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Steve Morrisby · Guest

Hi there

I have been looking at the UK market for a 75HP marine inboard engine. Those
that look good are products from Volvo, Betamarine and Lombardini, but what
a price!. I struggle with the fact that my new car cost less than one of
these and that got me to thinking if I could do it myself.

What are the pitfalls in "marineising" a good used truck engine, are
aftermarket kits sold and what about marrying the gearbox to the engine bell
housing.

I seem to recall reading a thread on this subject some years back, but at
the time I was not too interested. Now of course I cannot find threads going
that far back.

TIA

Steve

Steve Lusardi · Guest

It can be done very successfully, but not by an amatuer. The duty cycle of
an automotive engine is around 30%. Marine engines require a 100% duty
cycle. Converting an automotive engine to marine involves far more than just
cooling system and exhaust. However there are firms that sell conversion
kits that do a reasonably good job without extensive engine mods, but be
careful. Under no circumstance will you ever be able to open up the trottle
and run the boat in that manner, because the engine will self destruct.
Steve

"Steve Morrisby" <stephen.morrisby@virgin.net> wrote in message
news:CSjeh.3776$Xo6.2771@newsfe6-win.ntli.net...

Terry K · Guest

It's been talked to death.

you will need a foreward and reverse thrust bearing, wrong gearing,
spark proof alternator, and a wet exhaust system.

If you can get 2 or 3 old 318's, run 'em till they burn out, and
rebuild the dead ones over the winter.

With any luck, thay won't last long enough to rust or electrolyze out.

Terry K

bowgus · Guest

Steve Morrisby wrote:

Terry K · Guest

It's been talked to death.

you will need a foreward and reverse thrust bearing, wrong gearing, and
a wet exhaust system.

If you can get 2 or 3 old 318's, run 'em till they burn out, and
rebuild the dead ones over the winter.

With any luck, thay won't last long enough to rust or electrolyze out.

Terry k

Richard van den Berg · Guest

On Fri, 08 Dec 2006 20:25:06 GMT Steve Morrisby
(stephen.morrisby@virgin.net) wrote:

Steve Morrisby · Guest

Ah yes!. I did not consider that the marine engine is continuous duty. Considering that fact the cost is probably justified.

Referring to Max Camirands posting, I also wondered about air cooling. Deutz built a fine range of air cooled engines, and it would keep the boat nice and warm!. But I am still up against the continuous duty problem.

Thanks for all your input.

Steve

"Richard van den Berg" <R.vandenBerg@inter.invalid> wrote in message news:ja01c8.env@inter-no.NL-spam.net...
On Fri, 08 Dec 2006 20:25:06 GMT Steve Morrisby
(stephen.morrisby@virgin.net) wrote:

Richard van den Berg · Guest

On Mon, 11 Dec 2006 11:05:13 GMT Steve Morrisby
(stephen.morrisby@virgin.net) wrote:

max camirand · Guest

If air cooling didn't work out, you could remove the radiator and
instead pump the coolant through a coil of copper pipe running through
a sea chest (small seawater-flooded compartment built inside on the
inside surface of the hull). Kind of like a keel cooler, but inside.
The advantage over cooling with raw seawater is that you don't get
corrosion inside your engine, both from the seawater and from the
galvanic action it creates between the dissimilar metals in the engine.
Of course, it's slightly more complicated.

I'm not sure that I understand the continuous duty problem. Certainly,
truck engines aren't meant to run at 100% of rated RPM all the time.
However, they can do long 'passages' at highway loads, which (I think)
is around a third of rated HP. Truckers even leave their engines
turning at high idle while they're stopped. Why wouldn't you use a
400hp truck engine as a 100hp boat engine? If yours is a big ol' boat
running at displacement speeds, the difference in weight wouldn't
matter much. Anyway, I got the impression that when manufacturers sold
an engine as "continuous-rated" versus "intermittent-rated", half the
difference was simply reducing the rated HP. I could easily be wrong.

I've never done this sort of thing. I'm just thinking about how I'd do
it if I were in a 'gypsy' frame of mind, and I wanted a decent boat for
minimum cost. What do you experienced folk think?

-Max Camirand

Steve Morrisby wrote:

CS · Guest

I was going to suggest talk to Polar Engineering, but they have closed
and Bowman have taken on their product range.
http://www.ejbowman.co.uk/news/News_polar.htm

Steve Morrisby · Guest

I understood continuous duty to mean not only an ability of the engine to
run reliably for extended periods at full load but also that all the
metalwork, fittings etc are of a superior standard. Hence the cost.

I may be wrong here but I seem to recall that running engines off load or on
reduced loads for extended periods is not good for them. Leads to glazed
barrels or something like that???.

Referring to air cooled, I rather like the smell of engine rooms but I can
see on a boat you would have to build in a heat exchanger to isolate the
cabin from the "raw" heated air, I just think that a heat exchanger for air
is easier to build that one for a sea/fresh water combination. Also no holes
in the hull. However on the down side, don't water cooled engines run
quieter than air cooled. So many points to consider!.

Having said all of the above however I believe that the engineering required
is beyond me and by the time I gather the experience and tools to do the
work too much time will have gone by!. I will just have to save a bit harder
and buy a marine engine.

Steve

jim.isbell · Guest

max camirand wrote:

Terry K · Guest

max camirand wrote:
snip

Heidi&Luc · Guest

Have a look at www.abato.nl,
a Dutch company that imports Chinese made Deutz 226B marine diesel engines.
Weichai Deutz Engineering co, joint venture.
Deutz moved the production line of the 226B diesels to China, a few years
back.
Quality control is still executed by German engineers, in the Weichai plant
in China, so they say.
Text on this website is in Dutch, but you can find some interesting links.
75 hp model costs 4300 euro, excl. VAT.(without gearbox).
Pricing is more than OK, I think, but about reliability I haven't heard
anything yet, it's too soon for that.
If I ever need a diesel, I think I'll go for it.
Beats a truck engine marinised by an amateur!

Bye,

Luk
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Richard van den Berg · Guest

On Wed, 13 Dec 2006 23:26:21 +0100 Heidi&Luc
(luc.nauwelaerts@skynet.be) wrote: