Volvo Penta D6-370

[Brad Tubbs]

I've a failed piston on the port engine, #4 cylinder in my 2005 CMY41. The authorized V-P mechanic is telling me that in order to access and repair the engine, the bridge will need to be removed or an access hole cut into the side of the boat. Carver is telling me that if the engine is stripped to the block, then the engine can be removed thru the salon door onto the aft deck. This is not a job I trust with the hands at our marina.

I'm in the Orlando area. Does anyone have a recommendation for a source to remove the engine and then replace it after repairs? And, does this solution even seem feasible? My concern is that I don't want to cause more harm by doing something as drastic as removing and replacing the bridge or cutting a large hole in the side of the boat.

Any advice is much appreciated.

[Viper]

Ouch, sorry to hear that. The D6 is pretty narrow and will likely go through the door once stripped down. Curious; have they determined what caused the failure? What did they do to determine whether it's the lower or upper end? Have they dismantled anything yet?

[Midnightsun]

I cannot see bridge removal helping at all as the opening is not going to change. They are doing this for crane access only in which case the hard top only needs to come off. The engines are big but being an inline 6 they should fit through the door although it may be tight. I can imagine a big block V8 would be much worse.

This hardtop/bridge removal and then installation alone will set you back a good 8-10 thousand. Here is what your boat looks like with the hard top removed. As you can see, the opening is not all that much bigger and by removing the hardtop/sliding door you will achieve about the same thing without bridge removal. Bridge removal IMHO is not required.

[Hugo]

Find out if it has wet liners, some of the older volvos did but I'm not sure about the D6. If it has wet liners all the work should be able to be done in the boat without anything coming out. I would dig further and consult other sources as bridge removal or hole cutting sounds excessive.

More important than anything is to find out the cause of the failure otherwise you could experience the same problem down the road.

[Midnightsun]

Unfortunately no liners on the D6.

[Brad Tubbs]

A little background for you. I am not the Owner of the Boat per se. It belongs to my Boss, who's given me charge over it because of health issues. The boat has less than 325 hours on it. According to him, and my own observation, the Port engine has always "knocked". No real troubles on the engines, oil test was done last year and did not reveal anything abnormal. The maintenance has been regular like clockwork since he took possession of it. Even on the day the problem showed up, the engine was running normally and then "bang". It gave no warning, like temperature or oil pressure problems.

Yes, the mechanic has dismantled the engine down the point that he can physically see the damage. I have faith in him to repair the engine. However, he does not have the resources or experience to do the hard work of removing and re-installing the engine.

At this point, I am trying to find someone reputable who can give me another opinion on how to go about the repair. We've resigned ourselves to the expense of this, but it's a nice boat and I don't want to put it at risk by disassembly of some sort.

[Midnightsun]

Whatever the final solution is PLEASE post back to what was done as one day (hopefully never) I may be faced with the same situation. I have 1200 trouble free hours on mine and they run like a clock however you never know.

I did research these engines throughly before I purchased the boat and did find there were some issues on 2005 models but they were always pistons #1 and 6. Have never read about #4.

[Brad Tubbs]

I will definitely post back as I progress thru this repair. It's going to take a bit of time, so bear with me.

[Brad Tubbs]

OK, I have a little new information/recon. I met with a guy today who's kind of a boat mechanic jack of all trades. He's owned big boats, worked as a mechanic and now owns a heavy equipment rental company. He tells us that there are machinists who are mobile and can rebore and sleeve a cylinder without removing the block completely from the boat. We will still need to strip the engine, unbolt and then lift it high enough to remove the bottom pan. At this point, the repair work can be done. After the repairs are complete, lower it back into the hole and re-assemble. My Volvo mechanic says that he can reassemble and start the engine back up.

Any thoughts?

[mjk1040]

You can build a portable crane frame to lift engine out and a gantry up and out to the salon, then lift it off with a boom on a backhoe or forklift. You'll have to be a little inventive, but I'll bet you can get this engine out of the boat repaired and put back in. You may have to dismantle it to long block stage to get it out.