Engine Surveys

[Prospective]

I prefer to have someone who is certified in that engine manufacturer survey the engine. Things you listed (seal leaks, exhaust color, temps, oil analysis) that can be done by any diesel mechanic.

However, it's the other little things. Recall's, known issues, that I'm more concerned about. Yanmar had a series of 'soft blocks' on their 6 cyclinders engines for a certain number of years, but only on certain serial number ranges. They also had an issue with valves dropping on a certain model and range of years. (On that one you could tell by the type/color of a certain part). I'd like to know those little 'gotcha's.

I think this is also important for computer controlled engines. Often it's only the certified techs who have access to the software that can allow them to look at the computer to review faults codes and other diagnostic info.

 

[Shrew]

Shrew, Is there such a thing as factory trained boat engine mechanics, like with cars.

Yes. Whether Factory 'Trained' or Factory 'Certified' (we might be splitting hairs there) Techs and the Service Center need to be certified by the manufacturer. This is more than just hanging a shingle on the building.

This isn't to say there aren't very good mechanics out there who are not certified by one or more manufacturers. But for me, I at least know there is a basic standard. With certification usually comes other benefits, like a path to the vendor technical support resources, internal documentation and analysis software and the pc interfaces to gather data for analysis.