Yanmar 2gm - What to look for when buying

Saddletramp

Saddletramp

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I am in the process of buying a Sadler 32 with a 1982 Yanmar 2gm.

2 points to consider:

1) If there is anything obviously wrong I want to know so that I can negotiate on price and get it fixed.
2) I need to know the chances of the engine working on a delivery from the Exe to Chichester.

Should I ask the yard to carry out a compression test? Would this give me a reasonable indication of the engine condition.

Once I have bought the boat I intend to check the fuel lines and replace filters.
Water, I will change the impeller check pipes.
Take off the elbow and clean it out as I understand they can fail.
Check air filters.

Is there anything else I should do, assuming a compression test was okay?
 
If the yard have serviced the engine I would want someone else to advise me on it's condition.

Mate bought a Westerly Discus recently and had a local (Ipswich) engineer to look at the engine. Engineer insisted that ther most reliable test was to launch the boat and it was then run up and down the river for an hour with it being run flat out for a time against the tide. It is an old engine (original Merc.) and has performed for 18 months with no problem including North Sea crossing.

If you look at Slowboat posting on East Coast forum link follows
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/1972032/an/0/page/2#1972032

maybe it will help you to avoid a similar senario.

Good luck, I know how exciting it is getting a new boat but it is worth checking out the engine properly.

I had a 1994 Yanmar 2GM20 until last year, when I sold the boat, and it had no problems of any kind. I did resurface the removeable plate in the water pump as it gets scoured with the muddy East Coast water (cost a drink for the lathe operator). Any slight wear on that plate reduces the pumping capacity so the temperature alarm can come on when the engine is warm at low revs.
 
Yanmar 2gm - What to look for when buying

it's an engine, an iron thing.............................



Joking apart

Look for Smoke or Smoke or Smoke (Black, Grey, White) and odd noises or oil leaks and clean oil. In my view don't bother with a compression test if it's clean. If it's freshwater cooled look for anything other than clean water in the cooling and the cooling system pressurising (shouldn't)
 
Testing the engine properly will consist of a bit more than running it up and down for an hour or two, the marine equivalent of tyre kicking.
If you have concerns about an unknown engine I suggest you send away for an oil analysis kit. The analysis will tell you from metal particles in suspension about component wear, presence of cooling water and will indicate injector problems from the amount of unburned fuel, plus a lot more.
You can get the kits for under £50 and the results are usually available in two or three days, well inside the time-frame if you are arranging a survey anyway. A Google will turn up a handful of firms offering the service.
I have no association with any of the firms, other than using them for checks on remote site generators.
 
I would be more inclined to get a reputable, experienced engineer inspect and test the engine under load rather than send an oil test off to some unknown on eBay, who may not be available to you should problems subsequently develop.
 
is it a 2gm or a 2gm20 ?
if the boat is in the water then running the engine alongside will provide the load needed to asertain most information you need.
Try and find out if the exhaust elbow has been changed on a regular basis as a new head will set you back another grand.
Look at the engine mounts to see if any are delaminated, pull the engine from side to side to see this.


steve
 
Is it a (direct) seawater cooled engine? If so look for evidence of the anodes being changed regularly (receipts every year?). There should be no sign of water leaks, and very little stray oil.
If it starts easily, propels the boat well without smoking or overheating, there's not too much wrong with it. If you look after it it should last for quite a while, but it is quite old and you might want to replace it eventually.
Oil analysis can be good value, but its more meaningful if you know how the motor has been used since the oil was changed.
 
1982? - should be nearly run-in by now! Mine is the same vintage and, while I wish it was a wee bit bigger, has done nought wrong except run out of diesel since I bought the boat 3 and a bit years ago.

Does it start from cold easily - does it smoke - will it drive the boat at ~3500rpm - does the gearbox whine (mine does!) - is there any resistance to turning the propshaft when in forward gear (engine off!), could be glazed cones - any water staining/rust marks/oil leaks/diesel smells - does it sound right - is there a maintenance log - and anything else you think of.
 
I was aware of slowboats troubles, keen not to repeat the same experience.

The boat is out of the water so can not be run under load.
Poor starting and smoking are obvious ones but as Slowboat found out it may well run fine for 1/2 hr before it packs up.

