When to repower.

rpell1@msn.com · Sep 29, 2012

Hi Greg,
My '91 Catalina has a 25xp with 12,500 hours. The motor runs great, uses less than one gallon per hour, is reasonably quiet and minimal exhaust smoke. I change the oil and ALL filters once a year. I have been advised by several small diesel mechanics at my Club that I should expect to have to do a re-build at about 17,000 hrs. which will be in about another 15-20 years for me.

Happy Sailing.

rpell1@msn.com · Sep 29, 2012

CORRECTION.............I have 1,250 hours, NOT 12,500 and the rebuild shoud be around 1,700 hrs., NOT 17,500.

Sorry for the "senior moment"........or as some might say, "brain fart".

Stu Jackson · Sep 29, 2012

No, you don't!!!

Our M25 has 2,537 hours and is running just fine. A friend with an XP ran his over 5000, yes 5,000 hours.

Keep up good maintenance and make sure you know about Critical Upgrades and everything else we've collected about your engine:

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5078.0.html

http://www.c34.org/wiki/index.php?title=Diesel_Engine

You have LOTS of engine hours left before you have to do anything.

1,900 hours? Just a wee babe...

Ralph Johnstone · Sep 29, 2012

At 1,900 Hours ...................................

.................. your engine is just broken in, assuming it's had good oil, air, and fuel during its short life. A well maintained and operated diesel can expect 10,000 running hours before even thinking about a rebuild.

If you are not presently having any problems, go out and enjoy.

Loubert · Sep 30, 2012

Boy, that 12,500 hours statement made me feel great! : )

My M-18 has about 4,700 hours on it now and runs fine. I've only owned it for two years now, but I know it had a major overhaul in early 2009. This was not a complete rebuild, but did include new valves, springs, injectors, head gasket, water pump repair, etc. The PO paid a little under $2k and that included full testing and sea trial afterwards.

I'm trying to keep up with the regular maintenance and hope to keep it running well for a long time to come.

Tom J · Sep 30, 2012

My M25-xpb has over 1,300 hours on it without a single failure of any kind (knock on wood). Regular maintenance is key. You'll get many more hours of enjoyment out of that little engine, I'm sure.

Maine Sail · Sep 30, 2012

gregorybross said:
I own a 1996 Catalina 30 mkIII with a Universal 25xp motor. The motor is approching 1900 hours and I would like input as to the life expectancy. I have only owned the boat for 1 year and have maintained it well but I am not sure how well it has been maintained in the past. I like to cruise the Channel Islands of California so I need a reliable motor.

Thanks,
Greg

I have some commercial customers with over 12,000 hours on their diesels, diesels that get BEAT ON, and they still keep ticking. My buddy Darren who owns a landscaping form in CO has multiple pieces of equipment with Kubota's that have over 20k engine hours..

Proper care and use are far more important than engine hours. I would take a 4k engine over 400 hour engine any day of the week if the 4k engine had been properly used and maintained and the 400 hour engine had only run ten minutes in, ten minutes out each time it was used...

Our Westerbeke has 3400+ hours on her now and runs like a top.

anchorclanker · Sep 30, 2012

Listen to Main Sail. Most all industrial engines are good for 5000 hours. Some small Japanese diesel powered generators have exceeded 30,000 hours. Yanmar and Kubota tractors use the same engines found in many sailboats, and have also ran up as much time on occasion.

These are generally engines that are well maintained and run long and hard though. Short 10 minute low powered runs and no maintenance can shorten their life by a factor of ten or more. Run one out of oil and you can stop its clock right now.