Need Advise on Perkins 4-108 Exhaust Smoke and Shaft Wobble

[Plan Z]

(link to video down below)
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Hello all, my wife and I are searching for our first sailboat and I could use a little advice. The 1973 boat we are looking at has a perkins 4-108. It starts and runs fine (temp and oil pressure are good, oil looks good, coolant looks good). Not sure the hours; its old, lol. It smokes pretty good when you start it and even after 5-10 minutes. This video I took was probably 5 minutes after starting. The engine really hasn't been run much lately. I honestly cant tell if its unburnt fuel (white smoke) or if its oil (blue). The injectors/lines have a little bit of a leak (not sure if this would actually have an effect on the exhaust or not). After warming up, if its idling, it doesnt seem bad, I'm just wondering if we were able to actually take it out and run it under load if its gonna just smoke the whole time. I'm just trying to figure out how much work i'm willing to put into this boat vs the price.


The second part of my post is I've never owned a standard shaft driven boat that lives in the water before so i really don't know what is "acceptable" as far as the shaft wobbling. I know some people will most likely say "no wobble is acceptable" but what I really want to know is: Is this ok for now, not a big deal, or definitely needs attention soon?

Also I'm assuming the packing needs attention as it does drip a tiny bit even when the shaft is not spinning.

Thank you in advance for any advice!! Here's the video:

https://youtu.be/dN1M6U0F38o

[Lepke]

The smoke will only get worse. Probably bad rings and sleeves. Could also be bad injector tips. But the engine could run for years like it is. The 4108 in general is a good engine for it's day and cheaper to rebuild than buying and installing a different engine. I rebuilt one a few years ago for under $3000, but did it myself except for the head.

The leaks at the top are fuel returning to the tank. It doesn't effect the engine running. If the tubes from the injector pump to the injector leak, it effects running because it drops the pressure and that cylinder gets a reduced charge of fuel. The leaks shown can be fixed by new copper washers.
The engine is out of alignment. The shaft may be bent. The stern bearing is probably bad because of the bad alignment or bent shaft and the packing probably needs changing. It looks like the packing housing could be loose, too. Things will only get worse.
If the boat is great otherwise and cheap, then price out the repairs.

[MicHughV]

#1) I've watched the video...sure is a lot of smoke....yep, that is smoke......valve guides are probably worn, and oil seeps into the cylinders at rest. When you first fire it up, lots of smoke..then it will taper off...but continue to smoke...which means it is burning oil....if you leave it this way, check the dipstick often. No telling what the rings look like, but if it started relatively easy, might be ok.

#2, the shaft wobble when you put it into gear....I got $2 here that sez, the shaft bearing at the exit of the shaft log is worn.....may have worn the shaft as well....only way to tell is to pull the prop.
If the boat has been sitting for a long while, could also be growth on the prop.
The packing gland should not leak, when at rest. A few drops, when running.

#3. Fuel leaks, already covered above.....

#4. You really should not consider buying a boat until you haul it out. Hull blisters, loose rudder, etc, etc..yes, it will be on your dime, but that is just the way the cookie crumbles...

#5. You should also take the boat for a test sail, inspect the sails, rig, etc

#6. What about all the other stuff...electronics....plumbing, etc??

[skipperpete]

In the video when the oil filler cap was removed it seemed like there was blow by and smoke visible. The condition of the engine under the tappet cover is not as clean as it should be, it seems like there is actually dirt or foreign matter on several parts in there where only oil and clean surfaces should be.
Pete.

[MicHughV]

I'm not sure why you are looking at this boat, being as that this is your " first" boat...
there are 1,000's of boat on the used market....1,000's.....go to " Yachtworld" and look...
why get your " first" boat that has a likely long list of problems ??
Walk away from this one.......too many alarm bells going off here...

