Albin Yanmar engines

[jpwrist]

I am in the process of purchasing an Albin 28 and someone mentioned to me that the older Yanmar 300 hp model 6LP STE installed on the 2001 and earlier Albins may have had a valve problem. Is that true and can it be corrected? Is the newer Yanmar 315 hp a better engine?

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

Jos

[chiefrcd]

Yes Yes and No.

Yes, the older Yanmars have a issue with valve seals.
Yes, there is a valve seal kit upgrade that can be performed. I had it done and have had no issues since. If you don't, you run the risk of dropping a valve and destroying the engine.
No, the Yanmar 315 and the 300 are the exact same engine that have been rated differently {different fuel temps, different rpms) Side by side they run the same. I wrote the distributor to see what the difference was and they state there is none.

The Yanmars are very good engines, run strong, good turn of speed for this boat and good fuel economy, my only complaint is that the parts for them are really high. For example a oil filter from Yanmar is about 43.00. The good news is that the engines are based on Toyota's very highly rated Land Cruiser Engine, the bad news is that they dont' sell that engine in the U.S. but you can get some parts, ie, oil filters etc from Toyota at about half the price...( lots of good news and bad news}

There is a post over at Yanmarhelp.com regarding the LP engines with more information that might be helpful. Also if you are inclined to join, boatdiesel.com has a ton of information regarding all types of boat diesels, transmission etc.

[Elizabeth Ann]

It also important to note that if you have the engine's serial number and you call Mac Boring, the Yanmar distributor, they should be able to tell you if the engine has bad seals/valves.

They did for me at least....unless they were lying.

[jpwrist]

Thanks to both chiefrcd and Elizabeth Ann for their helpful replies. I'll follow up on your suggestions.

Jos