volvo m3 engine
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Bruce Moore
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S. Todd
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- Audrey Rose
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- 368196550
We loved our 150 hp version in our 2015 R25SC. She purred like a kitten and maintenance was relatively easy. Only issue is the belt tensioner on the water pump. The belt tensioners are poorly designed and prone to freeze up. Luckily, they are not too expensive and relatively easy to change. After I changed the first one, I made a point of spraying the new one with rust preventative and it seemed fine. We never had the boat in salt water or had any known instances where the belt tensioner was not always dry. The four cylinder D4 in our 2021 R29 is no where near as smooth at idle as the little 5 cylinders in the D3 - the only benefit - I no longer need to look at the tach to see if she is running.
BB marine
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Great little engine! The D3 is a 2.4 L automotive engine. High torque for it’s displacement and high RPM to develop the rated HP. @4000 rpm 200 hp or 220 hp in the R27. It is a smooth running engine, quiet at low rpm. It still remains smooth operating at most rpms but the Turbo tends to get noisy at high rpm. ( for me that sound is music to my ear) There is a lot of hp packed into that small displacement engine. I joke about it “ it gets more displacement from the turbo then it dose from the bore and stroke.” Not really but it is a powerful little motor. With all that said, the captain needs to make sure it is loaded correctly and not over propped. The D3 should not be over propped and should be operated at no higher than 15 % of wot rpm for extended periods if you want to get any longevity out of that engine. 15% equates to about 75% load. And the 15% is for the given day, load, sea conditions, wind and bottom condition. Just because the engine turned 4050 rpm when it was freshly launched and the boat not loaded doesn’t mean that your go to continuous operation rpm is 3450 rpm all the time. The 15% is for the given day. 4 passengers, full fuel, full water, cooler of beer, 1’ chop and 15 mph winds and wot rpm is now 3850 rpm. The continuous operation rpm is now 3275rpm. Why this explanation? You asked and I’m giving you my opinion. The D3 is a dependable small high output engine designed for light weight operation. Respect what it is and you will have a great little engine that will give you years of operation. Run it hard probably not. The maintenance is very important, cool intake air, maintain operating temperature within its parameters, change the antifreeze every other year, change oil 100 hr or once a season, change the transmission oil and inspect the filter for metal every 100 hrs, keep the engine clean and salt free, air filter and crankcase filter changes yearly, clean fuel and clean fuel filters the engine will operate above your expectations. Remember it’s not a truck engine! It is a car engine designed to get on the highway and have all kinds of power to go down the highway but normally operated at 1800 rpm to 2200 rpm. My opinion it is a perfect engine in a R27 if operated and maintained with common sense. It is the little diesel that could!!!
Thanks for the great information. We tend to take it easy on engines and are religious about PMs. This is a big change from our 90 hp ford lehman tractor engine on the last boat. That one was 35 years old with one rebuild. Hope we get the same service out of this one. You are a font of knowledge.