[Plan Z]

Thank you, everyone, for your replies. This is not our first boat, just going to be our first sailboat. First inboard w/shaft boat. We've looked at a dozen boats in the past couple months. I know there's lots of boats out there but we're trying to find one semi-local (west coast of FL) in the 36-41ft range, really would like a center cockpit with aft cabin. Family of 5 and really dont want anything smaller. The budget we're looking at for the boat is currently around 20k, which leaves me a little wiggle room to put a little money into it. I'm not expecting a turn key boat at that price, but that's pretty much our situation in a nutshell. I don't want to have to wait a few more years, and i really don't want to have to be paying on a loan either. I do appreciate it again guys, thanks!

[Cpt Mark]

Originally Posted by Plan Z

Thank you, everyone, for your replies. This is not our first boat, just going to be our first sailboat. First inboard w/shaft boat. We've looked at a dozen boats in the past couple months. I know there's lots of boats out there but we're trying to find one semi-local (west coast of FL) in the 36-41ft range, really would like a center cockpit with aft cabin. Family of 5 and really dont want anything smaller. The budget we're looking at for the boat is currently around 20k, which leaves me a little wiggle room to put a little money into it. I'm not expecting a turn key boat at that price, but that's pretty much our situation in a nutshell. I don't want to have to wait a few more years, and i really don't want to have to be paying on a loan either. I do appreciate it again guys, thanks!

Not going to comment on your original questions as others have done so already. What boat are you looking at? Taiwanese made great boats but things like teak decks, wood pilothouses all had leak issues which the owners at some point stopped looking at and then the rot starts in which can get very expensive, very fast. !st big boat I bought was one of these. The house was rotted through as well as the bulwarks. In the corner of the cockpit was a small rot spot about the size of a quarter. Surveyor said to just fill it and not worry about it. Being that I'd ripped the house off and much of the decks I decided to open it up and see. It was literally the very tip of the iceberg. The entire cockpit had to be replaced as well as the aft end of the subdeck etc.

[stormalong]

That is a 47 year old boat. You need to factor in the cost of replacing or rebuilding the engine. I'm not sure the 4-108 was available in 1973. Could it be a 4-107 or a replacement engine?

I replaced a 1985 4-108 in 2003 with a Beta 50. The decision to rebuild or replace depends on many factors. In my case the engine was undersized for my boat.

I agree with others that said look elsewhere for a newer boat with a newer engine. There are thousands of boats on the market which has driven the prices down.

[PaulvR]

If you want to sail, run for your life....many better sailing options out there.
If you want to "cruise", the 4108 is a fantastic engine and it's easy to do a full rebuild. do the engine bed and put a modern stern gland in it. Paint it up..you will never regret this is you actually go cruising.
..then slowly continue rebuilding the boat as you move away from the engine compartment :-) .
And when you have had your hand on EVERYTHING, go sailing!

[Plan Z]

Its a Gulfstar 41 CC. I know there are lots of boats online, its just when I factor in the size we want, trying to find a center cockpit design, and especially in the budget we're looking at, there aren't really that many options that are local. Part of that may just be that what we are really looking for is not in our budget. Time will tell

[Jono as 2234]

The shaft wobbles is probably a worn Cutlass (stern) bearing. Not so easy to replace, mine needed to be fabricated and as the rudder stopped the shaft being drawn, had to drop the rudder out, plus dissemble the auto helm ram etc. This was not an inexpensive exercise.
I also had an old Perkins donk, very reliable and fuel efficient, but they nearly all leak oil from the base, and the engine usually needs to be removed to fix this. When I sold her, the new owner neglected to check oil levels regularly, he upseized the engine and had to rebuild it.
Having said all this, I motor sailed 1000 NM on delivery with at least 12 mm play in the prop shaft and the 2500 hrs, there donk did not miss a beat.

[doog]

I just want to quickly reply that smoking in a diesel engine can be caused by timing, and may not indicate excessive wear at all. Has the timing is retarded the engine will sound smoother, almost like a gas engine and then begin smoking. As the timing is advanced the exhaust will become clear and then the sound will become much more clattery. It's a fine art to get it just right.