Volvo Penta 2003T water leak

[Scout 30]

To be fair, any diesel in the marine environment for 30 +/- years will probably have some issues. I think the fact that so many of these units are still running has to say something. When my oil cooler fell apart I looked into repowering & one thing that I realized is that for a 43hp engine this is a very small package. You would think that diesels would have gotten smaller in 30 years but they haven't. And considering that the cost of a repower will approach $15,000 including installation & a new prop it's tough to replace a motor that still runs well.


One of those shiny red things would be pretty cool though.

[deblen]

Originally Posted by Scout 30

To be fair, any diesel in the marine environment for 30 +/- years will probably have some issues. I think the fact that so many of these units are still running has to say something. When my oil cooler fell apart I looked into repowering & one thing that I realized is that for a 43hp engine this is a very small package. You would think that diesels would have gotten smaller in 30 years but they haven't. And considering that the cost of a repower will approach $15,000 including installation & a new prop it's tough to replace a motor that still runs well.


One of those shiny red things would be pretty cool though.

I have to agree.The engine,itself,seems reliable,especially since VP took the basic 2003 & added a turbo with no problem.
The troubles that most seem to have are with the external components-especially the "push together" plumbing.
Water pumps ,elbows,etc are wear items,after all.
If the parts were'nt so expensive,there would be less complaints IMHO
Happy New Year / Len

[Paul L]

I also had a lot of problems with the injector sleeves, both with corrosion and replacement.

[deblen]

Yes Paul L
I am bracing for injector tube failure-poor design for sure.
I guess what I was thinking reliability wise-I don't see complaints about pistons,rods,cranks,etc failing. My basic 2003 is cast iron & bronze for the most part,as are most older diesels.
It bothers me to see posts about newer models/brands with aluminum HXs,exh.manifolds,elbows,etc.that are rotting away in a very few yrs.
I don't know what brand/model I would replace it with at the moment.Would take some research. / L

[Scout 30]

Actually those posts are about the Volvo 2003t. The heat exchanger & oil coolers are aluminum with brass tubes. I'd be very surprised if the heat exchanger housing on your 2003 is bronze.

[deblen]

Originally Posted by Scout 30

Actually those posts are about the Volvo 2003t. The heat exchanger & oil coolers are aluminum with brass tubes. I'd be very surprised if the heat exchanger housing on your 2003 is bronze.

I had my basic 2003 out of boat last winter,to replace rubber mounts.While I was at it,I stripped most of the ext. components(that I hadn't already rebuilt/replaced) I dissa. the HX & cleaned the bits of impellers that had accum. over the yrs.(I instd a RW filter on the outl. of the RW pump to eliminate that problem in future)
The HX housing is heavy cast bronze & tubes are brass or bronze.The end covers are cast bronze,& when you put the new rubber front end cover gskt on,glue it to the cover,in line with the two FW pipe holes,because it will rotate out of line.
I replaced all rubber seal rings on all piping & bought spares.
I could go on,but there is nothing that I haven't had apart,overhauled/replaced,except the injector nozzles & pumps.When I did the valves,I tried,very carefully,to remove injectors,just because-but I chickened out,for fear of destroying the copper inj.tubes.Injectors were & are working fine,so I will not play with inj.til they become a problem.

I have had no experience with 2003T-it's just includded in my parts manuals.
Happy New Year / Len

[Paul L]

Deblen
The 2003 I lived with was at the end a 25 year old engine. So it served its purpose. I have 2 other boats where I owned the boat and the engine for a long time. The other two were Yanmars. I know a hell of lot more about the Volvo than I know about the Yanmars. The Volvo took a considerable amount of loving care giving me lots of on-the-job training. The Yanmars I mostly just changed the oil.

The one thing surprising about the injector sleeves on the 200x is that they are very reasonably priced parts. That's the good news. The bad news is getting them out and in properly ain't for the faint of heart.

[Scout 30]

I'm sorry but I cannot accept that I have an aluminum oil cooler & heat exchanger while yours is bronze. That is completely unfair.

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by Scout 30

To be fair, any diesel in the marine environment for 30 +/- years will probably have some issues. I think the fact that so many of these units are still running has to say something. When my oil cooler fell apart I looked into repowering & one thing that I realized is that for a 43hp engine this is a very small package. You would think that diesels would have gotten smaller in 30 years but they haven't. And considering that the cost of a repower will approach $15,000 including installation & a new prop it's tough to replace a motor that still runs well. One of those shiny red things would be pretty cool though.

If my 2003 T was 30 years old I wouldn't be complaining. But from the receipts in the boat it wasn't installed until 2002. I think then just neglected.

But, there is no way a purchase of this expense should have oil coolers that simply fall apart exposing the block to such a risk. And heat exchanger case that can't go the distance without disintergrating. And they continued to use the same heat exchanger on the next model too.

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by Scout 30

I'm sorry but I cannot accept that I have an aluminum oil cooler & heat exchanger while yours is bronze. That is completely unfair.

The case the bronze goes in is alloy though and it's crap!

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by Moody guy

Hi Rustic
The seal for the faceplate normally comes with a new impeller kit.
I presume you are in USA.
I have my old pump in garage but the cost of sending it to you in USA would probably be more than any spares you could salvage from it.


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

I'm in Tasmania, Australia. Freight from the U.S. For small things is usually atrocious. But I can get Racor 500 filter from the U.S. pay half in freight and still get it for $200 cheaper than here in Australia.

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by Scout 30

This is a Johnson pump. The Volvo part # is 858150-6. You might be better off buying a new pump, which you can still get, & keeping the one you have for a spare.

At $561 U.S. I don't think so. though if I ever go cruising long distance having a whole spare would be nice.

[deblen]

Volvo Penta 2003T Water Pumps and Heat Exchanger | eBay

Used FW pump,RW pump & HX for 2003T $US 500

These show up on ebay(US) & ebay(UK) occasionally.
Put a "Save Search" on ebay & u get an email when the item is posted.

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by deblen

Volvo Penta 2003T Water Pumps and Heat Exchanger | eBay

Used FW pump,RW pump & HX for 2003T $US 500

These show up on ebay(US) & ebay(UK) occasionally.
Put a "Save Search" on ebay & u get an email when the item is posted.

That's what I need but I need to get the cost down. The US typically adds $200 to $300 for the most basic components. I've tracked down a complete rebuild kit for $184 US, but they want $220 in freight for an item that would cost me $27 to send to them. UK freight is better.

I didn't know about the 'save search' I'll do that.

[deblen]

Cripes-are they chartering a plane?? UPS,FEDEX??
If you can talk them into mailing it,big savings-might take a week or 2.