Diesel Engine Rebuild

Donie75

Hi,
My boat has a Ford Sabre 80hp Diesel engine. It's based on the old Ford D Series or Dorset engine. The boat is an ex-hire cruiser so plenty of hours on the clock.
A mechanic recently did a few jobs and he said that the engine was down a few horses.
Has anyone got an engine like this rebuild and what sort of money did it cost? Was there much of an improvement in the engine after the rebuild.
Can anyone recommend a rebuilder?

fergal.b

I have used these before http://howardengineering.ie/ and they do a good job, the price will depend on what needs to be done so your better off ringing them for a quote.



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Yawlboy

I suppose it depends on the part of the country you are in also. I know people who have used Cork Engine Centre and have been very happy with their work. A friend just got a Volvo Penta 200hp rebuilt and it was the parts that cost a lot not the labour.


25 26, Little Island, Co. Cork
corkengines.com
(021) 435 4535

copper12

I’m no mechanic
But here’s my tuppence worth
How much is a few horses
Is it still doing the job for you?
Losing a little power i.e. horses to it would seem’ to be down to valve wear and the piston rings.
It could go on for a good few years like this.
The mechanic seems honest enough’ if the engine was on its last legs he would have let you know.
If it were me; I would wait until something goes wrong’ that you would mean haveing to get the engine lifted out then I would think about the rebuild.
But like I said I’m no mechanic

Ferris

Swapping an engine out of a cruiser is a pain as it most likely has to come through the cabin roof, even if there is a hatch / route to remove the chances are that you're going to have to remove the headlining etc. The chances of damage and things not going back the way you like are high.

If it were me I would establish if there is an issue first, to do that would mean a compression test. If there is an issue it is likely that its with 01 cylinder and therefore there will be a drop in compression on that cylinder. If the compression figures are uniform then you have even wear and it is unlikely that you have a specific problem. The only other possibility is that there is a leak from the head gasket, possible if the engine was overheated at some stage. If there wasn't an issue I would leave well enough alone, check the oil regularly and service it with the correct oil and a good filter annually. Who cares about the power loss unless it is affecting the boats ability to maneuver.

Different engine but I've heard of a perkins 4236 that had a burnt cylinder pulled out and replaced with the engine in-situ. The 4236 would be a similar vintage I'm guessing to a ford dorset (~4 litres, non-turbo) and would be similarly agricultural and tough as old boots.

As an example, my Dad has an ex-hire cruiser with a 4236 and the hour meter stopped working in the eighties I reckon with over 2k hours on it. The engine is no doubt down on power compared to new but it sounds and goes well and the boat is well capable of maintaining speeds at the displacement hull speed, even though we rarely travel that fast. A sister hire boat with the same setup is for sale with the original engine in the south of france having, we guess, spent the last 15yrs in the European canal network.