engine replacement on 28te

[Gee]

Have a 96 albin 28te engine box deign and the motor blew up. Has the peninsular 6.5L. Want to repower, any suggestions? Stay with the GM, yanmar or Cummins? Hard to decide. Thanks for any advice.

[Jeremyvmd]

A replacement peninsular will be the easiest and cheapest. However due to some naysayers a different motor may increase value of the boat. If I had endless funds I would consider Volvo or Cummins for a swap. Lots of yanmars out there but im not sure they would be my first choice.

[Gee]

The motor on the boat now is the original and I've had the boat about 10 years so its about 19 years old with about 2500 hrs. I am pleased with the performance so I might go ahead with the new peninsular. Its 320 hp and $25,000 motor and labor. Thanks.

[Jeremyvmd]

If you have been happy with it I would just get another!

[Cape Codder]

I would do the same. Replace with Pennisula.

[Mpayne]

As a former and very happy 28 TE owner with an older pensinsula Beast I would stay with pensinsula. Seems to me that the reason to repower is for your own use not staging for flip sale, so stay with a proven and more economical engine

[kerrye]

I own a GMC truck with a 6.5 diesel and am pretty familiar with the motor and its weaknesses. You definitely want a block cast by Navistar after GM sold the 6.5 to AM General. That block has the International Diamond or double triangle cast into the valley between the heads. All other blocks are too susceptible to cracking. There is a version of the 6.5 currently being built called the P400 which has a girdle at the bottom to strengthen it even more than the standard version. Not sure if that girdle will change the dimensions enough to cause it not to fit in a boat. I would think given the overall cost of a motor replacement in a boat, the P400 would be a worthwhile investment. What happened to your existing engine? Mine cracked the block and sent all the coolant into the oil pan.

[Norseman]

Why did the engine blow up?
2500 hrs sounds low for a diesel.
I know Perkins 4-108 on sailboats that reached 15,000 hrs without a hiccup. ( and with good maintence)

[kerrye]

6.5's are known for a number of problems: Cracking their blocks--often near the main bearing webs which were not strong enough. Blowing their headgaskets which sometimes results in bent rods if the coolant gets into the cylinders. Broken crankshafts. Getting holes in their cylinder walls--often #8 cylinder. The severity of each of these problems is related to the year of production of the engine blocks. Early ones were stronger although my 1993 block cracked at 103k miles. Blocks in the 1998 year range or so had a much greater propensity to crack. Around 2000 Navistar started casting the blocks and they improved significantly.

[John_Madison CT]

Go with another Peninsular. Excellent engines.

[Norseman]

"My 1993 cracked at 103 miles"

How many engine hours would that be?
Not to be snarky, but do you have a recording odometer, or are you converting engine hours to Miles based on an average speed or some other factor?

[Jeremyvmd]

I would guess since most boats of this class prob average around 8-10knts over a year (even if we cruise higher once you figure in maneuvering and no wake zones). it would take 10k hours to do 103k miles. On the other hand figuring 50mph average (realistically 30 is Probibly closer to the truth for most of us) your looking at just over 2000hrs (3300 for 30mph). And those numbers are probibly artificially low cuz they don't figure in the amount of time a truck idles. I would argue that a truck motor sees more shock and wear and tear and abuse than the diesels in our boats...

[Serenity]

I purchased my 28 that had been repowered in 2009 from a peninsula to a 315 Yanmar. The cost back then was under $30,000.00. I have had the boat for 5 years and the only problem I have had with the engine was the salt water pump had to be replaced.

[kerrye]

"My 1993 cracked at 103 miles"

How many engine hours would that be?
Not to be snarky, but do you have a recording odometer, or are you converting engine hours to Miles based on an average speed or some other factor?

I was talking about the 6.5 in my truck, not a boat. About 2500 hours roughly.