Which marine diesel engine?-I'm confused now

[ErikBenson]

Which marine diesel engine?-I\'m confused now

My 16ft FMD -( "skimming dish" )had a 50hp Coventry Climax 2stroke diesel with Rootes blower in 1953. I have nothing, and am confused as to what to fit. I started off with an expensive Isuzu 40, then XLD Ford which I am told vibrates too much. Now it seems a BMC 1.5 would be the smoothest. Please . .any other decent suggestions.

 

[alb40]

Re: Which marine diesel engine?-I\'m confused now

I BMC 1.5 is not much smoother than the ford really.

The Beta marine diesels run very smoothly. As do most yanmars.

If your going second hand though, the perkins 4108 is probably the smoothest engine around that power. They are quieter than the fords and BMCs too.

 

[ccscott49]

Re: Which marine diesel engine?-I\'m confused now

I second beta marine or the vetus engines for new, but yanmars are great. Second the perkins for secondhand, lovely wee engine. Have you considered petrol?
Much quieter, cheaper, more choice and for this boat would be fine.

 

[alb40]

Re: Which marine diesel engine?-I\'m confused now

I didnt think about petrol in my reply, but it is a viable solution in a small boat. Second hand watermotas and the like can be picked up cheaply, and they are very reliable lumps based on old ford engines. The parts are stupidly cheap. You can give one a full rebuild for a few hundred quid!

 

[orizaba]

Re: Which marine diesel engine?-I\'m confused now

have to disagree a bit over the bmc,agood solid engine,quieter running and smmother than the ford,virtually bomb proof,the downside is that they are heavier than modern diesels and going by what was fitted before maybe a bit underpowered at 28hp

 

[orizaba]

Re: Which marine diesel engine?-I\'m confused now

sorry meant to say the perkins is an excellent engine ,parts readily available,

 

[alb40]

Re: Which marine diesel engine?-I\'m confused now

My old BMC used to make most windows rattle and the engine cover physically vibrate! In or out of gear! It was quiet loudness wise, but was not very smooth. The ford in a friends boat was a bit worse though, not a nice frequency due to their high speed. The perkins 4108 are much smoother than either, and run fairly quiet. My BMC was a bit of a screamer at full bore, and the fords are almost ear piercing!

 

[oldharry]

Re: Which marine diesel engine?-I\'m confused now

[ QUOTE ]
My old BMC used to make most windows rattle and the engine cover physically vibrate! ... My BMC was a bit of a screamer at full bore, and the fords are almost ear piercing!

[/ QUOTE ]
...then there was something badly wrong with it. I have had both the 1.5 in a boat and the 1.8 in a van. Both were exceptionally smooth running for diesels. The marinised 1.5 used to shake a little on tickover, but once above around 1200rpm was as smooth as any petrol engine. In fact visitors used to comment how smooth it was compared to their own boat diesels (this was back in the 80s).

The van with the 1.8 was much the same, a little 'dieselly' at tickover, but once out on the road, it was as smooth as any modern common rail diesel car. (Couldnt say the same for the van itself unfortunately, which was on its last legs!)

The only Ford I had to deal with was a 4D in a 35ft trip boat, and that left you in no doubt it was diesel engine! We were able to tame it a bit with rubber mounts and sound proofing, but you heard and felt every beat!

 

[alb40]

Re: Which marine diesel engine?-I\'m confused now

We have a Ford 4D in our tug at the boatyard, and it requires ear defenders to tame it!

As far as I was awhere, there were no problems with my BMC. It started on the button, and made very little smoke. There were no rubber mounts, it was bolted straight down, but I don't think they would make a massive amount of difference. Friends boats with BMCs, both hard and soft mounted all given some vibration, mostly under 1500 rpm.

The 1800 are a bit smoother though, probably due to te 5 bearing crank, rather than the 3 bearing 1500.

 

[ErikBenson]

Re: Which marine diesel engine?-I\'m confused now

Thanks everyone. . . .still perusing the choices. I did think MG TD-(1953 like the boat), as I have loads of experience in these. Then MGA or even MGB, because, if the petrol scene was not suitable I could revert to the same engine dimensions, but in diesel.
Now I will just keep looking around. . .I don't want to use a french engine in a RN boat really .

 

[ccscott49]

Re: Which marine diesel engine?-I\'m confused now

MGB engine would do nicely, easy to tune and reliable especially the five bearing engine, TF would maybe be a bit expensive, MGA also. I guess the BMC 1500 diesel has the same bellhousing configuration, as the "B" series petrol?, so would take a marine gearbox, I would be tempted along those lines. Should go like blazes!
You should also consider the TR3-4 engine, quite a few old boats had these engines. Also ultra reliable and plenty of power.

 

[ErikBenson]

Re: Which marine diesel engine?-I\'m confused now

Thanks for your bit of encouragement Englander. . . .As an MG man for nearly 50 years, you will , I hope, understand my reluctance to use things 'Triumph '! I am thinking USA spec -'low power' single carb MGB at the moment. I'm not sure how my 1953 timbers will like too much power. . . but heh. . .what's too much power ?? ( I've been circuit racing since 1969). You are right. . the bellhousings are all alike. Here in France I should be able to pick one up fairly easily.
cheers !

 

[ccscott49]

Re: Which marine diesel engine?-I\'m confused now

No such thing as too much power, too much throttle yes! /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif