Volvo Penta Kamd 42

The 42's has some inherent problems that I understand were fixed in the 43. Can't remember what they were, but would have thought that any 42's still providing good service have either been fixed, or were good examples from the off. Otherwise they were based on the reliable 41 engine and are pretty simple, easy to maintain and reliable AFAIK

Volvo Paul is your man for specifics, maybe drop him a PM.
 
Look out for evidence of the usual KAD/KAMD water pump leak whereby the seal on the raw water pump fails which leads to sea water dripping onto the alternator causing corrossion & possible premature failure. I have seen two 42s I have looked at leaking oil, but that may have just been coincidence.

I assume you're just viewing not sea trial.. be plenty more to check if you get to that point.
 
Look out for evidence of the usual KAD/KAMD water pump leak whereby the seal on the raw water pump fails which leads to sea water dripping onto the alternator causing corrossion & possible premature failure. I have seen two 42s I have looked at leaking oil, but that may have just been coincidence.

I assume you're just viewing not sea trial.. be plenty more to check if you get to that point.

£20.- for the water pump seal kit if needed. a lot more for the alternator :)
 
Head gasket is a weak point on these engines. Afaik something that was improved on the 43, but remains an issue on the 42 even after replacement. Look for rusty leak marks on the sides of the block.
 
Last edited:
Head gasket is a weak point on these engines. Afaik something that was improved on the 4
3, but remains an issue on the 42 even after replacement. Look for rusty leak marks on the sides of the block.

I fitted the improved gasket to a previous boat I had over 15 years ago, had to remove a lot from engine to do it so took a while but it’s still ok now as boat is owned by a friend.
Just looked and the 42 &43 use same part no. gasket.
 
I fitted the improved gasket to a previous boat I had over 15 years ago, had to remove a lot from engine to do it so took a while but it’s still ok now as boat is owned by a friend.
Just looked and the 42 &43 use same part no. gasket.

A good service regime, ran my 42's for over 2000hrs only issue was 1 raw water pump rebuild kit, before selling the boat
 
I think one of the problems with the kad42 was the oil suply to the piston cooling. The oil was not filtered and the nozzles clogged. This was changed on the 43 engine and it is possible to change this. Frequent oil change is important.

Nice engines. Just had a frient with a engine from a boat that sunk during a collisjon. The boat wea then stored 2 years witout anything done with the engine. It was still seawater inside when we opened it. We had no hope of saving the engine.

When investigating lots of the parts were ok. We changed some liners an two pistons. Overhauled turbo and cleaned coolers. All eletric changed. Overhauled cooling pumps and new nozzles. The engine have been running one season now.
 
Top