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Old 11-20-2016, 07:12 AM   #41
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My experience with Volvo comes from the mid '90s. Was chartering a boat that had been repowered with Volvos in the spring. Volvo was having problems with injector pumps. You could get all the new engines you wanted; warranty injector pumps were non existent. The owner went through 3 pumps in 8 months. The dealer to his credit, pulled pumps off his new inventory to help his customers and then had to wait till winter for replacements from Volvo. The lost charters cost me a couple thousand dollars. The owner sold the boat the following spring and bought one with 6-71 Detroits. Probably can't buy parts for those Volvos anymore; still can get anything you want for a 6-71.

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Old 11-21-2016, 04:14 PM   #42
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First, congrats to the new NT 32 owner, and welcome to the club! As for the NT switch to Volvo, my understanding is that it related at the time to what engines were available in the sizes they needed that met emissions standards. I belive there was a gap where Cummins didn't have anything in the market until the new versions came out (Tier 2 or 3, can't recall, nor do I recall the size). I think the issue lasted for a year to two.

Personally, we have a cummins, as do many of our boating friends. We have all been very happy with them and parts has never been a problem. Given how many of the 5.9 cummins there are out there, it makes parts easy to locate and quite affordable. I wouldn't necessarily walk from a Volvo, but based on the experience of people we know getting parts, and the price of the parts, I would need a really good reason to get a boat powered by them. We also have a friend who just got a Cabo sportfisher with Cats and he is also very happy (as is another friend with a Searay with twin cats).
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Old 11-21-2016, 04:18 PM   #43
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After cruising the East Coast/Caribbean for three years on my PDQ 34 I sold it and have come back home to the Left Coast. I've been looking for a NT 32 for several months and have to admit a Volvo engine eliminated a few possibilities. Yes, it's a bias, and I know some people who are pleased with their Volvo engines, but I have to feel comfortable with my choice, even if there's a bit of irrationality involved. Part of that irrationality is my history with 3 Volvo cars in the past. I kept wanting them to hold up to their reputation, but all three cars ended up being problems.

So this week I bought a 2010 NT 32 with a Cummins engine...
Contrats on the new boat. NT 32s are wonderful boats.
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Old 11-21-2016, 04:29 PM   #44
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Hmmm. American Tug seems to be doing fine.
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Old 11-21-2016, 05:02 PM   #45
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Darlin,
What are you looking for ... a ford chevy fight?
This IS a NT thread. Hmmmmm
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Old 02-10-2017, 08:56 PM   #46
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I have had several boats and must admit that the engines remain a mystery.

I have heard:

Volvo parts are expensive.
Cat 3100 series have bad blocks
Yanmars are wound too tight.
John Deere service is hard to find.

After formally surveying this year (enough $$ spent to buy a good used car) some of the above in my search search I now feel this:

Volvo parts are still expensive but tough engines.

Cat 3100 series are not anything I would ever buy because most owners have no clue how important after cooler service is. I caused a survey a pair of 3126B's and the seller was clueless to what he should have done on PM. The soft block issue is long gone. Aftercoolers are the issue of the day.

I tried to buy a boat with a couple of 600 hp Yanmars and discovered that the aftercoolers had four dissimilar metals inside and six zincs to try to forestall problems. They can't be easily serviced. New ones cost over $5000. Passed on that boat. Only small Yanmars may be wound too tight.


The bottom line is that I went back to Cummins because they are tough and parts are reasonable.
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Old 02-10-2017, 09:04 PM   #47
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I like my 120 Ford Lehmans. Natrually aspirated and mechanically fuel injected. Easy to maintain. Call American Diesel for parts.
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Old 02-10-2017, 09:30 PM   #48
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...
John Deere service is hard to find....
Chose my servicing boatyard since it works on John Deere engines (have a JD 4045), despite being four hours away from home port and requiring car shuttles, but providing an interesting trip. (Have my engine professionally serviced annually.)
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Old 02-10-2017, 10:00 PM   #49
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I have had several boats and must admit that the engines remain a mystery.

I have heard:

Volvo parts are expensive.
Cat 3100 series have bad blocks
Yanmars are wound too tight.
John Deere service is hard to find.
That's why I have Perkins!
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Old 02-11-2017, 08:45 AM   #50
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I have heard: ..............................
Eventually, you learn not to take anything you read on a forum too seriously.
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Old 02-11-2017, 10:47 AM   #51
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Far too much brand loyalty out there. And where does it come from? Out of thin air?

