New member from the north, Ford 2715E

[SwedishEastCoast]

The reason for me ending up on this forum is the fact that i recently purchased a 28ft "silje 28".

It is a local produced motor cruiser with a stern cabin and were fitted with either the 120 or 80hp Ford 2700-series. I have the 120hp 2715E.

For you who are reading this i think that comment directly translates into "oh he has a Lehman engine", I would have hoped that that was the case because finding parts and tips would have been far more straight forward.

In Sweden it is common for larger motor boats from the 70/80s to have for example chrysler gasoline engines, or other small block versions. The diesel engines are often Volvo pentas which of course is (was?) a swedish brand.

So my engine, the 2715E, is not a Lehman. It is a european marinized version of the standard Ford engine.

As of now the boat has been on land since 2019 and im looking to do a thorough service before firing it up. The engine was running good upon exiting the water in 2019 so i just want to make sure that im starting with a nice setup, for example in reasoning regarding the need for change the oil and transmission cooler. The more or less fresh water in the gulf of bothnia has probably not caused that much corrosion but I´ll most likely change it anyway.

For you who are reading this I would be grateful for any information you might add regarding my engine, I feel a bit confused regarding what parts is valid for my engine since it is not a straight up Lehman.

 

[Mambo42]

Welcome aboard,

It is possible to find parts for the Ford Lehman in Europe, but I found out that ordering them in the US with American Diesel can save you quite a bit of money. In the UK there are some suppliers that have spare parts, but some parts are used, others are new. Prices however are through the roof and the knowledge level is not exactly what I expect.
Some on this forum gave the advice to call Brian of American Diesel and he is indeed an authority on Ford Lehman, can highly recommend him.

If you want advice on your engine you can call De Schiffart engine overhaul services (+31 518 471 791 ask for Ronald) in the Netherlands. They are specialists on Ford Lehman and am sure they will be able to tell you exactly what you have on your boat. I bought 2 overhauled 2715E's from them last year, they are running fine.
Once you know what you have you can contact Brian and he should be able to get the spare parts.

 

[SwedishEastCoast]

@Mambo42, thanks for your reply.

I have an ongoing conversation with American Diesel and i'm glad that it's a reasonable deal to buy directly from them since the know how they've got is extremely valuable and make you want to contribute to their business in any way you can.

Since you have bought an engine in europe, do you have any further information on what it means to name the engine a Dover or Dorset engine? Is that just some general despriction of where it was produced or is that companys who made marinized versions of the ford enginge, like Lehman?

I would love to know who made the marinization of my engine to know what manual to look for.

 

[Mambo42]

@Mambo42, thanks for your reply.

Since you have bought an engine in europe, do you have any further information on what it means to name the engine a Dover or Dorset engine? Is that just some general despriction of where it was produced or is that companys who made marinized versions of the ford enginge, like Lehman?

I would love to know who made the marinization of my engine to know what manual to look for.

My engine mechanic, Andy, in Corfu, Greece explained it once to me. The Ford engines were built in the UK, then shipped over to the US and Lehman would then marinize the engines after which they were used in boats and were then called Ford Lehman.

I expect that Dover and Dorset were the production locations of the engines, since these engines were extremely popular in trucks at the time. Andy told me that the majority of all trucks in the UK used these engines. But I expect that both Dover and Dorset made the engines to the exact same specifications.

But if you have any doubts or want to be sure I can recommend calling Ronald of De Schiffart in the Netherlands. He knows absolutely everything on these engines as well, he is, just like Brian, a walking encyclopedia.

 

[Anniesez]

The Dover and the Dorset are 2 different engines. The Dorset is the 2711 block.
120 hp. The Dover was the later 135.

 

[SwedishEastCoast]

I see, from the picture of my engine ID plate, would you say mine is neither then?

 

[hytedin]

https://www.lancingmarine.com

 

[Comodave]

Welcome aboard.

 

[rgano]

With my two Ford-Lehman 120s (the best way to refer to them on Trawler Forum), I found that the exhaust elbow needed change out every five years (I owned them 29 years), more or less. Watch carefully, under the elbow where the corrosion seemed eat through and thus start a slow rusty drip onto the heat exchangers. I would change mine now if I were you.

 

[Vanclomp]

Hi.
Authumn 2023 I bought a 1974 Silje 28 from Eskilstuna and brought it to my homeport north of Copenhagen. It only has the 4 cylinder 2712e engine, and after some research I believe it to be a WaterMota SeaScout marinization. Yours could likely be a WaterMota too.
Mine is a Dorset, and regarding the “Dorset” and “Dover” designations, you can read about it on the very comprehensive site everythingaboutboats.org. There is a lot of information about the Ford marine diesels in most of its marinizations.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Welcome aboard.