AHoy Posted September 24, 2007 Report Share Posted September 24, 2007 Does anyone have any experience or hard facts on the reliability/performance/economy etc. of these engines, especially the higher power 160hp and 190hp models? Any info welcome. AHoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBettle Posted September 25, 2007 Report Share Posted September 25, 2007 Does anyone have any experience or hard facts on the reliability/performance/economy etc. of these engines, especially the higher power 160hp and 190hp models? Any info welcome. AHoy. The early D3's had a lot of teething problems (in fairness most new engines do, but the D3 was prone to them). The transition from a car engine to a boat engine wasn't quite so straight forward. Volvo had a habit of forgetting to do simple things like change the car versins paper air filter for a marine one and they had a habit of overheating, something due to the wrong coolant.... More recently (the last 6 months or so) I have seen far fewer niggles with any mini problems being sorted out during the PDi stage. It does seem to have a lot of torque compared to the more traditional lumps and is also really quite frugal on fuel. If fitted to an outdrive then really keep an eye on anodes. The same applies to shafts, but outdrives are hugely expensive to repair if they corrode. Also double check the installation, particularly if bolted to an American outdrive leg. Check the pito tubes (water pressure speedo's the yanks use, but we don't) as enthusiastic installation engineers have been known to fit the pito tube through the transom, then realise they don't have anything (a dial) to connect it to so leave it coiled in the bilge. Usually they are sensible enough to block up the end of the tube, but a bouncy boat has a habit of bouncing loose tubes and cables onto hot things like turbo's. Then you get a few gallons of water in the bilge. Not a problem and easily handled by a bilge pump, but it would be best if you didn't have the issue in the first place. So, if you find your pito tubes neatly coiled in the bilge at the transom, cut it off fairly short, block it up with the original bung and then clip it up out of the way of anything that may cause an issue. I like the engine, once any little problems are fixed. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
great white Posted September 25, 2007 Report Share Posted September 25, 2007 I know there were some teething problems Two Ways changed from an outboard to this engine a year or so ago and had a problem with starting the engine at times I believe it turned out to be very badly set injectors and its all fixed now. I also believe that they are very pleased with the power and economy they got from the engine on the Cygnus 23 I have the D4 in the new boat so only time afloat will tell how good the engine and DPH drive package is. When talking to a couple of boat builders at the boatshow that had fitted D4's they were pleased with power and economy so I am hopefull Charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shytalk Posted September 25, 2007 Report Share Posted September 25, 2007 one of the motor boat mags had areview of the d3 either last month or the month before basicaly said there were issues which had been sorted and other issues with non volvo services etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHoy Posted September 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 Thanks for the info. I managed to get hold of a copy of the magazine article and also get past the rumour and gossip level. As stated, seems like a good engine if properly installed and sorted. I like the "frugal" bit It will most likely be a shaft drive if at all. AHoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toerag Posted October 2, 2007 Report Share Posted October 2, 2007 I asked one of the trusty engineers at our volvo dealer about them this summer and he said the same - there were issues with the first ones, but the current versions are fine. He has an MI21 with a 150 AD31P like me and drove a customer's with an early 160 D3 - He said it was slightly faster at the top end (160 vs 150), but the big difference was with the acceleration lower down the rev range. In his words "I can more or less floor the throttle on my AD31 and then untie my mooring ropes before it's decided to do anything, on the D3 it virtually leaps out of the water as soon as you push the levers forward." One interesting point - the engine/drive combo is about 100kg lighter than the AD31 combo, which is like taking a really big fat bloke off the stern of your boat! In an MI that makes a lot of difference, 'cos they hate weight in the stern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHoy Posted October 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2007 toerag Thanks for the informed comment, I looked up the engine weights on the Volvo website and the D3 is only about 60% of the weight of a D4 or the old TAMD units - that is a saving of about 180KG or 2 kitted-out average crew members! Looking to the future and increased diesel costs I am hoping that the D3's reputed fuel economy will also pay dividends, especially running at reduced speeds (semi-displacement boat in mind). I have a sea trial coming up soon on a boat fitted with a D3-190 so will have some first-hand experience to judge it on. AHoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toerag Posted October 21, 2007 Report Share Posted October 21, 2007 Let us know how you get on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHoy Posted October 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 (edited) My newly acquired D3 knowledge won't be needed now - the boat I was intending to buy didn't come up to spec on survey so purchase cancelled (didn't get as far as the sea trial). I'm down a survey fee but it was money well spent. The boat I have bought instead is fitted with a Nanni 4.390 200hp engine which is a new model to me but comes with a stronger reputation. AHoy. Edited October 22, 2007 by AHoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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