KAMD-44-EDC Volvo

[scenarioL113]

A friend of mine has a 28" Carolina Classic and he has KAMD 44 EDC engines. He has some turbo issues and I ended up pulling the turbo and disassembling it to free the shaft that was stuck from obvious salt water intrusion on the exhaust side. There was scaling and the turbo would not spool up.
I cleaned it up very food and very carefully and reassembled back to balance marks that I made.

Engine is now running perfect and right where it needs to be. I told him to start looking for a new turbo because this is just a short term fix.

I dont know much about the volvos but I thought these were interesting engines being that they had a "compressor" which acts like a sort of supercharger that kicks on and off during acceleration to assist the turbos.

This boat I was told is around 15,000 lbs but this boat cruised a solid 22 knots @ 3100rpm and WOT was 4050rpm at 30.5 knots. I thought those were pretty good numbers.

These are model year 2000 engines and boat. They are early electronic/mechanical engines. Not sure what the electronic end does but I assume it controls the fuel pump and timing???? IDK but injectors and such are all mechanical.

Anyone have any input GOOD BAD or UGLY with these engines

This is an engine question and not questions about the boat

[Yannis]

Frank,

Seems not too many friends here, have or know about Volvos.

Which, if you ask me, is not necessarily a bad thing as despite they are everywhere (in Greece at least), most who own them wish they had Yanmars or any other American engine instead!
Not that they are bad engines, but they (say) they are super complicated, with super expensive parts and the dealers/importers are far from being helpful in parts' availability.
One other reason these Volvos are sometimes a pain, is that MOST of them are I/O's, with the inherent I/O problems and their related need in parts, which as we all know they will fail right when you are at the remotest island with no ferry connection...

As for the IPS brilliant system that many bigger yachts are equipped with, as we have already discussed in another thread, these are super fragile and in need of frequent expensive preventive servicing.

I'd personally go Yanmar anyday of the week, and had I been living in the US I'd go Cat or Cummins because they are homemade, parts are abundant and they can fix them at any local 7-11 while enjoying a salami sandwich!

[Carl]

I have never really heard anything bad about Volvo motors aside from some being smokers.

The biggest issues I have heard often are the parts are both hard to get and VERY EXPENSIVE and they over engineer. I prefer simple, but if I had found a good deal on volvo's I'd have gone that way.

[Yannis]

Carl,

We're saying the exact same thing.

However, a motor with hard to get parts will never be a choice for me. I'm not talking "expensive" because Yanmar parts are also very expensive.
I'm talking purely available parts. And "super complicated" or "over engineered" means to me that you're gonna need those parts more frequently and you may not have them...stranded on a dock (if you're lucky) is not what I endeavor when boating.

[Carl]

Carl,

We're saying the exact same thing.

Yes we are Yannis.

Although I do not think they are Super complicated, but more things like why use aluminum tubing, flanges and O-rings to replace a hose and clamp for running coolant in a salt water environment. It works well, till it doesn't. All it takes is a little corrosion and seals don't seal well. Now your not replacing a hose, but an assembly and hopefully the housing is good or that has to be changed as well.

The good part is they run well, lots of people like them. I view them with similar eyes to yours making them far from my first choice.

[Yannis]

Carl,

Yes, they run well, but also as you’re saying “they run well till they don't” !

At which point, precisely, they need parts. Which if you don't have readily available or at least within a reasonable delay, you’re in deep $hit. Sometimes very deep indeed...
And we are in Europe, right next to them...I can only imagine what this means if you're boating in CA or the great lakes...

[scenarioL113]

These engines were very smokey when we were lurking in the inlet the other day doing some soundings and sniffing around for a few minutes. Prob around 1800-2300 rpm range.
Prob would be smokey on a fast speed troll

With that said I felt the performance was pretty good

[Carl]

These engines were very smokey when we were lurking in the inlet

....I felt the performance was pretty good

Frank-

Thats the Volvos I hear about when owners like them. "Yeah, they do smoke but they run great, good performance, very reliable, are economical" etc. Pretty much the stuff we say about our Cummins motors, Yanmar guys say about their motors, Cat guys say about theirs...etc.

Like all motors usually there comes a time when work needs to be done to them, Cummins, Cats, Yanmars....lots of moving parts in a saltwater environment. Could be maintenance parts, regular wear and tear items, or something more. That's when even happy Volvo owners put their head down and curse under their breath at the cost and availability of the parts, it seems to be part of the package. Many know and buy the regular items ahead of time to keep them as backups. Some items you just never expect to go and they are at the mercy of Volvo.

My friend's sisters boyfriend bought a boat with Volvos. They were low on his list of choices, but that boat was available, in great shape and priced right. He keeps a warranty/insurance on the motors and figured what the hell, they are new so price of parts and service wasn't an issue and he'd live with availability issues if they came up. It's been at least 10 years and the boats still running great with lots of hours on the motors.

So what does that mean...nothing. I have stories about people with Volvos hung up waiting on parts too. Then again A friend with 3208 Cats that need a .25 O-ring to stop a minute drip on fuel system. But what has to come off to do the job is absolutely ridiculous. Plus the weight of the components... Every time he goes to tackle the job...oh never mind, bad example of a DIY guy who really isn't and shouldn't. And does NOT take direction well at all.

[ktm_2000]

I've spent plenty of time on a CC28 with Volvos, that boat is heavy, I'm not sure 15k but close, 300hp a side is much better power for them.

one part I would have in reserve if I owned them is the damn idler pulley, it is not terrible to swap out a belt but if that sucker goes (and it will) you are boned. ask me how I know

[scot]

Vic Roy would have loved to join in on this post! He had a pair in a B25 and apparently had a deep dislike for those green motors. When he talked about Volvo’s, his response was typically “parts were always falling off” lol.