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Maximum hours on Detroit 8V92TI ?

Discussion in 'Engines' started by brianm, Mar 3, 2009.

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  1. brianm

    brianm New Member

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    Hi all,

    I need some good solid help.

    I am looking at purchasing a Hatteras 46'.
    The thing is; it has 8V92ti 625HP Detriot diesels.
    The owner said he thinks they have 6000hrs on them!
    He has overhauled the engines twice and considers that they should have about 400hrs on them since he overhauled two years ago.
    He swears by these engines and said they are trouble free and run very well.

    Can you help with knowledge on these engines.. I'm fairly new to this size boat etc..
  2. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    Judging by what you said, it sounds like the previous owner got around 2600 hours between rebuilds if he overhauled them twice. How long 18v92's last all depends, I've seen a set with dead cylinders at 900, others in SF go 1800hrs, some go 4000 hours (rare). I would say typical longevity in a boat like that would be 1800-2800hrs. But 400hrs since rebuild should still give you years and years of enjoyment. Total hours (6000) is kind of meaningless for the most part. I would highly recommend hiring a good engine surveyor to examine them, and report on current condition and what he thinks they will go before purchasing the vessel.
  3. brianm

    brianm New Member

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    Capt J.

    Thanks for your expertise. This boat is in the caribbean, sometimes we don't get straight answers to questions like you would in the states or elsewhere. We do have good mechanics and expert boatmen, I suppose that's why I aked these questions here on this thread, to get an outside perspective..
    I found 6000hrs to be very high, as I have been looking around and have not seen a boat with this high time.. I would say your answer is spot on, thanks again!
  4. jln007

    jln007 New Member

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    8V92TI Reliability

    Hi - I am considering the purchase of a 1984 46 Hatteras Convertible with the 8V92TI engines. They were rebuilt two years ago and have 44 hours on them presently. Are these engines reliable?
  5. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    friend of mine has 8V92TIs, I run that boat sometimes

    no better, no worst than others.. teh BIG question is how they have been run... if they've been run hard and hot, on an overpropped boat they're not going to last long, but this is true of any diesel...

    I believe the 92s have wet liners and are a little more sensitive to overheating than 71s, but that woulnd't be a deal breaker for me.

    google the hatteras owners website, there are a few guys with these engines over there.
  6. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    Yes they are reliable. Most of the ones overpropped, run hard and wet as described above will go around 2,000 hours between rebuilds. Babied, who knows I've personally seen 4500hrs and they weren't yet rebuilt. Like said above they're as good as any from the era and parts are easy enough to come by and DD has a large dealer network.

    Have an Engine Surveyor survey any diesel before buying.
  7. RER

    RER Senior Member

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    More than one mechanic has told me an overhauled DD needs to run 100 trouble free hours before you can know if you've got a good rebuild.
  8. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    44 hours does seem really light usage for 2 years on the motors.

    A bore scope, and a good survey and sea trial should show most things at 44 hrs.


    I don't know about that. I had a 12v71 come apart at 150hrs and this was 6 months after major overhaul from a very reputable DD dealer. I think if something wasn't done right in the rebuild it would show up in the first 50 hours. Some issues might take a few hundred hours to show up, like a distorted block with out of round cylinder bores.
  9. hat4349

    hat4349 Senior Member

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    She is a dock queen, I'd check them as thorough as if they had extremely hard use, sitting and not running is harder on a diesel than being used.
  10. RER

    RER Senior Member

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    Considering that this is an overhaul without a warranty which I assume is what you have here as the work was completed two years ago, what is the value of the job?. All things being equal I would have more confidence in a well cared for 1500 hour boat than a two year old 44 hour no warranty rebuild. At a minimum, in addition to a vessel survey, a mechanic should inspect the engines, including cold start-up, (No heaters, 72 hours rest) view all inspection ports, trial run, oil analysis, etc. If no problems are found, I move forward but with only 44 hours and no warranty I figure an added value of zero dollars for the rebuilt engines.
  11. Blackthorn

    Blackthorn New Member

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    Just a quick question, if you guys don't mind...

    Coming from the perspective of a live-aboard, lets say I move with the weather. Every couple months, cast lines and go a couple hundred miles, enjoy some free time for a week or two, then get a space to tie down for a month or two.

    How often should you start your engines to exercise them, even if you're not going anywhere? Once a week, maybe? Let 'em idle for half an hour?

    Just curious, if anyone would like to riff on that for a minute, I'd appreciate it.
  12. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    I start and run the engines and generators on the vessel's I manage every two weeks and let them run 30 minutes or longer. It's best to actually use the boat every 2 weeks and run them with a load, although not always feasible
  13. Blackthorn

    Blackthorn New Member

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    Thanks.
  14. Bamboo

    Bamboo Senior Member

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    ...X2.