Volvo KAD44 EDC queries

[mr mischief]

After looking for replacement boat for the past 2 years I have finally found one that suits our needs , the boat and engine are nearly 20 years old however and I have few concerns about the engine , having very little real in depth knowledge of engines my questions are

Engine is a KAD 44 DP EDC 260 hp

1 The engine has only done 650 hours in 20 years should this be a concern
2 The service history is practically non existent in respect of paperwork , except for the turbo having been reconditioned as well as engine and leg serviced this year
3 Would a full marine engineers survey on the engine flag up whether the valves have been adjusted or indeed what servicing has been done over the past 20 years

It never ceases to amaze me how lax owners are with servicing and logging work done on their engines
The rest of the boat is in fairly good condition but obviously really don't want to be leaving myself open to big bills when the engine goes pop even if I love the boat

Graham

 

[petem]

Being the owner of a 2003 KAD44 EDC engined boat, my comments below....

After looking for replacement boat for the past 2 years I have finally found one that suits our needs , the boat and engine are nearly 20 years old however and I have few concerns about the engine , having very little real in depth knowledge of engines my questions are

Engine is a KAD 44 DP EDC 260 hp

1 The engine has only done 650 hours in 20 years should this be a concern [PeteM - No.]
2 The service history is practically non existent in respect of paperwork , except for the turbo having been reconditioned as well as engine and leg serviced this year [PeteM - It's not great but on the plus side, at least the turbo is newly reconditioned!]
3 Would a full marine engineers survey on the engine flag up whether the valves have been adjusted or indeed what servicing has been done over the past 20 years [PeteM - He should be able to tell you if the paint on the rocker covers has been disturbed or not. if it's entirely intact then it's unlikely that the valves have ever been checked / adjusted. If the history is unknown then I would get them checked and perhaps get the injectors serviced at the same time.]

It never ceases to amaze me how lax owners are with servicing and logging work done on their engines
The rest of the boat is in fairly good condition but obviously really don't want to be leaving myself open to big bills when the engine goes pop even if I love the boat [PeteM - If it starts OK, isn't leaking oil, attains the speed that it should and doesn't overheat then that should give you some comfort. I'd use the lack of history as a negotiating point and use the money you save to get the engines comprehensively checked and serviced (valves, injectors fuel lines, coolers, etc)]

Graham

 

[mr mischief]

Thanks for the advice I will bear in mind when negotiating , roughly how much should I budget for the engine survey alone ( one engine ) plus after purchase the works after assuming the valves need adjusting
Boats near Southampton

 

[simonfraser]

test ride it at full blast, see if anything falls off.
the props can get stuck if they have not been greased / removed on the shaft for a while.

 

[Portland Billy]

I have twin KAD44s with 900 hrs on them, also almost 20 years old. We have put 300 on in the four years we have owned her. Still far less hrs than if in a truck or bus which would do about 200 hrs a month!
Change the oil every year and had no problems at all. Still do 25 kts.

 

[simonfraser]

Thanks for the advice I will bear in mind when negotiating , roughly how much should I budget for the engine survey alone ( one engine ) plus after purchase the works after assuming the valves need adjusting
Boats near Southampton

valves will cost about £400 if you pay an engineer
get volvopaul to survey, he is a great contact on here, you can pm him

 

[LI-Boater]

After looking for replacement boat for the past 2 years I have finally found one that suits our needs , the boat and engine are nearly 20 years old however and I have few concerns about the engine , having very little real in depth knowledge of engines my questions are

Engine is a KAD 44 DP EDC 260 hp

1 The engine has only done 650 hours in 20 years should this be a concern
2 The service history is practically non existent in respect of paperwork , except for the turbo having been reconditioned as well as engine and leg serviced this year
3 Would a full marine engineers survey on the engine flag up whether the valves have been adjusted or indeed what servicing has been done over the past 20 years

It never ceases to amaze me how lax owners are with servicing and logging work done on their engines
The rest of the boat is in fairly good condition but obviously really don't want to be leaving myself open to big bills when the engine goes pop even if I love the boat

Graham

At the risk of repeating what others have said, high engine hours (and if you consider 50 hours a year as well-used, 650 in 20 years is not high) bothers me less than low hours, because things seize up and things grow where they shouldn't if boats aren't used regularly... that said, regular oil and filter changes (annually) is just good practice... you should definitely poke at how and who changed the oil and filters... IMHO it doesn't always have to be a yard/mechanic, I had a (well-respected) yard do my maintenance when I first bought my current boat and they made a hash of everything to the point where I pivoted to the mind set of "if I have the time and ability to do it myself, I would rather do that and know it's done right"... now, the "problem" with that is that I don't have annual mechanic's/yard's invoices to substantiate the work done, HOWEVER, I do have a huge file of Amazon and West Marine invoices showing what parts were bought, along with annual oil samples from both engines (here in the US it costs about $20 for each engine and I have no idea why everyone doesn't do it?!)... I am in the process of selling my boat and the buyer was very satisfied with what I told him and showed him...

Back to your questions, though, per other comments, provided diesel engines are regularly fed and watered (oil, clean fuel and air) they will run and run... imagine if those engines were in a road vehicle? 650 hours would equate to ~25,000 miles (assuming average speed of 40mph)...

So, I support what others have said:
1. Ask for service records if they have them - if not, get the current owner to describe what has been done to the best of his knowledge (it's a judgement call as to whether you believe the spoken word or not?)
2. Get a marine engine survey done, with oil samples - I am out of touch with UK prices, but it will be money well spent, believe me
3. The engine surveyor will be able to listen to the valves and tell from experience what shape they are in (and, per other comments), if the paint is intact, it's fair to assume they've never been adjusted
4. You will be able to use the output of the engine survey in your onward negotiations
5. Find out (from Volvo) what the cost of a tear down and rebuild would cost (that would be the worst-case scenario), as that could be your opening position in negotiations, if the answers to Q1 above don't satisfy you?

I hope the above helps... I know it's nerve-wracking... once the sale of my boat completes next week, I will be in the same position as you in my search for the next one.

Good luck,
Simon

 

[mr mischief]

Thanks for the very useful information Simon , I will definitely go down the route of engine survey and getting oil samples done , apparently the seller has invoices for the last 5 years of servicing with a well regarded engineer so will looking carefully at those

Graham