To re-power or not to re-power?

R

rhewitt

Member II
rebuild and use new parts...

Just read your list....

I had our engine rebuilt in Dec. and It came out super.
I was able to get the parts for the M25 from a Kubuta parts house and saved a LOT. Had to get some from the folks at Universal too and paid a lot.

Labor is low down here but with less than $2,000. including shop for heads and block work... about $2,600. in parts. It now is running fine and I am very happy I did it that way. You must have a mechanic in the area that works on small deisal engines, do your home work and save a lot.

Ralph
 
C

chaco

Member III
Labor is NOT CHEAP

Labor will be double that price in the States and that puts you right back to
close to the cost of a NEW Engine and Transmission.
There are no cheap answers to this problem and I do not agree with the
"Partial Rebuild" of the Head and the odd Piston or Bearing.
You are counting on this Machine to keep you off the Rocks in severe
conditions in waters that you might not be familiar with :cool:
The smaller boats 25'-30' feet can not realistically look at an investment
that is more than the value of the boat installed cost for a new engine.
A lot of people abandon there old Atomic 4 when she dies, and installs a
long shaft outboard. The medium size boats 35' to 40' will be looking at an
investment of $5,000 minimum to do a full rebuild and $10,000 for a new
engine....IF you do ALL the work yourself. ADD another $5,000 labor on that
for the install as you have your local Mechanic do the work :rolleyes:
The bottom line is get your wallet out and be ready to pay double what you
budgeted. These things are not CHEAP :nerd:

Happy Auxilliary :egrin: :egrin:
 
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R

rwthomas1

Sustaining Partner
Labor can be as cheap as you need it to be if you do it yourself. Maybe its perspective as I have spent half my life elbow deep in engines as a hobby.... But these things aren't very complicated. In fact, an old diesel sailboat engine is about as simple as it gets. Honestly, its one step up from a large lawnmower engine. If you do most of the work on your boat yourself and can read a manual then its really quite simple. If you have the time and patience to source the cheaper parts from Kubota, can find some knowledgeable buddy to assist and don't mind purchasing a few specialized tools, its quite do-able.

There are two types of boaters. Those that can do most anything and those that can pay to have most anything done. If you can't do anything and can't pay for it either then you won't be boating for long.

RT
 
J

jkm

Member III
Like Rob says it really isn't that hard to tear it apart and get some help repairing the head. Any good head shop (not the one that sells pipes) can do most of the hard work.

One caution and I hope those with more diesel experience than i will speak up, but make sure you do all the tests on the motor before you tear into it. Sometimes if you just rebuild the top of the engine you can stress the bottom.

The shop manuel should be very detailed and easy to read. I'm no mechanic but in college I tore my BSA 441 apart and reassembled it. Had a number of extra parts, but the bike never seemed to miss them. I still have that old bike and on occasion ride it.


So go for it and keep a journal it would be fun for us take the ride along with you-so to speak.

John
 
mark reed

mark reed

Member III
We're re-powering

Sorry to disappoint all you DIY'ers but I have elected to re-power with a new Universal M35 and transmission. Living 100 miles from the boat makes a large project like this a lot less realistic for me; the other factor was that we want to take the boat much farther from our home port than ever before. Although we may have refurbished the core, we would have still been left with a 20 year old transmission, instrument panel, and all the other components which have not already been replaced. Although the cost is steep, the end result should be a lot more reliable drive train. We're still hoping to be southbound by September.
 
E

Emerald

Moderator
Given your scenario, I think you will be quite happy down the road. You will have the piece of mind in the worst of situations that there should be no issue with your power plant. Do be sure to give it full sea trails after a full break in. Never assume just because it's new, or the installation is, that it's perfect.

Shoot me an email back channel if you want to dump the old one. I've never rebuilt this particular flavor, and it sounds like a fun project to drive my wife nuts :egrin:

Have a really great cruise!
 
R

rwthomas1

Sustaining Partner
Congratulations! There are plenty of choices to make and we must make the ones that work for each of us. My situation would be completely different from yours but I understand your decision. The important thing is to get out sailing and enjoy the boat, which is what you are making happen. Like I said, with a wrench or a checkbook, most anything can happen. Good luck with it and let us know how it turns out. RT
 
C

chaco

Member III
Bravo !

Great choice Mark...although I am partial to Beta's :nerd:
Good luck to you and be sure to get in touch with me in Oceanside Harbor
"The Greatest Little Harbor at the Gates of Mexico" on your way down.
We get lots of scuttlebutt here on all the Early Retirerees trips to the
Sea of Cortez and back home again.
The most common comment is that it is a LOT more expensive for supplies
and moorage than folks had planned. Install a watermaker and trade water for
Fish and Lobsters from the Fishermen. They will be looking for water.

Happy Sailing :egrin: :egrin:
 
exoduse35

exoduse35

Sustaining Member
if you need a hand with the install or want to off load the old one let me know. you are only 500 miles north! just a hop skip & jump right! seriously, would be interested in the core and would like to help, let me know Edd
 
C

chaco

Member III
Trade that Core

Got $500 from Beta towards the new 902 for the old Universal M4-30.
The (3) Cylinder models are more common and rebuilders will take them.
They are the engine used in the BobCat and very valuable as a core :nerd:

Happy RePower Everybody :egrin: :egrin:
 
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