Rebuilt Engine vs New

[Play Actor]

Salty,

our installation costs ran to about $4,000 over the cost of the engine, and we did all of the work, so the money was spent mostly on periperal parts -- new exhaust, prop, shaft, hoses, etc., except for a few hundred dollars for dockage and haulout (to replace the prop and shaft). It's tough to identify what will be required until you get the old engine out of the way. Cutting the beds down and rebuilding them mostly cost us time -- although I did have a couple of mild steel rails welded up to go on top of the beds so tha I could drill and tap mounting holes for the engine mounts.

We didn't expect to have to replace the shaft until we got the old engine out and set the template for the new on in place, when we realized that the new engine had to sit farther forward than expected because of the curvature of the hull at the back of the beds.

Details on the blog below.

[zeehag]

geeeez--your install was pricy--mine was for 3 loaves of home made bread-----and the engine was 2500. perfectly goood perkins 4-108---- love the thing.

[Target9000]

Dani and I decide to bite the bullet and are installing a new engine. A lot of the decision has to come from very personal factors.

1) How long do you plan to keep the boat?
2) Do you plan on being in remote places?
3) How important do you feel a motor is?
4) How easy/expensive is it to get parts for your existing motor?
5) How much do you trust your motor (ie, its maintenance history)?
6) How satisfied are you with the current motor?
7) How much is the cost of a rebuild or at least maintenance to bring up to spec?
8) In a refit, how much of the work do you intend on doing yourself?
9) How difficult is a refit vs a rebuild?
10) Cost and value comparison.

I think once you have a very firm and solid answer to all of these questions the reasonable solution for YOU may be much more clear. Most people ask if they should rebuild or repower but I've noticed many don't have these answer spelled out crystal clear. Once you >know< these answers it will make your decision easier.

Our answers looked like this:
Dani and I decide to bite the bullet and are installing a new engine. A lot of the decision has to come from very personal factors.

1) How long do you plan to keep the boat?

At least 8 years, probably longer.

2) Do you plan on being in remote places?

Yes, we plan on global travel and to places remote enough that no mechanic services may be available within tow distance.

3) How important do you feel a motor is?

We personally consider it more than a convenience. We consider it a safety item. To us it is very important.

4) How easy/expensive is it to get parts for your existing motor?

Regular maintenance items are available and reasonable. Major parts such as injector pumps are hard to find and even used fetch very high prices. Exhaust parts alone are becoming difficult to locate.

5) How much do you trust your motor (ie, its maintenance history)?

We feel the previous owner neglected the motor seriously.

6) How satisfied are you with the current motor?

It cranks and runs great but blows a little white smoke, nothing serious. It has adequate power. However it does leak some oil and many of its parts show serious signs of corrosion. It has approx 5-6k hours on it and we could reasonably expect it to make it to near 10k hours before rebuild. We would anticipate the exhaust or cooling systems to fail before that though.

7) How much is the cost of a rebuild or at least maintenance to bring up to spec?

None of the mechanics we spoke to even offered a rebuild. They literally told us "no". Service to bring it into current spec and maintenance would be roughly 2-4k.

8) In a refit, how much of the work do you intend on doing yourself?

All of it except the alignment and install of new motor mount plates.

9) How difficult is a refit vs a rebuild?

In our case the repower is well documented by the westsail community and we have great access to people that have done it and will help us do it. I consider the repower option easier than most. Rebuilding is not an option for us.

10) Cost and value comparison.

If we assume another 4k hours out of the motor with at least two major component failures in that time, we can assume a parts cost of around 2-3k and initial labor cost of around 2-4k. That means we'll spend between 4 and 7k for "fixing it up". That leaves a lot of chance with all those old corroding parts. The repower will cost us roughly double that amount. Given our cruising plans and our high reliance on the motor being novice sailors, it make sense for us to invest in the new engine now rather than later. We'll start with something we can trust, service, and get to know rather than starting with someone else's twenty year old mess.

[johnstonad]

Originally Posted by zeehag

geeeez--your install was pricy--mine was for 3 loaves of home made bread-----and the engine was 2500. perfectly goood perkins 4-108---- love the thing.

Nice one! I think you have a less cost for that engine. What kind of tips that you can give us for that engine?

[zeehag]

my best tips-- get it to ensenada and hire juan lu to help take it somewhere --with boat--- and he will make it perfect......tell him i sent ye....he fixed everything that was wrong with mine-- i admire a reallly good dieselmechanic... GOOD ones are difficult to find for the price.. he aint pricey at all..and is most excellent.

[cburger]

Originally Posted by zeehag

my best tips-- get it to ensenada and hire juan lu to help take it somewhere --with boat--- and he will make it perfect......tell him i sent ye....he fixed everything that was wrong with mine-- i admire a reallly good dieselmechanic... GOOD ones are difficult to find for the price.. he aint pricey at all..and is most excellent.

Agreed, finding an honest, skilled diesel mechanic with a good work ethic is the most critical compnent if you decide to go the rebuild route. Finding a shop that specializes in this type of work and offers a written guarantee is a good idea, finding the cheapest mechanic that was reccomended by your friend Bob not a good idea.

[mbianka]

When my Westerbeke 27 died in 2006. They did not have a drop in replacement so I went looking for a new engine. After looking around at the options I then decided to take a gamble and went to an electric propulsion system from Asmo Marine and never looked back. Very happy I went in that direction and so is my wallet. You might want to consider it too. BTW I sold the old diesel to a fellow who rebuilt it and did all the work himself still cost him $3500 to get it going.

[johnstonad]

Originally Posted by cburger

[U]Agreed, finding an honest, skilled diesel mechanic with a good work ethic is the most critical compnent if you decide to go the rebuild route. Finding a shop that specializes in this type of work and offers a written guarantee is a good idea, finding the cheapest mechanic that was reccomended by your friend Bob not a good idea.[/U]

I agree finding ethical labor is difficult