My Craigslist A25

[kerrye]

You can see the voltmeter drop as the glowplugs turn on in this Vetus video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4biETfTllOM

[Beta Don]

I'll BET that guy would be tickled PINK if he found some sucker to give him $2K for that OLD engine! You don't want a YSB-8 even if it's FREE! - It's a single cylinder, raw water cooled antique Yanmar which someone else hated enough to spend the big $$$ to repower with something MUCH less troublesome. It's also not enough engine for your boat . . . . it would be working it's little heart out to get you up to near hull speed and there would be nothing left in reserve
Spend your $2K on the little 4 cylinder Vetus if need be and don't give the Yanmar another thought
The above recommendation comes from one of Yanmars biggest fans - I've had 4 of them and wouldn't buy anything else . . . . but I did help a friend repower his 22' sailboat when he had to get his eaten up YSB-8 out. Saltwater, aluminum and raw water cooling do not go well together

Don

[WillieC]

Don, go ahead and tell him what you REALLY think of that little old engine. Too funny.

[ednlorna]

Yes, I pumped the bulb on the fuel line.

kerrye, these are great suggestions, thanks! I'm certainly appreciative! I loved the James Wilson YouTube video in the link you provided. I didn't mean to give the impression that I have written off the Vetus, I totally agree that diesels are rugged and durable. I'm just brainstorming possible courses of action here.

It just so happens, I have had experience with a small Mitsubishi 4-cylinder engine before. We inherited my Mother-in-law's mini-camper. it was based on 1983 Dodge Ram (Mitsubishi Mighty Max) truck built by General RV Industries. A great little fuel efficient camper. It ran, but not well. Prior operators routinely used starting fluid to start it, when perhaps all that was wrong were the glow plugs.

Long story short, I spent a "small fortune" on mechanics who were going to rebuild it this little camper that my wife was so attached to. After a long period of unnecessary drama, during which we could not enjoy our little camper, it occurred to me that the original engine was beyond my capabilities and the capabilities of the mechanics I had employed to rebuild. I realized that it was difficult, if not impossible, to get parts for it in North America. As for finding a diesel mechanic who could repair/rebuild it, I had zero success with that endeavor.

I ended up purchasing a Japanese Domestic Engine (JDM) from a guy out of British Columbia who specializes in importing these engines. The JDM was out of a 2001 Mitsu Pajero (called Montero here) and has given me great reliable service for five years and running.

[ednlorna]

Beta Don:

Good point! Obviously, a bad example on my part. I admit to having a romance with CL!

If you are the resident expert on Beta Diesels, I'm definitely fortunate you stumbled on this thread.

Assuming the Vetus is a write-off (granted an unproven assumption at this point), what would you recommend for repowering my little A 25?

Best Regards,

Ed

[kerrye]

Don't let your experience with the Ram color your views of Mitsubishi diesels. I have Mitsibushi Fuso truck with a 4 cylinder diesel and it is absolutely great. Westerbeke for instance, which sells a lot of engines, marinizes small Mitsubishi diesels. That's what I have in my A24--a Westerbeke 42. If I were in your shoes and in the unlikely event the Vetus is irredeemable, I'd use whatever decent used 24-25hp used marine diesel I could get my hands on for a reasonable price, excluding things like raw water cooled versions, Renaults, etc.

[Beta Don]

I ended up purchasing a Japanese Domestic Engine (JDM) from a guy out of British Columbia who specializes in importing these engines. The JDM was out of a 2001 Mitsu Pajero (called Montero here) and has given me great reliable service for five years and running.

Been there, done that . . . . just last year

A battery hold down 'J' bolt came loose on my Kubota diesel garden tractor poked a hole in the radiator (unknown to me) and by the time I found it, the engine had overheated. It would have been nearly $4K to get it repaired at the Kubota dealership. I found a guy in Kentucky on eBay who imports used diesel engines from Japan and for $1K I bought an identical 3 cylinder Kubota engine which originally powered some sort of rice picker. It only had 175 hours on it. I had to strip it down and replace the exhaust manifold, intake manifold, Timing case cover (which has the alternator mount on it) the crankshaft pulley and the flywheel from my old engine onto the 'new' engine. A new radiator and I was up and running for much, much less than going any other route

I suspect just routine maintenance and a new glow plug or two will have your little Vetus up and running for not much money and you'll have a nice running A25 that you can THEN begin pouring money into

Don

[WillieC]

From what little I understand, there may be more than just glow plugs. It may involve all the circuitry that lights off the glow plugs. Since this is a high power draw circuit, there may be a relay involved, with its trigger circuit, a low amperage portion, maybe a timer so you don't burn up the plugs? (They do have a limit before you let the smoke out of them.) And it all starts with bad grounds and corroded connections. Each piece of the circuit. Now don't get me wrong, but that yellow hunk of metal looks like it might have an issue or two with bad connections. The easiest part is changing the glow plugs, it is the troubleshooting that makes it all worthwhile. A free education! Don't be overwhelmed by any of this, what a great start on owning this boat. VoltOhmMeter skills are essential to these projects. It all depends on how much you want to do. Paying a skilled mechanic definitely has its place, but he won't be there as you motor up the ICW.

