Views on John Deere 6125AFM75

Hi all,

A GB52 for sale in OZ has caught my attention. Powered by JD6125AFM75 at 520 hPa with 1400 hours.

I don't know much about JD engines, so any experience anyone has had with this model it would be great to hear from you.THANKS,

H.

My 80-HP JD-4045 runs like a deer, and the JD mechanic prefers working on my four cylinder rather than JD's larger engines. Perhaps it's due to easy access.

BrisHamish said:

Hi all,

A GB52 for sale in OZ has caught my attention. Powered by JD6125AFM75 at 520 hPa with 1400 hours.

I don't know much about JD engines, so any experience anyone has had with this model it would be great to hear from you.THANKS,

H.

Click to expand...

It has a great reputation. I would consider it a plus for the boat.

Can`t speak for the JD engines, but as to performance I have observed a GB52 I know, with I think approx 500hp Cats, pretty much up on the plane. Paid captain, no owners, onboard. Fuel consumption?

In the US, for now, JD makes all the bigger farm equipment including diesels. Many commercial boats are replacing older engines with JD in my area. A local launch service replaced 6+ twin setups with JD a couple years ago. Replaced DD 12V71s. No issues, even with hot dog captains. Wish I would have bought the 12v71s.

Very happy with my JD 4045 in my boat.

Ted

It's interesting reading boatdiesel.com. You almost never read about Deere engines, yet they are in a lot of boats. Maybe it's the wrong audience? But in general, I think no news is good news when it comes to marine engines. Luggers are the same way. 5,000-10,000 hrs on them is nothing.

twistedtree said:

It's interesting reading boatdiesel.com. You almost never read about Deere engines, yet they are in a lot of boats.... But in general, I think no news is good news when it comes to marine engines....

Click to expand...

Makes sense.
Integrity seem to fit JD as standard in new boats sold here,they used Steyr 3-4 years back.

I have twin JD 6068TFMs and have nothing but good things to say about them and about JD in general. I know a lot of folks with either 4045s or 6068s and have never heard a bad word. The expected overhaul time for mine is 12-15,000 hours. So, 1400 is just well broken in. I also would consider the JD to be a plus factor for the GB.

Peter-the Luggers are JD blocks with Lugger add-ons. Same dependability as the JD.

Thanks guys for the prompt thoughts, it's very helpful. Will let you know how it goes in due course! H.

Even the Navy likes them. Yesterday I watched a JD tractor pulling RIB's out of the water.

But, no matter what the engine color it comes down to prior adherence to maintenance. A few years ago I was considering a similar GB with 6125s. The very capable owners had not performed after cooler maintenance nor exhaust elbow checks - Achilles heels of any newer marine engine.

Then add in years of low hour use just sitting around in a seawater environment - not always a good sign. Long lived engines are associated with owner diligence and regular use. The 6125s started out good, but are they now is the real question.

sunchaser said:

But, no matter what the engine color it comes down to prior adherence to maintenance. A few years ago I was considering a similar GB with 6125s. The very capable owners had not performed after cooler maintenance nor exhaust elbow checks - Achilles heels of any newer marine engine.

Then add in years of low hour use just sitting around in a seawater environment - not always a good sign. Long lived engines are associated with owner diligence and regular use. The 6125s started out good, but are they now is the real question.

Click to expand...

That's certainly true with a sea water cooled aftercooler, which I see the 6125AFM75 is. My 6090AFM75 has a coolant cooled aftercooler, so not subject to the same hazards.

And I see that the 526hp model is M4 rated which is WOT for only 1 out of every 8hrs, and for expected use of 800hrs or less per year. But that's probably fine for the GB, and typical of most recreational boats. In contrast an M2 rated output for the same engine is 400hp and supports 16 out of 24hrs at WOT, and expected use of up to 3000hrs per year.

THD said:

Peter-the Luggers are JD blocks with Lugger add-ons. Same dependability as the JD.

Click to expand...

Not always. Our Lugger L6108A is based on a Komatsu 6108.

Conrad-interesting to know-I have a client right next to Lugger here in Seattle and know a few folks there. Always thought they were all JDs.

