Volvo Penta D2-55 Pistons the wrong way around

[AROsailing]

Hi everyone, I have a question I hope someone might be able to solve.
- Short background - I recently purchased an ex charter boat from a Croatian charter company and have sailed / motored down to Greece over the last 6 months. With one leg being a 30 hour motor sail between Montenegro and Greece. In the last few weeks I noticed very small bubbles in the coolant reservoir tank. The start of cylinder head gasket failure? This was confirmed by a marine Engineer and although the engine had not overheated I decided to have the head skimmed and a new gasket fitted. On removing the head a small breach in the gasket was found and a second section of gasket was about to be breached. But most concerning was the discovery that the cylinders had all been installed the wrong way around ie rotated through 180 degrees.
I have contacted the charter company and they are insistent that no work has been done on this head for the last 8 years... this sounds impossible.. I would appreciate others thoughts / input as to how this engine has run like this for the last 6 months at least .. and if the charter company are to be believed 8 years..
Oil usage has been minimal over the period I have had the engine, I also operated it mostly in the 1500-1800rpm range.

[Lepke]

Sounds like you had a head gasket fail and the pistons were installed 180° out. Your lucky you don't have a bent valve considering the clearances cut in the pistons weren't under the valves. In theory the pistons would work either way as long as the valves don't hit the pistons. What is the mystery?
Apparently some less than qualified mechanic put the pistons in backward. The engine had enough clearance between the valves and piston so no damage occurred.
I doubt the mechanic did a proper job with the head gasket if he was oblivious to the piston direction.

[jimbunyard]

However they got installed backwards is somewhat irrelevant; if the pistons cleared the valves initially it is unlikely that there would eventually be enough wear for them to hit.

It is possible that the engine was assembled incorrectly from the factory, just as it is possible that a less-than-observant mechanic installed them backwards...

What is possible is that when you reassemble it correctly, the engine will get a bit better mileage and may run a little 'cleaner', as the injectors will be injecting into the area that it is designed to inject into, allowing for a more complete burn.

[Compass790]

What Lepke said. +Why do you say head must have been off in the last 8 years? How many hours on the engine? I'm amazed that with that much relief cut into pistons top the v/v's weren't hitting it. Be interesting to see how she runs when pistons are the right way around. What engine is it? Please post back when you have it back together

[Compass790]

Whoops sorry didn't read title, Duh!

[AROsailing]

Interesting thoughts Guys, maybe.. it might have been like this for 8 years.. the engine has in excess of 6500 hours the Volvo digital hour display has stopped working.. but every now and again there is contact and I did see a reading of around 64** hours.
Following on from the poor burn.. with this disassembly the exhaust elbow was checked and it is extremely blocked. Maybe this is another clue??

[Compass790]

Yea just too hard to guess how lg it's been like that to say especially if hr meter wonky. Don't know yr model engine but looked like poor burn. Had same thoughts as jimbunyard but he posted whilst i was typing. Harder to diagnose when yr exhaust elbow clogged too but piston orientation may well have contributed to exhaust elbow clogging. Not uncommon to have multiple contributing factors for engine problems.
Drunkn swede on assembly line in winter????
My tip is use Loctite 518 on head gasket but I expect you to ignore it as everyone says use nothing on them. I can't see the harm & it's solved problem joints for me. Yr engine,yr call

[Crusty Joker]

Years ago I represented several engine lines in a busy California marina. Major yacht engine have various problems but most things like this occur somewhere in after market. I remember one engine that failed while on a charter at the channel islands and was sailed back to port. It had a 4 cylinder diesel below 100 HP made in Jolly old England with about 20 hours on it. I did not represent that engine line at the time, and the dealer said he could not schedule it for more than 4 weeks out, so I hauled it out with the trans attached using cardboard to protect the teak and the main mallard, that day, and used a shopping cart and friends on the dock to get the engine into my truck and took it over to the dealer shop and used his tools to pull the pan and take a picture. All the main bearing caps had been left off of one side of the crankshaft! I suspect that engine was built after a weekend of celebratory football or a long lunch that included Ganga. Maybe this engine was a Ganga and Beer engine? Where was the boat used in charter?
All of my customers for way over 20 years all came home safe. Mostly all were happy with everything but the bill.
The first thing I noticed was the coke build. That engine must have smoked and it would not likely produce rated power. Max RPM in neutral can be set on most engines and will determine quite a bit about how the engine performs under load. Examine exhaust manifold, riser, and your entire exhaust system as that may have some evidence for history and may require repair and or replacement. Injectors should be serviced and tested, and if the engine has a preheat / prime start or glow plugs, check and service as required. Follow manufacture recommendations on reassembly. Just for fun, mic everything as you take it apart and keep pistons in order. If in remote area, do minimum and come home for rebuild where you and the mechanic can have good communication. Never use starting fluid, and only use clean 'dry' fuel. Good luck with your engine and vessel! Fair winds.