[kerrye]

The most likely culprit in my view is the solenoid which powers the glow plugs and it should be pretty easy to troubleshoot. I doubt there is a timer since it operates with a pushbutton.

Trace the wires back from the glowplugs themselves to the solenoid which powers them and make sure it's providing 12 volts to the plugs when the button is pushed. If the solenoid is bad and you don't want to spring the $$ to replace it since you still have doubts about the engine, get a heavy gauge jumper wire and energize the glow plugs with it for about 30 seconds or so and then try to start it. Of course you still may have individually bad glow plugs so they should be tested if it doesn't start after you are sure they are energized. I mentioned the ohm check earlier but you can also pull each glow plug and check them with jumper cables to a 12 volt battery. Negative to the body and positive to the 12 volt connector. Don't try to hold it with your hands. They get really really hot and should glow REALLY Brightly in a few seconds. A dull red color can still indicate a glow plug which is not actually getting hot enough to work.

[ednlorna]

Okay, will do! You guys are amazing! I have my work cut out for me.

I sure to hope the Mitsubishi is still mighty.

Thanks!

[WillieC]

Somebody went to a lot of work installing that engine. Unless an owner beat that thing to death by any one of a thousand ways, it's got to be a runner. Just my blue sky thought for the day.

Kerrye is the man. I forgot half of what I once knew about electrical things (guess what I did for a living) so I can get a bit ahead of myself. Surely he knows how to jump around a relay?! Not necessarily. Thanks, kerrye.

[DesertAlbin736]

All good comments on engines & glow plugs. Certainly can't add any more than has already been said.
WillieC writes:

I recently read on the forum that somebody was looking at one of the newer bigger models and at first blush figured the boat needed about Two Large to bring it up to snuff. After I cleaned up the coffee I sprayed out my nose all over the computer, I had a nice sedate chuckle. Bring Out Another Ten Thousand.

I do keep track of what I've spent on our boat over the last four years. I won't say how much here (too embarrassing), but it would cause quadruple spit-takes. Suffice to say it would be enough to buy another boat and then some. And this is a boat that came with a tandem torsion bar axle aluminum trailer with disk surge brakes, a good running Yanmar with smooth, quiet running AquaDrive CV/thrust bearing unit (although the PO misrepresented the age of it), a restored interior, that is everything in the interior had been removed, exposed interior fiberglass painted, a white naugahide like vinyl material added to the sides, all new upholstery, teak finish joinery in good shape. Most of the projects I've done are optional improvements to my taste.

But it's all worthwhile, the memories we've had with it so far are priceless, as you will too when all's said & done. Next step is to go back partway to our sailing roots and use the motor sailing rig. See that thread for updates.

[ednlorna]

kerrye, thanks! Those are all good tips!

Sorry, I have not posted to the forum in a while, I have been busy getting my Albin 25 home. I bought the vessel on March 1 and it sat tied to the prior owners dock for 28 days while I tried the used trailer option (big mistake). Thank you, Steve for letting me keep the boat at your dock for so long!

I bought an old galvanized tandem Yatch Club trailer with four sets of wobble roller supports. I replaced all the rollers with Yates rollers and added two keel rollers. Then I had the trailer completely rebuilt with new posi-lube axles and four Kodiac disc brakes.

Prior Owner Steve was kind and towed me to Anchorage Marina on March 28th, where I learned plenty, the hard way, about marina expenses.

I paid for a haul out, pressure washing and bottom scraping. Short version of a long painful story: my A 25 did not fit on my improvised trailer!

This is where I made my second mistake. I took lots of pix with my cellphone, not thinking to get a tape measure involved! The marina put the Albin back in the water and said I could keep it tied up there at $20 per day!

I scrabbled to find a metal fabricator to make some adjustable supports for the four wobble roller assemblies, based on my photo analysis of the cellphone shots. Let's see, those Yates wobble rollers are 5 inch diameter so ...

I paid $600 to the welder/fabricator and went back after two weeks, after a family camping trip which was already paid for and greatly anticipated.

I was off in my calculations (why didn't I measure?!) by 6 to 8 inches. The Albin is resting on the 32 wobble rollers but 6 inches off the front keel roller and 8 inches off the aft keel roller.

Anyway, after a half day's labor by me alone, working in the marina parking lot, I got the Albin positioned (ratcheting try-downs hooked to a convenient telephone pole) and tied down on the trailer to where I felt safe to venture out into the Florida traffic. I went the 30 miles up US 1 at 10:30 PM on Wednesday, April 11, 2018 at 40 miles per hour. Anyway, I made it!

I will post some photos later. I calculate I've spent the same amount in used trailer cost, modifications and marina fees as the cost of a brand spanking new King A 25 trailer! There's a lesson I won't soon forget!

[kerrye]

Got any pictures? Were you not able to lift those keel rollers that high?

[kerrye]

Oh, now I get why you want to raise the boat while on the trailer.