BEAST

[6S2344]

looking for a newer Albin. How bad is the Beast engine really? Seems like the price difference in boats with this engine is quite significant, but more in my price range. What are the problems owners have with them? Thank you, Matt.

[Pedro]

Hi,I’m on season 5 with my Beast,
The raw water pump was a little bit of an issue when I needed it replaced, my mechanic found the bracketing to be odd and I needed to have the shaft on the replacement pump drilled and taped for the pulley ,but otherwise the motor is simple and reliable,lots of bad press and mechanics don’t like them for some reason,it’s simple to work on ,parts are not expensive, good luck!

[DougSea]

Had ours for three or four seasons (I'm getting old! Can't remember sh!t) and the only engine issue I had with the beast was the turbo got "stuck" after winter storage. I went to my mechanic all freaked out and he told me to give it a spin with a pencil to un-stick it. (Not joking!) Worked like a charm. Also lost a starter motor, but that was because of a faulty start switch that kept the starter engaged. And while I haven't checked recently the support from Penninsular was always great.

I'd buy one again in a heartbeat.

[taggteam]

Great engine....they all have their issues. I just sold my 6.5 powered 28TE. Best boat Ive ever run.

[Jeremyvmd]

I love my beast. It’s a solid motor louder than the yanmar but it just keeps running. Biggest issue is having to pull the water pump to replace the impeller. My old one was totally ‘roached and still ran well, even the peninsular guys were surprised a motor in that condition would run (it sat for a few years before I bought her).

[Robhess]

I am loosing coolant from the heat exchanger. No sign of coolant in the oil so I assume it’s leakimg out the exhaust. Any ideas of which gaskets to check?

[Froggy]

Unfortunately, it is not a gasket issue. What generally happens is that the brazing of the pipes in the exchanger fails. This can be due to failure to change the zincs in the heat exchanger (there are generally two- one on top and one underneath) or cracking due to age. The way to test this is to seal off the coolant hoses to the engine and pressurize the heat exchanger. If it is faulty, the coolant will come out the raw water side. The obvious clue that it is the heat exchanger is that you lose coolant when the engine is just sitting (gravity draws it out) although the coolant pump may be a culprit (see below).

The other place you can lose coolant (other than head gasket) is through the bearing seal in the coolant pump. These can fail over time. Replacing the coolant pump is doable if you are handy with a wrench but rather intimidating as you have to remove most of the stuff on the front of the engine (best to have the boat under cover and away form others that may be offended by the expletives that are a part of doing the job) . The way to test the coolant pump is to pressurize the cooling system and shine a light down by the front of the motor. You'll see coolant coming out the bearing area. Send me a note if this is the case as I put a pump in a couple years ago.

[Pedro]

On my Beast,
I did not have an overflow jug,
Coolant was leaving but never returning as they just left a hose out of the filler neck,I installed a jug and my mech noticed that the filler neck was slightly dented,once that was straighten out no more leaks system now works as it should,good luck

[WillieC]

"(best to have the boat under cover and away from others that may be offended by the expletives that are a part of doing the job)"

Hilarious and so true about most things boaty! So it's NOT just me, whew! Fortunately we live in an area with some, but not enough, part-time residents. The Big Jobs are done when the Starfleet Commander is away.