Yanmar or Beta

[ashley_nathan]

hi,

Today is big decision day, my old Volvo MD17D is dead, and its replacement has been narrowed down to either the Yanmar 3JH4E or the Betamarine BV43. They are both equally matched in performance and fuel consumption, so its a tough call. So you guys, anyone have any thoughts or experience with either engine??

thanks
ashley

[Rockter]

Check which way the new motor turns the prop. I think the Beta turns it the other way from the Volvo. I cannot speak for the Yanmar.
They are both good motors... the Beta is Kubota-based, and spare parts are reasonable.

Do not buy another Volvo. Spare parts are horribly expensive once the motor gets to be any age, in my case then 20 years old.

[dhornsey]

I'm going through the exact same decision right now, with engines in the 28 horse power range. I think I'm going to choose Beta.

We have a slightly unusual engine bed and we had thought we'd need to make significant adjustments to the stringers to fit any new engine. I then learned that Beta will custom build the engine mounts to fit my existing bed. You send some diagrams back and forth and they'll ship the new engine over ready to be dropped in.

That was the clincher for me, combined with a slightly smaller price tag on the Beta. Maybe other manufacturers do this also?