Yanmar Replacement Diesels

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fredandkathy
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Yanmar Replacement Diesels

Post by fredandkathy »

We have Yanmar 2GM20 diesels in our 1996 32LRC which Yanmar no longer makes. I'm having the port engine rebuilt right now but at some point, I will probably replace both with the new Yanmar 3 cylinder 21HP, a gain of 3HP over the current engines and only a few pounds more. The new 2 cylinder engines are only 14HP and I don't want to step down in HP. I'll talk with the factory reps at the Ft. Lauderdale boat show in a couple of weeks to make sure those 3 cylinder engines will work as replacements but I would be interested if any LRC owners with the 2GM20's have changed the old ones out yet and any recommendations they may have. Thanks!

Fred & Kathy
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GaryWizard
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Re: Yanmar Replacement Diesels

Post by GaryWizard »

Inspiration (#47 / 95) is an LRC, so I ran into this situation a couple years ago when I needed to completely rebuild/replace one engine. The only problem with either the smaller or larger engines was that the motor mounts are completely different. There was also some question as to whether I could find a conversion kit to use the existing saildrives.
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philiprmcgovern
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Re: Yanmar Replacement Diesels

Post by philiprmcgovern »

Fred and Gary:

I'm sorry that I can't offer any help, but if you don't mind, I would be interested to know how many hours you got from your 2GM20's before they had to be rebuilt or replaced and what the principal cause of death was.

We have about 1,650 hours on ours (1994) and hope to get a few more out of them.

Thanks and best wishes.

Phil McGovern
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Re: Yanmar Replacement Diesels

Post by fredandkathy »

Phil & Gary,

I bought the boat a little over a year ago. Engines had about 3,000 hours. The port engine, same one now being rebuilt, had about 100 - 200 hours according to prior owner after rebuild. It was never clear to me what happened to cause the first rebuild but it ran well for the next 150 hours or so, then I started with the problems. Both engines have about 3,300 hours. Starboard engine is fine and my mechanic says they should last 8K - 10K hours. I'm not sure of the quality of the first rebuild. I do know that when they reinstalled the engine they did not line up the shaft properly and this caused me to have to replace the shaft and seals. So I'm thinking that if they could not do the alignment right, maybe they did not do the first rebuild right which then led to this failure.

I was afraid that the new engines may not fit the motor mounts. I'll talk to Yanmar at the upcoming boat show and see if they have any suggestions. I priced the 21HP = $7K EACH!

Fred and Kathy
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Re: Yanmar Replacement Diesels

Post by philiprmcgovern »

Thanks for the information, Fred. PO's are the scum of the earth, aren't they? I hope I never become one. Ha, ha.

Please let us know what you find out about the motor mounts. Some day, I'll be facing the same issue. It would have been nice of Yanmar to keep the same footprint, wouldn't it?

I haven't priced new engines but, if the $7,000 includes installation, I guess I'm not too terribly shocked. After all, it is a boat.

Did you, by any chance, get a price on another rebuild?

Many thanks and best wishes.

Phil McGovern
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Re: Yanmar Replacement Diesels

Post by Tanah-Keeta »

You might want to call Mack Boring in NJ and ask them about the mounts.
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Re: Yanmar Replacement Diesels

Post by fredandkathy »

Phil,

My rebuild came to $5K. The mechanic said there had been water intrusion because of so much pitting inside. A ticking time bomb! Where, when or how water came in is the ? Also, my exhaust risers were rusted and clogged, requiring replacement. Not expensive and should be replaced every 5 years per mechanic. So all is running well, very well, and we are ready to hit the islands this summer.

Fred
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GaryWizard
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Re: Yanmar Replacement Diesels

Post by GaryWizard »

Per the comment:
>> Also, my exhaust risers were rusted and clogged, requiring replacement. Not expensive and should be replaced every 5 years per mechanic.

At one point, I had problems with my port engine - it just did not run right or throttle-up. Talking with the Yanmar distributor near me (the boat was in Miami at the time), he told me it sounded as though the exhaust riser needed replacing. I pulled it off the engine - there were 2 pieces threaded together - and the distributor un-threaded them & installed the new riser. After reinstalling, the engine ran like new! A few months later when the starboard engine started running badly I knew exactly how to fix it.
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Mongoosemagic
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Re: Yanmar Replacement Diesels

Post by Mongoosemagic »

We also have the 2GM20F engines and have just found out that I have a cracked piston that needs to be replace, I have 2100 hours on the engines. Everyone says that the Yanmars should be good for 10-15,000 hours.

Has anyone else had problems like this?

Dale and Antha
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Re: Yanmar Replacement Diesels

Post by fredandkathy »

Dale,

The regional Yanmar rep I spoke to recently also said these engines should last over 10,000 hours if properly maintained, so a cracked piston at 2100 hours is probably unusual. I would call your regional rep for some suggestions. As you see from these posts, I just had a rebuild at 3,200 hours on my port engine and there was a lot wrong with it caused by salt water intrusion. How, when and where the water came in is the big ? but it was some time ago due to the pitting. But all is well now. The other engine has 3,300 hours and runs strong. Suggestion, make sure you replace your exhaust risers if you have not already done so. Fred
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