[stormalong]

As others have said: you are very lucky that there was enough clearance and the valves did not hit the pistons.

Now that you are skimming the head that may no longer be true. You must turn the pistons.

On an engine in a car I had when I was as a kid the piston rods had a small notch/hole in the side where it dipped into the sump so it scooped up oil. Be sure those are oriented correctly(splash lubrication). If not the bearings are not being properly lubricated.

[AROsailing]

Thanks for all the input Guys.. it’s much appreciated.. Is the general opinion that this engine could have run in charter for 8 years like this without damage?

[BruceS]

Now you need to make a plan.
Big end bearings usually have a 'lip' to help prevent spinning.
was the conrod the right way & just the piston reversed?
Depending on that answer ... will you put a new pin/bush in the piston end?
If the conrod& piston was reversed .... will you put new bigends in?
That many hours if true .... maybe a complete overhaul in a good shop?
Decisions?

[roverhi]

If the valves weren't hitting the pistons, the engine could have run for a long time without anyone being the wiser. Engine may have been a little down on power but maybe not. Problem is to set it right you'll have to pull the engine, probably pull the crank, drop the rods and pistons and either reverse them or just pistons on the rod. If the bores are good, drop in a new set of rings, bearings and a valve job and you have an almost as new engine. Of course that will cost you a bit for the work but won't require a total teardown and rebuild so shouldn't be all that expensive except for R&R'ing the engine. There could be an issue with the old pistons not liking their new alignment which would require new pistons but that's between you and the mechanic.

[kryg]

TIP- if you or any other Volvo D2-55 owner, here is a tip, I have a Perkins 404c 22 engine in my boat, from my own experience a Volvo engine owner will save about 2/3rd the cost of buying rebranded Volvo parts.

Volvo Penta uses the Perkins 404c 22 universal industrial engine, then marinize and rebrands it as D2- 55. If you find you need to buy replacement parts check out the Perkins 404c 22 mechanics Perkins manual for replacement parts. The savings will make your eyes water.

[AROsailing]

Originally Posted by kryg

TIP- if you or any other Volvo D2-55 owner, here is a tip, I have a Perkins 404c 22 engine in my boat, from my own experience a Volvo engine owner will save about 2/3rd the cost of buying rebranded Volvo parts.

Volvo Penta uses the Perkins 404c 22 universal industrial engine, then marinize and rebrands it as D2- 55. If you find you need to buy replacement parts check out the Perkins 404c 22 mechanics Perkins manual for replacement parts. The savings will make your eyes water.

Thanks Kryg, would that be for the D2-55 manufactured between 2001- 2004 as well? As this is went the motor was manufactured. Thanks

[kryg]

My Engine was manufactured in 2004. I’m under the impression the Volvo engine they use today is still the same Perkins basic engine rebranded.

As an example of cross fitting between Volvo and Perkins parts which is current for the most parts today - 6 months ago I upgraded the old fan A belt pulley system to a serpentine belt because my 120 Ah alternator fan belt kept slipping.

Perkin does not make a pulley serpentine fan belt kit for their engine. However, kit suppliers make them for Volvo D2-55. I bought the kit from a Canadian manufacture Electromaax and it was a perfect fit right down to the crank pulley and water pump bolt holes and new sleeved serpentine pulleys, which fit over the Crank and water pump pulleys.

This indicates that to me the Perkins engine configuration has not changed much right up to early 2018. Which Volvo utilizes. However, do your research like I have done, double check before you buy the parts you need.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Kryg

Originally Posted by AROsailing

Thanks Kryg, would that be for the D2-55 manufactured between 2001- 2004 as well? As this is went the motor was manufactured. Thanks