VW 150

[Jamie Dundee]

Hi guys, first post on here.

I'm currently looking at a couple of boats 2008 vintage with the above engine. One with 800 hours and one with 1000, both with recent cam belt change and service history. I've heard a few reports of turbo problems with this engine, should I be worried with these hours or should any problems have arisen and been sorted by now?

Cheers

 

[Seastoke]

Hi guys, first post on here.

I'm currently looking at a couple of boats 2008 vintage with the above engine. One with 800 hours and one with 1000, both with recent cam belt change and service history. I've heard a few reports of turbo problems with this engine, should I be worried with these hours or should any problems have arisen and been sorted by now?

Cheers

Welcome to mad house you need to say what make of boat and drive and where ,ie what water

 

[James L]

Welcome to mad house you need to say what make of boat and drive and where ,ie what water

My father has one of these, there is an issue where the turbo blades can stick after the winter layup and puts the engine into limp home mode.
After a bit of use they free up, but you do need to restart the engine to get out of limp home mode.
It seems pretty reliable after that.

 

[Bouba]

Welcome to mad house you need to say what make of boat and drive and where ,ie what water

I’m guessing an Arvor boat

 

[Jamie Dundee]

It’s actually a Quicksilver Weekend, although I believe based on the Arvor hull. Shaft drive for coastal use. I know variable vane turbos can get sticky if not Italian tuned once in a while but I’d heard of turbos being replaced.

 

[MrB]

Southerly 57RS yachts built circa 2012 onwards were fitted with the 140-150VW and a few have been re-engined but no idea why....just noticed in the adverts.

 

[Bouba]

It’s actually a Quicksilver Weekend, although I believe based on the Arvor hull. Shaft drive for coastal use. I know variable vane turbos can get sticky if not Italian tuned once in a while but I’d heard of turbos being replaced.

There was a lot of talk about this on the Arvor owners forum awhile back. But I don’t know if a long term solution was found.

 

[Jamie Dundee]

Thanks for the replies. I've started the process of joining the Arvor owner's forum to see if there is any more info over there.

 

[Keith-i]

It's a known issue with that engine. As said, the vanes jam. There is a techniques to gently free them with the right kind of spanner and not too much force along with liberal spraying with cleaner. The Arvorboatowners.co.uk forum has the info.

 

[rafiki_]

Did you mean VW or VM? VM Motori is a well know diesel producer, some of which have been marinized for Mercruiser and others.

 

[Jamie Dundee]

Definitely VW. As others have said it seems to be a combination of poor maintenance and too much low rpm running which causes the vanes to clog up. I'll carry on with research but apart from the turbo issue the engines seem to have a decent reputation.

 

[bluejasper2]

hi jamie my friend ha arvour 230 with vw engine had problems with turbo sticking there was a leaver at side of turbo which you move back and forwards every couple of weeks, essex boats did a free upgrade service i think changed turbo which cured the problems ,my friend only had to pay for engineers travel expences to the north east, i think he did three boats in our marina.

 

[Jamie Dundee]

hi jamie my friend ha arvour 230 with vw engine had problems with turbo sticking there was a leaver at side of turbo which you move back and forwards every couple of weeks, essex boats did a free upgrade service i think changed turbo which cured the problems ,my friend only had to pay for engineers travel expences to the north east, i think he did three boats in our marina.

Interesting, thanks for that. If I go to see either of the boats I’ll bear that in mind.

 

[Paul1962]

Hi,
You may wish to research the availability of spares as VW have now pulled out of the marine market

 

[Keith-i]

The vast majority of parts are straight out of the car version of the engine so available cheaply from motor factors. The marine parts can still be sourced via Barrus. It’s a popular engine for boats on the continent so availability should not be too much of an issue for routine stuff.

 

[Jamie Dundee]

Thanks for the replies guys. I think I might give these boats a miss, if for no other reason than removing the engine would seem to involve cutting great chunks out of the deck/wheel house area.