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Universal Diesel...

2K views 12 replies 7 participants last post by  Dave_E 
#1 ·
Hi All,

I was just looking through Toad marine Supply at the engine parts (what's available for the Universal 5424... Yikes! Starter - over $1000. Are you kidding me? Exhaust manifold... no longer available. Fuel pump... no longer available. If this stuff is available, where??? Should I be priming the wife now for a new engine? This rascal is 34 years old and has 3315 hours on it. Runs like a top, however... Don't know how upset/concerned I ought to be. Of course I ask myself what would I have done if I'd have known this when deciding whether or not to purchase the boat. All 20 year old + boats are probably in the same boat as far as engines are concerned (pardon the pun).

Dave
 
#3 ·
#5 ·
Dave,

We had a 30+ YO Universal engine in our boat when we purchased it. The survey indicated that it would need replacing soon and that happened a year or two before we thought it would.

Most of the problems were because of age and rust. The starter, the exhaust manifold. We ended up sitting in the marina for four months waiting for enough people across the country to need an exhaust manifold in order for them to be machined. Most of the time we had no idea if the engine would start when we turned the key. There was one more issue (drawing a blank) that finally made us decide enough was enough. Wait. Transmission. The transmission died on our way to one of the Annapolis boat shows.

Having a new engine after all that has greatly eased our minds. We know what work is done on it, we know the maintenance schedule. And we have gauges for stuff we never had gauges for before. It was expensive, but worth it to us.
 
#9 ·
Having a new engine after all that has greatly eased our minds. We know what work is done on it, we know the maintenance schedule. And we have gauges for stuff we never had gauges for before. It was expensive, but worth it to us.
Did you every post what that process was like.
I would be interested to know what engine you picked and why.
What exactly you replaced, IOW how far did you go.

How long it took, how much it cost and what you would do differently if you had to do it again.

I would be interested in that story.
 
#6 ·
#7 ·
#8 ·
For any parts that you cannot source anywhere else, you could try Beta Marine. The Beta engines are based on Kubota blocks too...
 
#11 ·
I have a Universal 5416. I had the starter rebuilt in a local shop for $75. New solenoid, brushes, bearings etc. Same shop also rebuilt the original (Motorola) alternator for the same price.

HTH

Eric Irvine
S/V Selkie
1980 Bristol 29.9
 
#12 ·
FWIW, we had our starter rebuilt for $100 by a guy in Maryland. We were in a rush, hoping that the starter was the only issue preventing our boat from continuing the delivery from MD to NJ. We didn't want to wait for a part (or to drive 3 hours just to find out that the mounting holes didn't quite fit), so we had specifically decided to find someone to do the rebuild for us. The guy we found did it in an hour, and it just so happened that one of the plants that used to make the starters was located near there. It shut down years ago, and when it did the manufacturer took all the half-built starters to the dump (cheaper than shipping them to the new factory). They were supposed to have been crushed, but apparently some of the locals slipped the steam roller operator some money and he didn't exactly do a thorough job. They raided the dump a few days later, and came away with good housings and other parts. The guy still had a few units in his storage shed, and was able to replace some of the other parts with nearly-new parts as well. Basically I think the only part that wasn't replaced was the front part of the housing.
 
#13 ·
Thanks for ideas All,

I don't have a starter problem, or any other problem for that matter other than maintenance items (old fresh water cooling hoses etc.). Having been in the marine mechanic trade for years, it's my nature to be on top of mechanical things. When I found out just what was not readily available... that's what got me thinking about where I really stand with this old motor and the future if/when something lets go. I'm guessing it will be a total repower, as I am one of those guys that will not want to lay up for any amount of time while I try to have a manifold made from scratch, or spend hours trying to to find and fit something "close". Hope it gives me a little warning.

Dave
 
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