A27 - Engine Room Refit

[sail149]

Moe Nissan imfo
This is what the riser should look like, and it's apparently a Nissan unit not a repurposed from SOMTHING else.
Here is a forum dedicated to the Ld28 Nissan engines road use) too who are interested in the marine application, some albin ers have posted
http://nissandiesel.dyndns.org/viewtopic.php?t=2762
Check out the list of threads # 2 has particularly good stuff.

Also here's is a very recent post of somebody with 2 supercharger LD28 engines in his boat with mercruiser alpha drives . He is asking about overheating but was this a stock mercruiser application and did mercruiser use the Ld28 engine for their own use? And would parts fit the Nissan version?
http://nissandiesel.dyndns.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3720

[sail149]

So I though I found a Chrysler Nissan Marine Diesels
It does exist but is based on a slightly larger 6cyl engine! The SD33 3300cc
Mind you Chrysler marine parts are probably harder than Nissan parts to find!
Here is a Brochure and pics of engine

[sail149]

Getting back on topic...
This thread
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=7018&hilit=Eseyoung#p41731
Might be of use
Eseyoung had a failing riser and made his own
How is your manifold?
W

[JT48348]

Warren: very good info.

My exhaust rider is the one easyyoung had made. Not the way to go.

The correct exhaust riser is in fact available and bolts right up. It's a Barr Marine exhaust elbow #20-0082. They are available. So your idea that the exhaust manifold might also be available has some merit. I haven't found one yet. I'm wondering if there's a number somewhere on the manifold or it could be matched to something.

The Barr exhaust manifold is clearly depicted in the marine supplement for the Ld28 manual. If only the exhaust manifold was that simple. There's no parts # listed for the marinized components. Just diagrams of how it's put together.

Mark D got a quote of about $2500 to have a manifold made. I will be exploring that further.

From my research the Ld28 was marinized by a company that's no longer in business. And all the inventory was bought by Jesco in California and the ref guy Gary and his number are no longer good.

I contacted at a marina in Bellingham WA. Guy there rebuilds a and gets parts for the SD33 and get some parts for the Ld28. But not the manifold. Sent him pictures of my engine and the manifold and he pronounced it not worth working on. He sells rebuilt SD33s but that engine is about 16% bigger than the Ld28 and won't fit near as I can tell.

Going to try and pull the engine next week and then take a hard look at it.

[JT48348]

Meanwhile, acquired a spare engine while bargain shopping. Idk what I'm going to do with it or what exactly its status is. It not running and needs a rebuild. It may have issues. And has the wrong transmission.

[Beta Don]

That looks like the non-intercooled version of my engine - 75 hp? The exhaust elbow is completely different from mine too. Is that a 4JH2 or a 4JH3?

My engine didn't come with the 'correct' Kanzaki trans either. The Yanmar dealership which rebuilt the engine put a Hurth ZF-45A on it because they had a new one laying around which was left over from another project. No complaints from me - The ZF-45A is a much heavier duty, hydraulic trans, capable of handling about 300 HP

Don

[sail149]

JT
I missed that you had aquired the Yanmar in photo. Nice! (Don it's a 4jh3-te )
Seems like a no brainier to put that in in place of the Nissan.
How do you know it needs a rebuild? It looks remarkably clean. Looks like it's on a new engine pallet
Was it a takeout for a replacement engine?
It will be so much lighter than the Nissan it's like a few extra HP , and so much quieter!
Warren

[JT48348]

It's a 4JH3-te. a good project for someone who knows diesels. May be a bit beyond me

[sail149]

This give you a starting point for cost of a rebuilt engine
http://www.dieselenginetrader.com/engines.cfm?ID=81
Warren

[JT48348]

Removing the Engine

I spent the winter waiting for this moment. If I can get the engine out of the engine room, I can strip the remaining plumbing and electrical, and begin power washing the hull and preping for interior repaint. My original plan was try and use a wrecker with a boom to pull the engine from the boat. I planned on them being able to reach the boat from thge side, approximately amidships. Otherwise I;d have to move the boat on the trailer, pulling it out far enough to get the wrecker vehicle behind it. This is how most people pull their engine on a A27, from the rear---but I didn't have that luxury in my current home made boatyard. I called a local yard and exchnaged photos with the owner. As I explained what I wanted him to do, it became apparent that a small wrecker wouldn't have a long enough boom, or the right angle to get up under the pilothouse and lift the engine.