Most seem to agree if you don't get a Cummins you're gonna die. And then there's 5 or 6 other engines like Volvo and Lugger. I have an industrial engine (Mitsubishi) most often found on tractors and back hoes. But it does get marineized by at least Klassen, Vetus and Westerbeke. Don't know anything bad about the Mitsu. It's been excellent for me. And there are probably several to many other engines out there. Why not talk about them, buy them and run them?

Volvo parts are expensive but hardley ever need parts. What is bad about any engine? Can one actually buy the wrong engine? Is there a bad engine out there? For that matter is there even a bad car engine? Don't know any.

My guess it's the marineazations.
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Old 02-11-2017, 01:40 PM   #52
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Far too much brand loyalty out there. And where does it come from? Out of thin air?

Most seem to agree if you don't get a Cummins you're gonna die. And then there's 5 or 6 other engines like Volvo and Lugger. I have an industrial engine (Mitsubishi) most often found on tractors and back hoes. But it does get marineized by at least Klassen, Vetus and Westerbeke. Don't know anything bad about the Mitsu. It's been excellent for me. And there are probably several to many other engines out there. Why not talk about them, buy them and run them?

Volvo parts are expensive but hardley ever need parts. What is bad about any engine? Can one actually buy the wrong engine? Is there a bad engine out there? For that matter is there even a bad car engine? Don't know any.

My guess it's the marineazations.
From personal experience and the follow up research I can say there is definitely one very questionable engine out there . The aluminum block Yanmar 440 Hp 6LY2A circa maybe 2001-2007. This engine has been replaced with a 24 valve version in an attempt to avoid the engine bomb throw away cycle. Yes if the engine is given more than average care and maintenance it will survive. It is definitely an engine that runs on the edge of disaster.
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Old 02-11-2017, 01:43 PM   #53
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Far too much brand loyalty out there. And where does it come from? Out of thin air?

Most seem to agree if you don't get a Cummins you're gonna die. And then there's 5 or 6 other engines like Volvo and Lugger. I have an industrial engine (Mitsubishi) most often found on tractors and back hoes. But it does get marineized by at least Klassen, Vetus and Westerbeke. Don't know anything bad about the Mitsu. It's been excellent for me. And there are probably several to many other engines out there. Why not talk about them, buy them and run them?

Volvo parts are expensive but hardley ever need parts. What is bad about any engine? Can one actually buy the wrong engine? Is there a bad engine out there? For that matter is there even a bad car engine? Don't know any.

My guess it's the marineazations.
Wow,
How to answer this?
Of course there are good and bad engines! People often make the mistake of looking at their own personal slice of the world and making assumptions based on it. In reality, over the many numbers of engines produced reliability patterns develop.
I can speak of some of the auto engines I have had to maintain and repair.
Porsche made a lot of water cooled engines that had a lot of incredibly expensive to repair issues as recently as 8 years ago. VW produced direct injection engines that ate camshafts regularly, Volvo produced an inline 6 cylinder turbo gasoline engine that typically did not make it out of warranty without new pistons and rings etc, etc.
Just because you drove a Boxter for 8 years without losing an engine means exactly...nothing, statistically speaking!
So, when it comes to boat engines and the reporting of issues on the internet, my own personal method is to read the complaints with a caution regarding the reality of internet complaining.
In other words, I read what I can find and assess the info accordingly.
I don't give much credit to the guy who complains about what I consider to be a maintenance failure while thinking hard about things I read over and over.
Yanmar and Volvo parts are expensive! Volvo engines are not as well supported as they age as other brands. Got a Cummins #53 casting engine block ? Get ready for a possibly expensive failure!
Like anything else there is a mixture of truth, suspicion and fantasy to be found online when reading about brands of engines. The trick is in figuring out where your interests fit in the mess.
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Old 02-11-2017, 02:29 PM   #54
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That's why I have Perkins!
Same here. Except mine is painted Volvo green. The same engine can be purchased in CAT yellow, Perkins blue, and whatever color New Holland paints theirs...
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Old 11-25-2017, 06:29 PM   #55
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Volvo in Nordic tug

