volvo penta - durable and mendable?

cumbrian

cumbrian

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i'm considering a boat with a Penta MD2 25 hp engine, with "RPM counter and temp control not in working order". mechanics is unfortunately not my strong point

a) are these egines inherently durable and serviceable?
b) are parts readily available?
c) are the problems mentioned serious

keith
 
[ QUOTE ]
i'm considering a boat with a Penta MD2 25 hp engine, with "RPM counter and temp control not in working order". mechanics is unfortunately not my strong point

a) are these egines inherently durable and serviceable?
b) are parts readily available?
c) are the problems mentioned serious

keith

[/ QUOTE ]

a - that depends
b - usually
c - that depends

d - spares for volvo are notoriously pricey!
 
a. often not
b. normally so in N Europe and N America, elsewhere it varies. Everywhere they are very expensive!
c. sorry to be less than helpful but it rather depends upon why they are not working. If it is just the senders on the engine then no big deal.
As a general principle I would avoid Volvo Penta engines unless there is no choice. Yanmar are more to my taste but in UK their spares are expensive - possibly near Volvo levels in some respects.
I recommend buying an hour of a mechanics time to look at your potential purchase.
OOps! Just seem nimbusgb's similar reply.
Good luck
 
[ QUOTE ]
a. often not...
I would avoid Volvo Penta engines unless there is no choice. ...

[/ QUOTE ] there is no choice!

i appreciate its a piece of string question - the worry is not so much that an engine may need onging repairs but a potential complete collapse would kybosh the sale
 
i'm considering a boat with a Penta MD2 25 hp engine, with "RPM counter and temp control not in working order". mechanics is unfortunately not my strong point

a) are these egines inherently durable and serviceable?
b) are parts readily available?
c) are the problems mentioned serious

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They are durable and servicable however all this depends on your ability and how much engineers time you prepared to buy.

Some years ago over xmas I helped two chaps in Victoria BC service one. Neither were mechanics but week by week I gave them the childs guide by e-mail and they responded with findings.

By spring the beast was back together. Last year I asked one of the wives how things were going. I was looking to beg a sail /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif The boat was coming back to Victoria from HAwaii and there had been no problems in the previous two years.
So yes it is do able. They only changed rings and gaskets and joints so less than £500.

Get an engineer to do this and he will want to rebore, change pistons valves and springs and knock you out with a bill for £2500.

The smaller parts are still available but things like heads, blocks,manifolds not so.

The problems mentioned are pretty normal for an older engine

It could be a power supply problem as both get supply from the same source or it could be a sender problem. The RPM sender is rather expensive I think £75 so this may be why it has not been replaced. Sometimes it is just a connector problem on the top of the sender which can be fixed.

I would suggest you visit the boat when all is cold and check the compression by winding over by hand and then start it and see if it starts and runs up on BOTH cylinders promptly.

When trying to turn one cylinder with the other decompressed you should find that the engine bounces back from compression and you have to apply pressure on the handle for at elast 20/30 seconds before it goes over. Anything less than 10 seconds will need attention at some point soon however the good test is how does it start from cold.

The MD2 is usually a dynostart engine so it lacks charging capacity for big banks of batteries.
 
How old is the engine?

I only know mine, which is an MD7A from 1980. Mine is clearly durable (touch wood) but its reaching the end of its life, due to things like corroded passages and mating surfaces on the cast iron parts. Most service parts are available, but I am told that not all overhaul parts. Parts are expensive.

If yours is as older, then I thing you should assume it will not have a long life.

Having said that, temperature reading is maybe not that important, and rev counter is most easily sorted by fitting a "Tiny Tach" as we did.
 
good to see this positive and negative info (?), ....

... e.g. the penta can be readily serviced and maintained but it is coming to the likely end of its serviceable life! /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
 
This is an "old fashioned" engine - 4 generations older than current Volvos. 30 years sitting in the bilge of a boat and probably ignored much of its life probably has not done it any good. On the other hand the basics could go on for years! Generally it is the electrics and water related items that go.

A replacement is about £5k so its condition has a big influence on the price and saleability of the boat. If you can get the boat at the right price and intend to keep it for a long time worth considering a re-engine - although you will never get your money back on an early resale.
 
