Repowering from Volvo to yanmar

[kryg]

Good to confirm, Now I think of it I had to have the fly wheel machined to fit. Price differences seem to be greater in Australia, however everything here seems to cost more. Not only because the dollar difference exchange rates. .

Originally Posted by jimbunyard

The MD2040 is definitely a rebranded Perkins 3 cylinder, though not an M40 as originally stated, but an M35, built by ISM under license with Perkins. In most cases it says so right on the tag. I think the ISM model is 103-15.

There are model differences depending on the year, but those are common between the Perkins and the Volvo; i.e. as long as one gets the same model most parts are identical. There are electrical wiring differences and the engines are different from the flywheel housing back, because Volvo has different drives and mounting methods.

As for prices, that depends on how smart one's buying is. For instance, a genuine Volvo 861906 exhaust elbow goes for 397.00 in the US. the genuine Perkins 135616660 elbow goes for 441.00.

A stainless steel aftermarket copy can be had for as little as 243.00, and probably less. Aftermarket engine rebuild kits are available at a fraction of the cost of those from either Volvo or Perkins.

[sailingchiro]

I had Volvo/Perkins engines, one of each but still the same engine and decided upon Beta engines. Also put a genset that used the same Kubota engine (just smaller). I am all Kubota and can't complain. Parts are really easy to get, tractor supply. Beta from the carolina's are easy to deal. I purchased my engines from the guy up north, they were cheaper. SOund marine diesel.

I had a hard time finding an exact price for Yanmar. Got frustrated and moved on to Beta. Plus the Yanmars have to be professionally installed. It isn't rocket science. Have a professional adjust fuel, transmission, and coupling for propshaft.

[AJA]

Originally Posted by sailingchiro

I had Volvo/Perkins engines, one of each but still the same engine and decided upon Beta engines. Also put a genset that used the same Kubota engine (just smaller). I am all Kubota and can't complain. Parts are really easy to get, tractor supply. Beta from the carolina's are easy to deal. I purchased my engines from the guy up north, they were cheaper. SOund marine diesel.

I had a hard time finding an exact price for Yanmar. Got frustrated and moved on to Beta. Plus the Yanmars have to be professionally installed. It isn't rocket science. Have a professional adjust fuel, transmission, and coupling for propshaft.

Thanks, Sailingchiro; I’ll give sound marine diesel a call.
I’ve done three installations myself - just use a mechanic for the electrical hook up. ( not good at Electric’s)

[sailingchiro]

Originally Posted by AJA

Thanks, Sailingchiro; I’ll give sound marine diesel a call.
I’ve done three installations myself - just use a mechanic for the electrical hook up. ( not good at Electric’s)

The Beta's only have the battery and the plug and play control board. I have a catamaran, therefore one of my control cable had to be extra long. But still plug and play.

[edexter]

FYI, if you get Sail magazine, the August/September issue I just got has an article about things to consider when repowering your boat. Transmission gearing matters in the choice of engine power, I hadn't thought about that.

[SOLAR SUPPORT]

I replaced my Volvo Penta D1-30 with a new one keeping the saildrive which was in good condition. The cost of this replacement was close to whole repair of the 12 years old engine. The problem with VolvoPenta d1-20-30-40 series engines is the same. They have an iron cast exhaust elbow, Which gets rusted very soon and chokes up in a few years time.

Basicaly these series of Volvo Pentas are good diesel engines but Even I have changed that iron cast elbow three times in 12 years time, Black smoke, White smoke, lack of performance was always observed. I replaced this part as soon as I mount the New engine on my boat with a 316L stainless steel elbow because I saw that this part is the source of those problems which I mentioned above.

[E185640]

Yanmar 3JH40 is the current marine motor for your application. However, you may be able to get an industrial 3TNV86 or 3TNV88 and marinize the motor for less (it's not rocket science...just parts). The industrial engines are readily available now with Yanmar bringing their compact equipment lines to the US market.

Be cautious in your used engine selection. You need to avoid a Tier 4F emissions compliant engine. If you are traveling anywhere that DOES NOT have ultra low sulfur diesel, you will kill the catalytic converter. Find a solid Tier 2 or Tier 3 unit used and you will be well served. The Yanmar America center in Adairsville GA will help you out with parts. All small equipment manufacturers that used Yanmars had to convert several years back, so used engines are out there but you will to look hard.

Another prior posting was correct, John Deere and Yanmar have a long history. JD essentially built Yanmar's production and design system in Japan years ago to reduce labor costs in the US. The contract was intact for years, but has expired (why you see their industrial equipment now).