Dashews used JD

THD said:

Conrad-interesting to know-I have a client right next to Lugger here in Seattle and know a few folks there. Always thought they were all JDs.

Click to expand...

Yup, mostly, but not all.

I always thought JD and lugger both used Komatsu to marinize?

FF said:

I always thought JD and lugger both used Komatsu to marinize?

Click to expand...

My somewhat limited understanding is that Lugger marinized John Deeres in the smaller size range and marinized Komatsus in the larger ranges. Having said that, our 1995 Lugger/Komatsu is not that large at 350 HP/7.1 Litre.

Lugger no longer marinizes engines for propulsion use due to emission regs; I suspect that John Deere's strong push with their marinizing efforts didn't help.

Conrad said:

Not always. Our Lugger L6108A is based on a Komatsu 6108.

Click to expand...

ANd I have heard that not all John Deeres are John Deeres. I do know they used a lot of Toyota blocks as well....and that is not a bad thing.

Baker said:

ANd I have heard that not all John Deeres are John Deeres. I do know they used a lot of Toyota blocks as well....and that is not a bad thing.

Click to expand...

And if you have a small John Deere farm tractor with an under 100 HP diesel it is a Yanmar. No idea if that applies to their marine engines.

Conrad said:

And if you have a small John Deere farm tractor with an under 100 HP diesel it is a Yanmar. No idea if that applies to their marine engines.

Click to expand...

And if its a Yanmar it could be anything

twistedtree said:

That's certainly true with a sea water cooled aftercooler, which I see the 6125AFM75 is. My 6090AFM75 has a coolant cooled aftercooler, so not subject to the same hazards. r.

Click to expand...

I'd guess all dry stack newer Ns utilize jacket water after cooling. A few years ago I plumbed around a seawater after cooler due to internal leakage. Engine ran fine, costs to repair not cheap. Oh the joys of newer diesels.

markpierce said:

My 80-HP JD-4045 runs like a deer, and the JD mechanic prefers working on my four cylinder rather than JD's larger engines. Perhaps it's due to easy access.

Click to expand...

I respectfully request that this picture be removed.
My wife wants to know why our boat is not this clean.
This is really causing me grief and probably future days of work.
(You could eat off that engine)

I don't know the lugger models off hand, but in the size range that you would see on our boats, they are either Deere or Komatsu engines with Lugger-designed and build marinization. I think the Deeres are either the 6068 or 6125 block. I don't know what Komatsu engine is used. I know they use Toyota engines in some of the generators as well as the Deere 4045. And Shibaura in the smaller generators.

I could find out definitely for any model if it really matters.

I do happen to know:

Lugger is the trade name for Northern Lights/Alaska Diesel in-house Marinisation of industrial Diesel engines, used for both propulsion and prime movers for generation.

Current Lugger Marinized engines are available for USEPA Tier III (which is the current emissions requirement for small commercial and pleasure craft) generation from 5kWe to 40kWe. From 50 kWe to 545kWe we use already Marinized base engines...currently John Deere and Scania.

We still provide Lugger Marinised Deere-based generators for IMO II emissions required applications.

In the past we provided Lugger propulsion engines using both John Deere and Komatsu base engines. None of these products made it past the USEPA III emissions regulations, therefore we left the propulsion market temporarily.

We are currently developing the next generation of Lugger Marinised propulsion and generation engines following our traditional goal of finding the best, most reliable base Diesel engine available, and engineering/designing the most durable marinisation components to exceed customer expectations on reliability and durability. Once we are satisfied that we have met these goals, we then will proudly call it a Lugger.

It's not the same model as yours, but I'm delighted with the JD 6076s in my GB--one of the reasons I bought this particular boat.

That's great news about getting back into producing propulsion engines. We are very happy with our almost 12,000 hour Lugger in our Nordic Tug.

Pacopico,do you have a estimated timeframe for that?

The goal is to have the first New Lugger series to the market next year (2017). We have base engine selection done, and are working on marinisation now. After we have a Marinised engine, we must retest emissions, tweak fuel tables and controls as necessary, and test for final emissions certification. As well, we must receive class certification...which is an equally arduous task - requiring both theoretical and practical testing of the engine and its' integral components (crank, rods, crankcase, etc.)