I would suggest the following course of action:

1) Negotiate the price as if the engine is a non-runner and you will need to spend £4-5000 replacing it.

2) If the owner agrees to something which you find acceptable based on this then go ahead (no doubt they will say its already adjusted in the asking price). After this you can decide what to do, options are a repair, a recon replacement or a new replacement.

3) If the seller does not negotiate with a good result (ie one you are happy with), then walk.

If you can get a good price then you may get a few years life out of it - but at 1978 it must be coming to the end of its life - although I've seen a lot of old Westerly's for sale with older Volvos, apparently in running order.

Personally with a familly cruiser I would not want to risk a potentially unreliable engine, been there, done that and got the scars to prove it.
 
I had a VP MD2B, '73 vintage, which died in '02. Cause of failure seemed to be lack of oil pressure. The oil pump wouldn't prime after an oil change, a new pump was apparently not available and the reconditioned oil pump was little better. Spent good money trying to get it going before giving up and putting in a 3GM30 from Yanmar. I would say that the comment about some parts now being difficult or impossible to obtain is the key consideration. Benefits from changing the engine also have to be considered; Are you just going to be offsetting problems down the line by a few years? If you think so, then why not change the engine now and get more years use out of a unit you trust and know the heritage of rather than one which is essentially an unknown quantity? If you're the engineering sort, and relish a challenge then this approach may not suit you. I am really pleased I changed the engine, it transformed the boat (apart from making it a working vessel), the new engine was quieter, more powerful and shook the boat far less than the old one.

Regards,
Jeff.
 
the engine is 1978

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Not a Volvo MD2

This will be a Volvo MD2B

It will have a decent sized alternator however there is less reliability regarding head gaskets etc as mating surfaces were sacrificed when the bore was increased. so long as head and block surfaces are true then OK but iunfortunately over time the trueness is lost and they do need to be remachined at some point.

I would still suggest a basic compression test of both cylinders and hear the beast start. Prepare your offer and budget for replacing in due course if you are not mechanically minded. The Beta is around £7000 installed which includes labour and additional items so unless you do it your self it is a big figure. The engine cost is just below £4000 I believe but Beta will supply an engine with mounts to match what is there.

There are still many boats for sale with these old engines so you may have the same problem elsewhere.
 
Speaking as a Yanmar user I'd have to say no to both questions, especially from the comments made over the years on this and other boating BBs.

The engine is too old to have all parts available from the distributors; it wasn't a particularly good engine when new (VP moved it by selling it at knockdown price to boatbuilders and recouping their margin on the suckers who bought the boats) and finally it's heavy, thirsty and utterly out-of-date. Additionally, by your own admission you're no mechanic.

If you buy the boat re-engine with the world's largest manufacturer of marine diesels, the cost for a vastly superior replacement, the 3YS20 Yanmar was £3200 for the engine and £800 for fitting, 2 years ago.
 
[ QUOTE ]

i appreciate its a piece of string question - the worry is not so much that an engine may need onging repairs but a potential complete collapse would kybosh the sale

[/ QUOTE ]

Your problem is that its an old engine and you have no mechanical skill. Age inherently brings more problems and you will have to pay to get them put right, sometimes twice because mechanics arent generally that reliable in my experience.

Anything can be repaired - the only question is cost.

Suggest you either learn mechanicking (it really isnt that difficult or mechanics couldnt do it) or buy another boat thats just been re-- engined.
 
as ever, forum comes up trumps with advice that is undoubtedly more solid than the engine in question..

although mechanicking not my strong point, i don't recall owning up to , er, zero skill wotayottie /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

given the excellent guidance on maximum age of engines, prices and strategies, my assumption will be that the engine is almost worthless.
 
assumption will be that the engine is almost worthless.
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Nop.......in some countries these old engines are being stolen from boats stored ashore,dismantled and the parts sold for spares.

With a head and a block each worth £400 in decent ready to run condition then not exactly worthless in a wolrd where spares are fewer than hens teeth.



PS Alan....don t get ideas!!!!! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
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