then I have been in Spain for 5 years so the non-Volvo options were very limited. The drives need looking after, particularly with joystick control, but with Volvo dealer agreement, I just had oil checked and visual inspection annually and only changed oil every 3 years.

Obviously if you are about to buy ensure you have the service history

 

[derekbland]

Have had 2 * D6 - 370 on sterndrives (DPH-D) from new in 2010. 2008 might be a little early for 435s and they may be more likely 370s.

Main experience is that in early days they were subject to error warning alerts because sensors are not properly connected but that has settled down. Be wary of oil changes as often Volvo dealers refill to dipstick level which may be more than 20 litres. 20 litres is sump capacity and should not be exceeded (overfill is worse than underfill). Volvo drained the oil out and modified the dipsticks on my boat. Other than tthat I had trouble free operation and they7 still run to 3400 revs,, we cruised at 1400 rpm, less than planing speed, and got more than 3 mpg but that is easy to do in Spain with no tides and plenty of sun on the sunbeds to keep SWMBO happy. .

Had them serviced regularly by Volvo dealer but stopped them always changing belts and impeller but anodes must be checked. I have always found Volvo dealers good value because they tend to find things that Volvo specialists (unless very good) do not but then I have been in Spain for 5 years so the non-Volvo options were very limited. The drives need looking after, particularly with joystick control, but with Volvo dealer agreement, I just had oil checked and visual inspection annually and only changed oil every 3 years.

Obviously if you are about to buy ensure you have the service history

Thanks you. It definitely says 430hp and so will check. These have not got the sterndrives and they are extremely low hours which always makes me suspicious. Having said that, I had a 25' at Cobbs Quay early 2000's and in a 1 1/2 years probably did no more than around 20 engine hours as couldn't get to the boat often enough and when we did the weather was often too pants to take her out.

 

[Portofino]

Seems a lot from 5.5L
Here s something to think about , not saying it’s gospel
Extract about longevity bearing in mind the D6 started as a 310 Hp initially in leisure.

Marine Diesel life

Diesel engines are capable of having a long life when the power to displacement ratio is low. But when they start jacking up the power, beyond what the manufacturer originally intended, that benefit disappears. There is a very simple formula you can apply to estimate service life: simply multiply the cubic inch displacement of the engine times one. The result is the maximum amount of horse power you can have and still expect a reasonable service life. A 6V92 engine is 552 CID; at powers greater than 550, these engines don't last. At 450, they'll go 10 - 15 years easily.
We recently surveyed a yacht with a pair of 8V71N (naturally aspirated) Detroit Diesels rated at 325 hp that hadn't been overhauled since new 1981. Now, an 8V71 has a 568 cubic inch displacement; the fact that these engines have a 0.56:1 power/displacement ratio explains why they could run so long.
Conversely, divide the CID by the horse power, and the greater the result UNDER the factor of one (1), the longer engine life you can expect. If you have an engine with an 0.70 CID/HP ratio, then you can expect 3000 hours engine life. Otherwise, you are a victim of the myth.

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

Thanks you. It definitely says 430hp and so will check. These have not got the sterndrives and they are extremely low hours which always makes me suspicious. Having said that, I had a 25' at Cobbs Quay early 2000's and in a 1 1/2 years probably did no more than around 20 engine hours as couldn't get to the boat often enough and when we did the weather was often too pants to take her out.

There's definitely no D6-430 variant. My 2008 P42 had twin D6-435 on shafts; I didn't keep the boat long, so no real ownership experiences to share.

 

[volvopaul]

Surprisingly the 435 gives little problems.
The intercooler is a different design and I’ve not seen one leak yet .
Although most are shaft installations which plays a big part in longevity.

Plenty on here Derek about D range just search and make up your own mind .

Keep in touch .

 

[derekbland]

Surprisingly the 435 gives little problems.
The intercooler is a different design and I’ve not seen one leak yet .
Although most are shaft installations which plays a big part in longevity.

Plenty on here Derek about D range just search and make up your own mind .

Keep in touch .

Thanks again Paul. I wanted to check re shafts as I had only seen engines that look like this on the sterndrives.