Renault Couach Diesel - Anybody Still Have One?

[Oxman]

I bought a 1980 Hunter 27 that is in reasonably good shape and I'm really going through it before I put it in, either this year or next. The 9hp diesel that's in it - can anyone tell me anything about those engines - like were they reliable - can you still get parts - generally any information at all?Thanks,Ray

 

[Manny]

Hey Ray

I have one, it's my emergency engine. Right now I can't even use it as that. Maybe I'm confused and it's my spare anchor? All kidding aside, I have been tinkering with mine for almost 2 years and am slowly resurrecting it from the dead. It was not running when I bought the boat. Now, other than the transmission seals leaking (even after replacing them) it works fine. Seems to power my 27 okay. Hardly any smoke. Mine does not have the compression release so starting takes a few tries but once warmed it starts immediately. It vibrates quite a bit (single cylinder) but smoothes at a little past 1/2 throttle but it is loud. Supposedly extremely reliable from what i've read. I took my transmission apart this winter and it seems extremely overbuilt. Parts are very difficult to find but a good machine shop can help.Check the transmission oil level!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Check for leaks at the rear seal when running in gear.I can deal with the leaks but currently my stuffing box is giving me fits so I can't use it until I get that sorted. My primary motor is an 8 hp 4 stroke outboard.Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.Manny

 

[Oxman]

Hey Manny

If you were to re-engine what would you go with (just in case)?Thanks,Ray

 

[Manny]

Repower

Ray, I haven't given much thought to replacing the engine lately due to financial restrictions :{but I had been looking when we first bought the boat. The only engine I've really looked at is the beta marine 13.5 hp. I was at the Annapolis sailboat show a year or two ago and spent a while at their booth. They had recently repowered a 27 like ours removing the Renualt and they made it sound like a straight forward replacement. The only difficulty they had was that the prop shaft was a bit lower than where the shaft comes out of the back of their transmission. The beta uses a Kubota block which I think a couple of the other manufacturers use. My friend has a Westerbeke in his Oday (12 hp I think) which also looks like it would fit. It runs very well and is smooth and quite. I've also thought the e-pod system might be kind of cool since I don't expect to take any long voyages in the near future. Link below-Anyway, if your Renault is working, don't abuse it, perform regular oil changes and fuel filter changes, keep clean diesel in the tank, and it should last a while. Otherwise give it to me for spare parts ;dManny

 

[Randy Burns]

2Ym15

Ray,I replaced my old yanmar with a new Yanmar14hp. It fits pretty well, doing it yourself expect to pay $8000 or so by the time your done. For me that was 100% more than I paid for the boat, but still worth it. Parts are available for the old Yanmar YSB's, I'm not sure about yours.Randy

 

[Erik Westgard]

They are fine

We have the RC8D in ours. The clutch cone was worn so we were talking to machine shops etc until we found a used complete engine from a wreck on ebay. Our marina swapped parts back and forth and we have a good runner and good transmission and a spare running engine and box of transmission parts.Ours starts/runs fine. You can get all parts except clutch cones from the UK guy or Waterway Marine who gets them from Nanni.

 

[txmilke]

RC8D's still chugging

Hi Ray,I also have a 1980 with an RC8D. It's been fine for me for the past 3 years with the exception of some occasional overheating problems which I believe I've now overcome. I have two PDF's related to that engine and a scanned copy of an owner's manual (I think from a 37') that may be helpful to you. Send me an email if interested and I'll root around for the files.Tom Milketxmilke@aol.comBTW, if you decide to repower, lemme know. I could use a spare.