Good luck! Fun project!

[Shaneesprit]

Originally Posted by tkeithlu

I can't answer your question. What I can recommend that you examine is the switch itself. You are talking about different engine mounts, different dimensions, cables that go to the wrong place, hoses that don't match seacocks in size or location, different engine alignment, and a bunch of other stuff that may seriousy spoil the days ahead.

When you choose the right Yanmar, which I hope someone will help you with, I recommend you examine the technical drawings and plan out the installation. Then ask, are the problems with using a Yanmar minor enough to justify the change, or does a direct replacement with a Volvo look more attractive?

Good luck with it.

Totally agree there are few bad engines out there. On a budget I would recommend removing the Engine yourself and finding a small but capable back street Engine builder on land l and asking them to rebuild or assist in a rebuild - depending on how handy you are?
Changing engine type every part that doesn’t fit adds more time and more cost,

What do you mean it’s dead?
I have rebuilt many engines for less than $1000

[Shaneesprit]

Originally Posted by kryg

I would first check Perkins 2-cylinder engine as Volvo has rebranded Perkins engines as Volvo.
AS an example, the Volvo 55 hp is the same engine as the Perkins 400 c22. Industrial engine. And has the same footprint. The difference is the spare parts are 75% cheaper than the Volvo replacement parts!! I know as I also installed a Perkins 400c 22 55 hp. The Volvo equivalent was 3 times the price.

I would double-check if your 2040 is a rebranded Perkins by Volvo 2-cylinder engine, if so, You could use the heat exchanger and other Volvo marine parts from your old engine and fit them onto the new Perkins if they are in serviceable condition.

Good luck with it.

Wow is that true? I didn’t know Volvo have used Perkins Engines? Or is this something from the past?
Caterpillar owns Perkins making them the arch enemy of Volvo.

JCB has to start making their own engines when Caterpillar acquired Perkins.

[AJA]

Originally Posted by Shaneesprit

Totally agree there are few bad engines out there. On a budget I would recommend removing the Engine yourself and finding a small but capable back street Engine builder on land l and asking them to rebuild or assist in a rebuild - depending on how handy you are?
Changing engine type every part that doesn’t fit adds more time and more cost,

What do you mean it’s dead?
I have rebuilt many engines for less than $1000

By ‘dead’ I mean that both mechanics though that the wall on the block where the water pump is mounted is sufficiently corroded that it may or may not hold a repair.
Initially I was unable to remove the cover to install a new impeller ( no water was pumping) as the screws holding in place were frozen. So the mechanic I then called tried to remove the pump. Those bolts were also frozen except for one
So we cut off the bolts to extract the pump.
Now, to drill out the bolts we’ll have to extract the engine. But it looks like one of the bolts is in an area where the block itself is showing corrosion
Even if a repair is effected, it may not hold up for long - hence the decision to replace the engine.
Evidently, when I bought the MD2040 in 2007, repairs had been made to that area that were not done correctly, and the whole engine had been repainted to hide this fact.

[Rotten Ricky]

I hope these notes from my experience will give you a few more helpful pointers.

If you want good, reliable value, go for a Kubota-based engine. By comparison, the price of buying and maintaining a Volvo is huge. Yanmar are now just about as bad. A friend of mine had to have his small Yanmar transmission rebuilt - it cost more than than if he could have used a brand new, Kubota-based tranny of significantly greater rating! Often for a given engine, one can choose a selection of trannies that will fit. Try to go oversize on the tranny.

It is also worthwhile to have the injection elbow fabricated of stainless 316 - probably the same cost as buying a rustable Volvo or Yanmar version.

I think the Beta brand of conversions of the Kubota are superior to some others. In my case, because Westerbeke went cheap by trying to cover several different horsepower versions of engine in one manual, the installation and other technical instructions for my M35B were appallingly wrong, with wrong parts and wrong locations. It was not even up to date. Not only was the wiring on my Universal M-35B of poor workmanship - it was also actually wrong! AND the wiring schematic was wrong!

Because of this and because the sockets in the wiring harness invite corrosion and make it hard for trouble-shooting, I ripped all the wiring off the engine and rewired it myself, so the wiring terminal blocks are all exposed for east testing. My Kubota now runs like a clock - OK, a noisy clock! Just be careful about the company that marinizes it.

As a former industrial electrician and after 40 years of sailing, I can tell you that accessibility (and GOOD LABELING! helps fix things quickly - and that is often needed in a boat.

Cheers and best wishes, RR.