Yanmar lifespan

[Screaming04]

Quick question,

I'm aware of Yanmar's solid reputation with small engines. I've seen people claim that the 6LP's are 5000 hr. engines.

I've searched extensively and haven't been able ot find any 6LP's on yachtworld with more than 1200-1400 hours.

Does anyone here have a Yanmar with high hours?

Thanks

[Mariner]

How long has Yanmar been making the 6LP in a marine variant? The average boater puts about 50 hours on their engine per year. At that rate, it would take 28 years to accumulate 1,400 hours.

The 1985 Johnson outboard on my Boston Whaler has 2,445 hours on it and still runs like a champ. If that old 2 stroke can handle nearly 2,500 hours, I'd be inclined to think that a well built diesel inboard like the 6LP can go double that with no problem.

[Screaming04]

I'm figuring they started in the mid to late 90's. The thing is, I can find lots of Cummins and catepillars of similar vintage with 3000+. I just can't figure out why I can't find any similar Yanmars.

It's not a big deal, but when are you looking at some 28 foot boats that are 100K with 1000 hours, I want to be sure there is a proven life beyond 1200 hours.

I'll post the same question on boatdiesel and see if anyone has one.

[Mariner]

About all I can say is that I wouldn't worry about a well maintained diesel with anything less than 5,000 hours on it. Heck, even a poorly maintained one ought to last that long.

[RicM]

There was a regular poster here that ran a charter business with his boat and did like 1,000hr/year. He was in some place like Panama. If my memory is correct he claimed to get 10,000 hours then would replace the Yanmar out of course. Come to think of it we haven't heard fom him in a while, hope he's OK.
1200 hours on a well maintained Yanmar 6LP is not a significant proportion of it's potential life. Change oil at least once/season or 100 hours (I do it at 50-60). Change fuel filters and try to find cleanest fuel possible (I fill up at the dock that services the local fishing fleet, because they move fuel all winter long). NEVER run it if the heat goes up or any alarm sounds. Call SeaTow and let the mechanic sort it out.

The guys at boatdiesel.com and any overland trucker will tell you, diesels love to run. A diesel that sits for 3 weeks at a time then runs for a few hours then sits for 4 weeks is not a happy diesel. A diesel that is well maintained and run every few days will run for many thousands of hours. Maintainence and clean fuel are much bigger factors in the longevity of a diesel than engine hours on the counter.

[N4QC]

The Yanmar 6LP-DTE and the 6LP-STE were in production from 1997 to 2001.
The Yanmar 6LP-DTZE and the 6LP-STZE were in production from 1998 to 2001.

Suspect the environmental rule changes contributed to its short production live.
Would expect a long life time of service though for the engine if maintained properly.

Check out the Yanmar help site for more information. The normal link to the site has been intercepted by Yahoo. Wonder if it is a similar problem as reported in PCWorld magazine, March 08, pg 44. One can still get to the help site: http://yanmarhelp.com/index.htm


Have fun,

[Mariner]

My friend runs the maintenance shop for one of the west coast's largest and most reputable trucking companies. Their trucks are the cleanest and best maintained you'll see on the road. They take a very methodical approach to the maintenance of their fleet. They buy all their trucks brand new. They run them until they hit 800,000 miles, because they believe the life span of the engine's internals is about 1,000,000. To avoid the cost of rebuilding them, they sell them before that, mostly to eastern european trucking companies. If you figure that the average speed is 60mph, that means that they are logging 13,000 hours before they're sold, and 16,000 before they're due for their first overhaul. The blocks themselves are good for multiple rebuilds, meaning they can go as much as 60,000 hours or more.

One thing to take into consideration, however, is that these trucks run 16 hours a day, every day. That means they only keep them a little over two years. A typical pleasure boat marine diesel, sees only 50-100 hours of use a year. The enemy of these engines is not wear, but rather corrosion, and, often, lack of regular maintenance.

Change the oil at least every season, preferably at the beginning and end of each season. Inspect belts and hoses regularly, and touch up even the slightest scratch in the engine's paint (especially on nuts and bolts where it's been removed by a wrench). Keep saltwater out of the bilge. If you do get some in there, run some freshwater in there to dilute the small amount that remains below the float switch. Do these things, and any diesel will run for a very long time.