Having started my boating life in UK the Volvo Penta engines have a reputation for being long lived and very reliable. They have been making large marine engines for a long time. ( don't confuse with Volvo cars , different beasts).
Volvo actually bought out Albin motors to improve their range of small diesels.
I think you will find the choice of engines used is often based on the cost to the manufacturer. As I remember , and it's been a while , Volvo offer a good deal to manufacturers and perhaps make up the price in the long run with part and service .....sound familiar GM , ford etc!
But Volvo did have some duds particularly in the smaller 2-4 cyl range based on the wrong base engines in the 80's.
I was luck enough to recently spend a week on Puget sound, on a Nordic 26, '84 with a fairly new D3-75hp engine ,(500 hrs) 4 cyl with a turbo but not even a hint of turbo whistle. ( in fact I had to look hard to find it had a turbo!)
It had the full electronic fuel control and was a dream engine to run.
Low reving max about 32-3400rpm, we ran about 15-1800 at 6.5knts very quiet and smooth. Best part was the fuel economy 11.9 gal for 29 hrs motoring. About .4/ hr. Magic.
I Bet a similiar engine would work great in the NT 32 as long as you didn't want to go 10-12 knts.
I really liked the 26NT and the 32 looks perfect for my latest plans...... but the 200 hp Cummings ( or more!) in most puts me off, you just won't get much less than 2 gal/hr base in their own fuel usage charts at any speed. Cummins do look like great durable engines though.
Shame the 4 cyl version is not considered very good.....so I've heard......
Cheers, interesting thread
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Old 11-25-2017, 07:58 PM   #56
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Yes I’d love a NT32 w this engine.
But the NT hull is designed to go faster.
One could go slow but seaworthyness, boat handling and economy would be better if the hull was closer to FD. However a FD would only require 50hp.
However it’s fairly close to a (power/hull) match.
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Old 11-25-2017, 10:03 PM   #57
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My Volvos suffered three rebuilds on two engines due to piston failures caused by faulty parts that Volvo knew about but hid in a service bulletin. I can deal with issues, it happens in the mechanical world. I can't deal with the shoddy way Volvo handles it, or more to the point, did not. Also disagree with the way Volvo leaves all of their customer service to dealers and shirks any responsibility of their own.

I'll never, ever, own another Volvo product. Ever.
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Old 11-26-2017, 12:30 PM   #58
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Old 11-26-2017, 03:39 PM   #59
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My Volvos suffered three rebuilds on two engines due to piston failures caused by faulty parts that Volvo knew about but hid in a service bulletin. I can deal with issues, it happens in the mechanical world. I can't deal with the shoddy way Volvo handles it, or more to the point, did not. Also disagree with the way Volvo leaves all of their customer service to dealers and shirks any responsibility of their own.

I'll never, ever, own another Volvo product. Ever.
Can't blame you, I would never want a Volvo if I had your troubles.
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Old 11-26-2017, 08:38 PM   #60
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Originally Posted by warren View Post
Having started my boating life in UK the Volvo Penta engines have a reputation for being long lived and very reliable. They have been making large marine engines for a long time. ( don't confuse with Volvo cars , different beasts).
Volvo actually bought out Albin motors to improve their range of small diesels.
I think you will find the choice of engines used is often based on the cost to the manufacturer. As I remember , and it's been a while , Volvo offer a good deal to manufacturers and perhaps make up the price in the long run with part and service .....sound familiar GM , ford etc!
But Volvo did have some duds particularly in the smaller 2-4 cyl range based on the wrong base engines in the 80's.
I was luck enough to recently spend a week on Puget sound, on a Nordic 26, '84 with a fairly new D3-75hp engine ,(500 hrs) 4 cyl with a turbo but not even a hint of turbo whistle. ( in fact I had to look hard to find it had a turbo!)
It had the full electronic fuel control and was a dream engine to run.
Low reving max about 32-3400rpm, we ran about 15-1800 at 6.5knts very quiet and smooth. Best part was the fuel economy 11.9 gal for 29 hrs motoring. About .4/ hr. Magic.
I Bet a similiar engine would work great in the NT 32 as long as you didn't want to go 10-12 knts.
I really liked the 26NT and the 32 looks perfect for my latest plans...... but the 200 hp Cummings ( or more!) in most puts me off, you just won't get much less than 2 gal/hr base in their own fuel usage charts at any speed. Cummins do look like great durable engines though.
Shame the 4 cyl version is not considered very good.....so I've heard......
Cheers, interesting thread
Warren.
That is a D2-75. Max rpm is 3,000. I know because I put on in my Nordic Tug 26.

The diesel is built by Shibaura diesel in Japan. It is the Japanese version of a Perkins diesel.

For the Volvo haters in the crowd, the same engine comes in Perkins blue, Cat yellow, Lugger white, and whatever color New Holland paints their engines.

I agree that it is well suited to the NT 26 hull.
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