Yanmar 6LPA-STP in the 28TE

[saildoc]

As a prospective 28TE owner, I wonder if any of the mechanically inclined owners on this forum would offer an an opinion as to the following?

In evaluating boats built from 2003 and later, how much import should I assign to the reported engine hours[/color]. There is of course a wide range of hours reported for boats that are available for sale.

Should I expect any correlation between engine hours on an Albin28 and the likely dependability of my power plant going forward? I plan to put between 50 to 125 hours/year on the boat.

Secondly, is there a consensus that the blocks (with proper maintenance) can provide thousands rather than hundreds of hours of recreational use?

Thanks in advance for your input.

[Chris & Dale]

Saildoc - I can only speak to my engine which is a 1999 300 hp Yanmar. We just passed 1200 hours. One of my biggest concerns when shopping to buy a 28TE was the engine....single biggest replacement cost. Like you, I saw a wide range of hours for the age of the boat. Ours had just crossed the 1000 hour mark when we purchased her last June. The overwhelming reason, aside from the fact that she was in fantastic "cosmetic" shape, was that it was a 1 owner boat and he had all the service records from the original purchase. It was easy to see the history of performance and issues from the beginning. We just had the timing belt changed which was an eye opener in that some tell-tale corrossion in this area of the motor lead us to a small leak in the raw water pump, which was corrected. The point is that being so well maintained quickly revealed that something was amiss. Had it not been as clean, etc., we might not have seen it. I digress. The mechanic with Mack-Boring reassured me that if I continue to keep up with the scheduled maintenance we'd have countless years of reliable performance. So it's not the hours as much as how it's been maintained. I will say that low hour engine made me wonder how long they'd just sat at the dock. Anyway, there's a lot more wisdom on this forum than I, so search around and you'll learn a lot! Good Luck

[Yearwood]

We purchased our 2001 with 27 hours on the engine. Now have 1600+hours. Mack-Boring is correct. The issues we have dealt with as I recall are valve lifters, exhaust mixing valve replacement, replacement of the "exhaust temperature sensor" (actually a water flow sensor, turbo charger replacement as a result of a cracked housing (probably cracked as a result of poor installation of the exhaust mixing valve causing over stress), at present have leaking seal at water pump and will probably replace the pump. Otherwise have done the scheduled maintenance as recommended.

Hope I did not forget anything.

From all I have seen the Yanmar is the best engine put in the Albin and is now the most used diesel in its size range.

Don Yearwood
Osprey
Maryland

[Chris & Dale]

Don,
We probably had the same leak. When mine was pulled by Mack-Boring durinng the 1200 hr timing belt change they did a small rebuild instead of a new one. If they have the access, take a good look all around the timing belt & v-belt areas for corrossion from the spray created by the belt & the leak. They really got after that. Of course they had to pull the tensioner & replace the bearing so everything was pretty wide open. Cleaned, painted, & put back together looks like new, and so much easier to see issues developing early. I agree 100% about your Yanmar comment being the best. Good Luck Saildoc in your decision!

[loubennett]

I bought Quest four years ago with 1474 hours on the Yanmar. She is a 2002 and had belonged to a boat club that put many more hours on her than the average owner. The good thing was that she was professionally maintained and all of the advice I got said a well maintained, higher hour engine is better than a poorly maintained low hour one. That has proven to be true. I put above average hours on her (over 200 hours per year) and I'm now at 2400 hours. I just had the timing belt changed, along with tensioner and valve adjustment, which is a significant expense, but all other repairs over the four years have been to the accessories. Things like a transmission cooler, an exhaust elbow, and a transmission seal. Properly maintained this is a 5 to 10 thousand hour engine. Even with my heavy use that means it has somewhere between 13 and 38 years before it has to be rebuilt or replaced. If it makes it to 10,000 hours, it will likely last longer than me. So my advice is don't worry about engine hours, worry about maintenance. The only exception in my mind is how close the boat is to a scheduled timing belt change. Yanmar recommends 5 years or 1250 hours. This is really only a money thing and can be negotiated on the price of the boat.

[Serenity]

I have a 98 28-TE with a 2010 315 Yanmar that has a less that 200 hours. What is more critical the hours or the number of years for the timing belt? Is there any practical and inexpensive way to determine the condition of the timing belt?

[Yearwood]

My recollection of the manual is that the timing belt replacement recommendation is a function of the number of hours on the belt. With 200 hours and a 3 year old engine you have a long way to go.

Regards

Don
2001 Albin 28 TE
Osprey
Davidsonville, MD

[loubennett]

The Yanmar maintenance schedule is 5 years or 1250 hours for the timing belt. My advice is to respect both the time and the engine hour recommendations. This is an interference engine and very bad things happen when the timing belt breaks. This is a pay now or pay later situation and the pay later option can be as much as a new engine.

[Norseman]

Now coming up on the 1,000 hour service and have a few questions:
Is this owner doable? (Any special Yanmar tools needed?)
Will have to remove the engine box for sure to reach the timing belt, how much room is then to remove cover and replace belt/tensioner?
A gasket needed for the cover?
Adjusting the valves: How many had the valves on spec? Or did everyone have to adjust the valves to proper clearances?
Injectors: Rebuild, or buy new ones?
Have them tested first, or just R&R regardless of condition?
Average cost of a 1,000 hour service?

[Tree]

Cam belt is doable but tight - I had someone who had previously replaced the cam belt on my mates albin carry the job out for me. I supplied the cam belt kit from Toyota as it was 1/10th the cost from Yanmar.

Rebuild the injectors, while they’re out do the valves - makes for an easier life cranking the engine over by hand. You’ll probably not need to adjust the valves as they have a massive tolerance.

[Norseman]

Ok, good info, thx.