3000 engine hours

[kjbas123]

Sorry if this is a silly question but we are interested in a Catamaran that has around 3200 hrs on its 29 hp Yanmars Is that a lot ? How many hours roughly do
You get out of them and what kind of money ( we are in Australia) would we be looking at to replace them? Thanks in advance

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by kjbas123

Sorry if this is a silly question but we are interested in a Catamaran that has around 3200 hrs on its 29 hp Yanmars Is that a lot ? How many hours roughly do
You get out of them and what kind of money ( we are in Australia) would we be looking at to replace them? Thanks in advance

3000 hours is just run in, provided of course routine maintenance has been done during their life to date. I know of people that have 10,000 hours on their engine, it all depends on the maintenance schedule.

[kjbas123]

That’s good to know- thanks a lot

[daletournier]

3000 hrs is nothing. I've seen many yanmars with 7000+, a mate has one with 14,500 hrs and that was two years ago. Don't loose sleep over 3000.

[kjbas123]

Great news - thank you

[Dockhead]

Well, Yanmar diesels MAY still have lots of life left in them at 3000 hours, if they have been taken care of. If they have not been maintained, or if they have been allowed to idle for hours at a time, or run flat out for many hours at a time, or if they have been abused in some other way, say left to rust for whole winters without being used, 3000 hours may be end of life. You need to look at the maintenance records, and it may pay to have a good surveyor (specialist in engines or one who really understands diesel engines) look at it.


Many go 10 000 hours or more, but it's not extremely unusual to see a Yanmar at end of life at 4 000 or 5 000 hours or even less.

[Tillsbury]

Yes, you need to know the condition of the engines, not their hours. 3000 tells you nothing except the possibility that they could be fine or they could be shot. Get a good marine engineer's report on them.

[kjbas123]

Will do - thanks

[kjbas123]

I understand. We will definitely have them looked at - thanks

[owly]

I'll join the chorus........ If the engine has been at all reasonably maintained, you will have many hours left. One would have to be careless indeed to do any harm to a diesel engine in 3000 hours. Poor air filtration, and overheating, are the most likely culprits. If it starts and runs well, it's probably fine. Take the boat out and run the engine for many hours, and see what it does. If it runs smooth and fine, don't worry. I'm about to begin a rebuild on a small diesel (Isuzu 4BG1T), with 24,000 hours on it.......... I was worried that it wouldn't make the season last summer and made the owner take it off line so there would be something left to rebuild. I've rebuilt literally hundreds of engines over the years, most of them diesels ranging from just a few horsepower up to many hundreds of horsepower, and the main issues I see are related to overheating.... cracked heads. The fuel systems are of course the most expensive and vulnerable components on any diesel as a rule.


H.W.

[Kenomac]

Our 18 year old 100hp Yanmar has 2000 hours on it which is nothing, just like 3000 hours is nothing. No smoke, no oil consuption and it runs great. Hours on the engine only seem to matter to those shoppers looking to get a big discount off the purchase price of any boat. We’ve had three different potential buyers claim our engine is long overdue for a costly rebuilt who then want the sales price reduced by $20k or so. There’s nothing wrong with the engine, and they of course don’t intend to do anything about it.... but they try to use the engine hours to get significant money off the purchase price.

If a buyer wants a boat with zero or very low engine hours, they need to be shopping for a new boat.

[boatman61]

I find one of the best ways to tell how much love has been invested on an engine is look at the state of the space the engine is in.. it tells a story.

[Factor]

Originally Posted by boatman61

I find one of the best ways to tell how much love has been invested on an engine is look at the state of the space the engine is in.. it tells a story.

[slo007]

What are some easy to spot tell tales that an engine has, or will soon have problems?

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by slo007

What are some easy to spot tell tales that an engine has, or will soon have problems?

Connecting rods sticking out of the sides of the block are often a sign that the engine will be hard to start.

Seriously, poor starting from cold, significant smoke of any color in the exhaust, signs of slack maintenance as in cracked hoses, rust on exterior, sludge evident when looking down the oil fill port, any metallic bits or excessive sludge in drain oil (when you drain it for a change)... all these things are worrisome, but a check by a pro (compression, etc) is always a good idea if you are not reasonably familiar with the type of engine involved.

And as a couple of folks have noted, general cleanliness is always a good sign.

Jim