I'm looking at buying a boat with twin 135HP NA Perkins 6.354 engines, 1986 vintage.
1) Does anyone know of anyone in the Seabrook, Texas area (Clear Lake, Kemah, Galveston, etc...) that works on Perkins engines? I've tried all the main places, and most just don't work on Perkins anymore.
2) I'd like to try to get a mechanical survey of the engines - but again, can't find anyone that even works on them, much less does much of a survey. There was one company that I contacted that said they *did* do surveys, but: it was $1000 for 2 engines (4-5 hours), did NOT include an oil analysis (that would be extra), and that they could not do a compression check. So for $1000, I'm basically getting a visual check... Oh, and they might be available to do it sometime in the next 3-6 weeks...
3) The specific concern with these engines that I *know* of is this: When we went out for a trial run, the engines started up and ran great at low speed (broker probably started them before I got there - so can't tell about how well they really start *cold*). Once we got out on open water, and the broker took the speed up to about 2000 RPM, both engines POURED white smoke out of them. We backed off, headed back to the dock, and all returned to normal (again, running about 1200-1500 RPM). Closer to the dock, the broker tried powering up each engine, one at a time. Again, both engines had a HUGE amount of white smoke coming out of the exhaust.
The broker spoke with the owner, who said they probably had not run the boat at over 1000 RPM or so for the past 2+ years. The broker, the owner, and the owner's mechanic went out a few days later, ran the boat some more, and got the engines up to 2500 RPM with no or very little smoke.
Was this just an issue of the engines sitting idle, or very lightly used for a LONG time? It's strange that both engines did exactly the same thing. Maybe blowing steam from water that had accumulated in the exhaust for a long time??
Otherwise, the boat and the engines appear to be in very good condition.
I've heard many people say the Perkins are nearly bulletproof. But finding someone to work on them in the Galveston area seems to be a challenge.
Thanks!
John
1) Does anyone know of anyone in the Seabrook, Texas area (Clear Lake, Kemah, Galveston, etc...) that works on Perkins engines? I've tried all the main places, and most just don't work on Perkins anymore.
2) I'd like to try to get a mechanical survey of the engines - but again, can't find anyone that even works on them, much less does much of a survey. There was one company that I contacted that said they *did* do surveys, but: it was $1000 for 2 engines (4-5 hours), did NOT include an oil analysis (that would be extra), and that they could not do a compression check. So for $1000, I'm basically getting a visual check... Oh, and they might be available to do it sometime in the next 3-6 weeks...
3) The specific concern with these engines that I *know* of is this: When we went out for a trial run, the engines started up and ran great at low speed (broker probably started them before I got there - so can't tell about how well they really start *cold*). Once we got out on open water, and the broker took the speed up to about 2000 RPM, both engines POURED white smoke out of them. We backed off, headed back to the dock, and all returned to normal (again, running about 1200-1500 RPM). Closer to the dock, the broker tried powering up each engine, one at a time. Again, both engines had a HUGE amount of white smoke coming out of the exhaust.
The broker spoke with the owner, who said they probably had not run the boat at over 1000 RPM or so for the past 2+ years. The broker, the owner, and the owner's mechanic went out a few days later, ran the boat some more, and got the engines up to 2500 RPM with no or very little smoke.
Was this just an issue of the engines sitting idle, or very lightly used for a LONG time? It's strange that both engines did exactly the same thing. Maybe blowing steam from water that had accumulated in the exhaust for a long time??
Otherwise, the boat and the engines appear to be in very good condition.
I've heard many people say the Perkins are nearly bulletproof. But finding someone to work on them in the Galveston area seems to be a challenge.
Thanks!
John
