Westerbeke

[Mule]

From what I can gather Westerbeke is a company that marninizes engines but do not produce engines. The buy em from Isuzu, Perkins and so forth, add the heat exchanger, alternator and other extras.

Does anybody know of a website that a year, model and/or hp and get the actual manufacture of the engine?

[Pblais]

Engine parts are not tracked by origin. They may be crossed referenced by suppliers. A company out sources parts all the time and it's not an uncommon practice. No one ever made an entire engine since Henry Ford. I have a Westerbeke 63B and the water pump is by Shurwood. They make a pretty good one too.

Any parts company can cross reference parts for anything. They don't make that information public. I don't see them doing it since it would allow any person to be in the parts business. It's nice you want to, but you can't get there from here. You start with the actual Westerbeke part number then go from there and shop. The vendor that made it in 1990 may not make it any more. Who cares? If you can get it some place else it's better than nothing. Genuine Westerbeke parts are over priced, but Volvo wrote the book.

[Mule]

Water pumps, alternators, heat exchangers and so forth is not what I am refering to, I mean the engine, not the add ons. Last week I saw a Westerbeck with Isuzu cast into the head on a Pearson 424. That engine is just like Cummins is to Dodge and Isuzu is to GM trucks.

[SkiprJohn]

The old Westerbekes found on Motor Whaleboats in the Navy are pretty much an exact copy of the Perkins 4-107. I would'nt be surprised if the parts were very much interchangeable. What I understand is that the Navy was not allowed to have other than a U. S. engine in their boats so Westerbeke was who sold them the Perkins.
Regards,
JohnL

[Pblais]

Last week I saw a Westerbeke with Isuzu cast into the head on a Pearson 424. That engine is just like Cummins is to Dodge and Isuzu is to GM trucks.

What is the issue? Just because you saw it does not mean it was done properly and clearly not with the sanction of Westerbeke. What was the problem? Engine manufacturers can buy parts where they choose to do so and change any time they like for profit or security. They don't have to disclose where they buy them - so they don't. Does GM or Ford make all the parts they use? It is always not even the same supplier.

[David M]

My boat originally was powered with straight 6, 115 horsepower Westerbekes. They were obvious Ford Lehmans. I tried doing the same thing in order to get cheaper parts. I was not successful at finding parts numbers to cross reference. Yes, Westerbeke follows the same formula that Volvo does....sell the engine at close to cost and then make your money on the parts. I will never buy either.

[Chief Engineer]

The Ford Diesel has been marinzed by a lot of people.
Lehman
Amercan Diesel
and a company in Italy. (I don't recall the name...I only worked on one in an old Chris-Craft

This is not confined to Diesels
Palmer 4 are a marinized IHC engine
Mercruiser, crusader, omc use Ford and GM blocks.

Westerbeke uses a lot of Kubota tractor engines

[Mule]

Paul:

Here is the issue: When I am looking at a used boat that advertises a Westerbeke I would like to know if I am looking at a Kubota, Isuzu, Perkins, Ford or whatever. The engine is advertised as a Westerbeke but in the big picture that means very little if the heart of the engine is really a Perkins. I realize the impeller, heat exchanger, alternator, associated brackets, belts, pulleys and so forth are gathered and assembeled by Westerbeke but the block, pistons, crank, head, valves, injectors, oil pan and so forth is Perkins or any one of a number of engine manufactures I would like to know whose engine it is. The new engine I saw in the Pearson was an Isuzu, not a Westerbeke, it was sold through Westerbeke, it was marinzed by Westerbeke, it was warrantied by Westerbeke but the engine itself was an Isuzu.
Volvo, in their cars had a diesel back in the 80's, when you got down to the block, it had the 5 Audi rings cast into it. The engine was an Audi that had been Volvoized. You bought a Volvo with an Audi engine in it.
Now back to the original question, does anyone out there know of a website that list the manufacturer of the long block Westerbeke uses as the base for their various applications?

[never monday]

The information you request is proprietary to Westerbeke.

in a real world note;
the information you request will gain you nothing. Good luck getting an impeller or heat exchanger at the tractor store.

[Chief Engineer]

There are sites that breakdown the Marinized engines to the block manufacturers.

I get my Universal Diesel Parts from a tractor place north of me, the same applies to the occasional Palmer that rears its' ugly green head.

as for pumps, impellers and heat exchangers...ya just gotta let you fingers do the walking.

[SkiprJohn]

Mule,
The only thing I can say for certain is that a Westerbeke 4-107 and 4-108 are Perkins blocks with other stuff added.
Regards,
JohnL

[GordMay]

Westerbeke has marinized engines from a number of sources over the years.

Westerbeke Propulsion Model History
➥ http://www.westerbeke.com/pdfs/model_history.pdf

Westerbeke Marine Engine Company History
➥ Westerbeke Marine Engine Company History

I doubt that they'll tell you what you wish to know, but you might ask them.

Westerbeke Corporation
Myles Standish Industrial Park
150 John Hancock Road
Taunton, Massachusetts 02780
U.S.A.
Tel: (508) 823-7677
Fax: (508) 884-9688
Web: westerbeke, marine generators, engines, Official Site