When I bought my current boat I motorsailed it 40 miles. The rest of the summer there were problems with starting. Eventually changed it.

If it is a real duffer I need to know as I will have it transported by road (and get a price reduction)

Already budgeted for a new engine in the first year.

Checking the engine mounts is a useful suggestion. The boat is 200 miles away at the moment so I am fairly reliant on the yard.
 
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Does it start from cold easily - does it smoke - will it drive the boat - any water staining/rust marks/oil leaks/diesel smells - does it sound right - is there a maintenance log - and anything else you think of.

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It looks totally wrecked, covered in rust. The ownwer says it runs well (well he would wouldn't he) and it was serviced last year.

Another problem is the lack of depth by the yard, it is a deep fin. When it goes into the water it will have to be moved. So I can not run the engine under load. Don't want to get into the situation where I have paid for the boat, paid fore it to be lifted in and then can not move it and have to pay again to be towed somewhere to moor it.

I suppose at some point you have to take the risk.
 
Is this the only part of the boat that causes you concern? Is the rest of it what you want? Ropes are clean, winches are smooth, sails are clean and dry, rigging is pristine, etc. - in which case the engine has a better chance of being good. If the rest of the boat has a neglected look, why would the engine be different? Do you know how many hours it has and how many it has run in the last couple of years (logbooks should say) - not a lot is not necessarily good.

You're worried about it so why not drop your offer to reflect this or make an offer with money withheld until you can have the engine run and checked.
 
Good point, the rest of the boat is neglected that is why they have accepted a very low offer. I have made the offer subject to the engine being run.

My concern is that just running it is no real indication of how reliable it is. So it may be a low offer, but is one that includes a worjin engine.
The owner has not come to the boat to start it up. So I could say I assume the worst, the engine will not work and reduce my offer again.
 
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The boat is out of the water so can not be run under load.

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Then you can't test it properly.

If the rest of the boat is neglected, why should the engine be any different? Check the oil - if it's brand new, it tells you nothing; if it's thick gritty tar just on the bottom of the dipstick, then that screams neglect.

The engine is probably OK, but you'd need to run it under load for some time to tell.

Andy
 
When I recently sold a boat, I had an offer which included a retention against the satisfactory working of the engine. However we failed to find a workable agreement on this, we just agreed a price and I gave the buyer an assessment of the engine that I would stand by, which included my opinion that the injectors needed a service.
If the engine starts and has clean oil, fuel and new filters, plus a good battery to spin it over, it should get you home.
But then I always passage plan on max sailing minimum motoring anyway! I would view it differently if the motor was the sole means of propulsion.
At least its got to be better than buying a shiny new boat on credit?
 
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Good point, the rest of the boat is neglected that is why they have accepted a very low offer. I have made the offer subject to the engine being run.

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Sailing a boat with that description on a passage without a lot of investigation would not be my idea of a stress free cruise - there is just so much to go wrong, and not just with the engine. If the the boat is that cheap why not truck it to Chichester and then find out all the problems with stuck seacocks, leaking sternglands, corroded exhaust elbows, non-charge holding batteries, non-functioning heads, vhf comms, non-functioning instruments, and I'm sure you will find more!

Remember, it's cheap for a reason.
 
Your quite right the engine is only part of it. However, the boat does appear to be have been sailed regularly. Main only 2 years old, electronics working, batts showing good level of charge. I just dont think it has been used for cruising, only day sailing hence the neglected interior.

Most problems can be overcome for a short delivery but an engine is pretty essential to get in and out of harbour.

I will look into the cost of transporting though.
 
As per all the previous posts, you need to do whatever you can to ascertain the engine's integrity, but don't forget the fuel system!

A neglected boat is highly likely to have algae in the fuel tank. A very common scenario is that whilst this isn't a problem so long as you motor in flattish water, they get stirred up by the motion when you are in a seaway, and clog either the filter or the tank outlet. Don't ask me how I know......

There's also a high chance of water in there too (which is what leads to the algae growth).

So I'd strongly recommend you remove and clean the tank, and/or inspect the insides to make sure it's free of algae. You'll want to do this at some stage anyway, so you might as well bite the bullet now and maximise your chances of a good delivery trip.
 
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