??? 65hp Ford Lehman ???

[outrigger]

Im purchasing a 42 Vagabond with a 65hp Ford Lehman.
If someone has experience with this I would like to know if their are any issues I should look for?
Is it hard to get parts for in Florida?
Maintenance that I should start with?
What spare parts I should go ahead and have on hand?
Ect..

[exMaggieDrum]

There are still lots of Ford Lehmans out there. But they are all getting long in the tooth. However, well maintained, they can last longer than most any boat. The problem you may face is getting specific parts as they are getting rarer. You everyday mechanical shop may or may not carry any of the parts. There are some shops that specialize in these parts though but one is in the NE. I am sure in UK too. Our shop (North Harbor Diesel) has rebuilt many of them but the owner recently told me that they are having trouble getting some parts - gaskets, etc. I'd check with some of the guys who rebuild them and ask questions. E.g. Bomac Marine- Ford Lehman Engines, Parts, Tanks, Phaser Generators and Service Great motors though if maintained.

[outrigger]

Thank you that does help. The guy that has the boat now got it from the original owner who died last year and left it to his girlfriend. He does not want a sailboat but I sure he practically stole it. He said their are spare parts for it but I have not been able to go threw it yet. Once I take ownership I will go ahead an try to find the parts that tend to go first so they are on hand. My issue is not knowing what to get as im not familiar with these. I know Im going to change the oil asap no knowing its age. He has lots of paperwork that he put in storage. Hope it has the engine paperwork in it. Parts list with numbers would be great. I plan on redoing just about everything on the boat, not just because it needs to be done but so I know how and where everything is.

[Boatguy30]

I did quite a bit of work on a 4 cylinder "65 horse" it was pretty hard to real sort out what it actually was as the 2 Leyman experts in the U.S. Were divided as to what it was.

Anyway, accessory parts, pumps, heat exch from the 80 hp all fit and I doubt you'd ever want to consider a rebuild. Better to get a good used 80 or a newer engine.

[Cheechako]

The larger Lehman's are renouned for how good they are. Not sure about the 65 though, I would check around for parts as they may be getting a bit hard to find.?

[Snowpetrel]

Not sure if it's exactly the same but my folks have an EBRO, 65 HP which is a Spanish version of the Ford engines. It's been very reliable, only big issue I think was the injector pump lubrication. I think it got a fuel leak into it at one stage and needed to be rebuilt. The engine has been worked hard for 35 years and is still going strong. I'll ask them for more details if it's of any use to you.

Sent from my HTC_0PCV2 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[outrigger]

Great ty, One of the reasons I got this boat is at the moment everything is working. It pushed the max what I had to spend on a boat. Its very rough but has great potential. I think I will be very happy with it for years to come. Hoping to make the Pensacola to Havana trip next year.

[hardinvoyager]

Do you have any documentation on the Lehman 65 that you could share?

[skipperpete]

I did a lot of work on the old 65 hp ford Lehman’s prior to the later 80 hp models and they needed a bit of care to keep em happy. The water pump">raw water pump was always a bit difficult to align and the injector pump filling the cambox with diesel fuel was also a problem. In some ways they were better than the 80 hp model, the 65hp had wet liners, a huge advantage over later models but they also had a weakness , the gear driven lube oil pump occasionally lost its grip on the drive shaft and dropped the oil pressure to zero in the blink of an eye, fatal for the engine if the alarm went unheard or not acted upon.

[hardinvoyager]

Thank you for the info, what can be done to resolve the injector pump leaking just a better seal?

what was attached to the back of the injector pump, was it a raw water pump?

I think I'll design a low oil cut off for the injector solenoid.

Do you know where I can acquire a service manual?

[skipperpete]

Originally Posted by hardinvoyager

Thank you for the info, what can be done to resolve the injector pump leaking just a better seal?

what was attached to the back of the injector pump, was it a raw water pump?

I think I'll design a low oil cut off for the injector solenoid.

Do you know where I can acquire a service manual?

Yeah, the injector pump itself was bolted to the block and driven by a rubber star coupling and shaft , and the raw water pump was also bolted to the block behind the injector pump and driven by the HP pump camshaft via another coupling. The injector pump had no lube oil supply from the engine, it had a filler plug and either a level plug or a dipstick, you had to fill it with oil and change it at the service interval….. problem was that as the injection plungers wore over time, they’d leak into the cambox and overfill the pump then fuel oil would leak into the bilge. No easy fix, 4 new plungers and barrels was the only way to go. These engines are ancient, I had a 6 cylinder version in my workshop for 15 years and sent it to the junkyard in a recent purge of useless engines to gain more space. Oddly, I kept the unique rubber coupling inserts and bolts…. Just in case.

[donradcliffe]

I help maintain the YC boat with the 120 hp version, and have been told that the manual says to change the oil in the injector pump each time you change the engine oil. I had never heard of injector pump that had its own oil sump, but its worth checking out.

I also helped successfully change a head gasket on an 80 hp version in Massawa.

[MicHughV]

First off....the Vagabond 42 is my favorite boat of all time, so kudo's to you for getting a nice boat.
My advice would be to source out a diesel "repair shop" in your neck of the woods as they typical have spares for most anything and everything, and if they don't have it, they can likely tell you someplace or someone that will have it. Google is your friend here.

If there are none in your locality, try some of the bigger towns, especially those along the coast.

The Ford Lehman has been around for a very long time and I'm confident that with a bit of sleuthing around you will find a shop/place that can provide you with anything you need.

[hardinvoyager]

Originally Posted by skipperpete

.

You are a wealth and knowledge my friend. I'm extremely mechanically inclined and knowing details like that along with acquiring hopefully a service manual in PDF or paper would drastically assist me in checking tolerances and adjustments .

[hardinvoyager]

Do you know off hand if it's a typical engine oil or gear oil or even something lighter that is required for these pumps?