At the same time, I got my hands on an engine hoist, so I will be able to move the pulled engine around the garage. When the wrecker service tells me they cant get up under the pilothouse to pull the engine. I came up with the brilliant idea of trying to use the engine hoist to pull the engine and get it on deck. From deck level I could get it aft, where the boom could reach it and get it off the boat. The problem: the folding 2ton engine hoist weighs 145lbs and its 8 feet from the ground to the cockpit combing on the A27. How do you eat an elephant? one small piece at a time. So I disassembled the hoist into 3-4 pieces and then reassembled it inside the cockpit.

At this point I'm thinking I'm pretty cleaver. I took some measurements before I moved the hoist and confirmed it would fit in the cockpit, length and width wise. Further I determined that the hoist legs would alctually be supported in the fwd engine hatch lip, spaning the open engine bay. This meant the engine hoist would in fact lift the Nissan out of the engine compartment. Once above deck, I could slide a engine compartment hatch door underneath and lower the engine to the deck, then slide it aft to where the wrecker boom might reach it.

I hooked up a chain with some spare anchor shackles to the two lift points and started pumping away. The engine came right off the mounts and swung free. But it was a tight fit, and the hoist lifting point wasn't quite dead center. Somewhere around this point, I'm studying the engine as it hangs there below the deck, but off the mounts, and I realize it might be too wide to pass between the hoist legs in order to clear the deck. I take another measurement. Sure enough the aft engine mounts are 22" wide and the space between the hoist legs is.....20". Thus ends my great engine hoist idea.

I briefly consider trying to build some sort of mini-gantry that might allow the engine to come up and out onto the cockpit deck, and give up when I call the wrecker service back to discuss more options. Their only suggestion: remove the pilothouse so a mid-size wrecker can get a giant boom directly verticle of the engine and pick it straight up.

I decided to poke around the pilothouse, and decide its not impossible to detach the pilothouse and shift it foward. And so I ended up removing the pilothouseand sliding it forward approximately 3 feet to gain overhead access to the engine.

[Beta Don]

You're an ingenious guy for sure JT - I would have never thought of doing it that way!

I used an all terrain forklift to remove and replace my engine. We had a 3" 'boom' about 15 feet long which fit on the forks and with the forklift at the stern of the boat, it was easy to lift it out and drive away with it - No chain-fall needed . . . . we did it all with the forklift hydraulics

Don

[JT48348]

Pilothouse out of the way, I call the wrecker. The thing about wreckers is they charge by the hour. A small one is $75, a bigger one $125. And they count the driving time to and from. And you have to make sure you have the right size, least the boom not reach far enough. I ended up sending several photos prior to the dispatch so the owner would be sure to send the right truck.

From start to finish it took less than 20 minutes. The Nissan Ld28 came right out, minus the heat exchanger which was removed prior. If you find its a little tight, spin the engine diagonally and it will fit through the engine hatch opening no problem. My engine had two lifting points along the engine centerline.

[Beta Don]

The $64 dollar question . . . . what's going back in there???

Don

[JT48348]

I'm leaning heavily towards the 65hp Cummins like Mark D. His real world feedback sounds promising. But I'm a ways from making that decision.

I'm selling off the Nissan and the Yanmar if anyone is ambitious and wants a good deal. I just can't undertake an engine rebuild-- have to keep to the boat refitt schedule....

[Beta Don]

I'm selling off the Nissan and the Yanmar if anyone is ambitious and wants a good deal. I just can't undertake an engine rebuild-- have to keep to the boat refitt schedule....

I have a Yanmar of my own for sale . . . . with a boat wrapped around it!

I'm asking less for the whole package (less the trailer) than I paid for the engine alone. We're looking at moving up to a 38 or 40' two cabin trawler in the very near future, so no time (and little interest) to spend repairing the boat. Somebody's gonna get a deal

Don