Jump to content

Lambordini 4cyl engine


Guest

Featured Posts

 

There's loads of room round my engine: it's a small engine for a narrowboat! People generally remark that it looks 'neat' down there, but really it's cos it's small. I joke with folk that it's a lawnmower/tractor/snowmobile engine, and if truth be told I'd rather have a more mainstream engine in my boat - but as long as it's doing the job of pushing me happily round the UK canal system and managing the occasional river stretch without struggling too much, I intend to maintain it and keep it going for a while yet!

It's reassuring to see your 1404 still going well after so many hours; mine has done only 2500 hrs but I'm very pleased with it and it has performed perfectly in tidal waters many times. So far it has never missed a beat.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 years later...
On 13/10/2009 at 09:58, Tony Brooks said:

 

 

I think simple physics dictaes any diesel will be an interference engine otherwise they will not get the compression needed to fire the fuel. For instance the air cooled Listers have a bump clearance (the gap between the piston and cylinder head) of between 0.020" and 0.038" depending upon model and valves open a lot more than that.

 

You are unlikely to find the bump clearance for a modern engine because there is no facility to adjust it. You just have to trust the manufacturer but it will be similar and possibly less on engines with heater plugs.

 

I know my Montego had a safe engine because the belt snapped well before it's due replacement time and it had not been contaminated by oily bilge water. However always assume a diesel will definitely be unsafe until you see anything different in writing.

 

Also consider how easy access is to the front of the engine, often there is an immovable bulkhead just in front of it. When you replace cam belts you need very good visual access to triple check the valve timing is correct. I would expect one tooth out on a diesel to cause extensive damage if the engine is run or forced to turn over. There are methods of changing cam belts without needing to check the timing but I shudder when I have seen them employed. Many seem to involve a Stanley knife to halve the width of the belt on a running engine, cutting the front half away and the forcing the new belt onto the front half of the sprockets. Then cutting the other half of the old belt free, again with the engine running using a hammer shaft to push the new belt into position.

 

I know I am seen by some as a Luddite but belts are fine in cars and vans, big chains and better still hefty gears are far better and require virtually no regular servicing.

So, summarising this thread: don't touch anything with lombardini 1204 D2 as they are likely to be v expensive to change the belt on the cam thingy,  are they ALL belt driven?

AND even if serviced by a specialist, the belt can still fail and the engine will die?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just to offer another view, I have had a boat fitted with a Lombardini LDW1204 for the last ten years and it has given excellent service. I had the belt changed soon after I bought the boat by a technician from Bryco in Daventry who are a main dealer and I don't recall it being that expensive.  The engine always starts very easily, is economical and reasonably quiet. It is easy to do the routine oil and filter changes.  I have changed the starter and the alternator but these are peripherals.

Pretty much all cars now have cam belts.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, philjw said:

Just to offer another view, I have had a boat fitted with a Lombardini LDW1204 for the last ten years and it has given excellent service. I had the belt changed soon after I bought the boat by a technician from Bryco in Daventry who are a main dealer and I don't recall it being that expensive.  The engine always starts very easily, is economical and reasonably quiet. It is easy to do the routine oil and filter changes.  I have changed the starter and the alternator but these are peripherals.

Pretty much all cars now have cam belts.

 

Good experience then: do you have a plan IF the belt breaks, simply put, can one STOP the engine immediately, or is it already too late?

Your remark about belts being the default on modern cars, is this because modern belts are much more reliable nowadays,  I am assuming chains were used originally?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, LadyG said:

can one STOP the engine immediately, or is it already too late?

I think this is a bit of a lottery. Some car engines seem to survive a belt failure more or less unscathed whilst others do not.  The belts do have a long life these days. My last Citroen was good for 100K miles.   As ever maintenance is key and the plan is to change the belts within the recommended interval.  There is plenty of room at the front of my engine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, philjw said:

I think this is a bit of a lottery. Some car engines seem to survive a belt failure more or less unscathed whilst others do not.  The belts do have a long life these days. My last Citroen was good for 100K miles.   As ever maintenance is key and the plan is to change the belts within the recommended interval.  There is plenty of room at the front of my engine.

A petrol engine might survive a broken belt, a diesel won't. There's no space above the piston for a valve to be in

Richard

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, David Mack said:

About 15 years ago my wife's Rover 216 survived a broken timing belt. And that was at 70mph in the fast lane of the M6!

Petrol 216? K series engine with a pent roof head

Richard

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, David Mack said:

About 15 years ago my wife's Rover 216 survived a broken timing belt. And that was at 70mph in the fast lane of the M6!

As did my Mondeo in about the same year at about the same speed on the same motorway. But petrol again. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, philjw said:

Just to offer another view, I have had a boat fitted with a Lombardini LDW1204 for the last ten years and it has given excellent service. I had the belt changed soon after I bought the boat by a technician from Bryco in Daventry who are a main dealer and I don't recall it being that expensive.  The engine always starts very easily, is economical and reasonably quiet. It is easy to do the routine oil and filter changes.  I have changed the starter and the alternator but these are peripherals.

Pretty much all cars now have cam belts.

 

Agreed. I have the LDW 1404 on my 15 year old boat which has never missed a beat and has taken me on the tidal Thames, Trent, and Ribble Link. I had the cam belt changed @ 2500 hours which was an hour's job for a mechanic and not very expensive. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this engine based on my own experience.

Edited to add that the old cambelt showed no sign of wear when it was changed.

Edited by rgreg
Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, David Mack said:

About 15 years ago my wife's Rover 216 survived a broken timing belt. And that was at 70mph in the fast lane of the M6!

Where is the " fast lane "?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have an LDW 602 driving a Mecc Alte 6 kVA alternator.  Marinised by RoDA in Portland, Dorset, it is now over 10 years old and much quieter and more powerful than the Petter AD1/ Markon combo it replaced.  This year a new timing belt, tensioner and water pump cost £275 shipped from Bryco.  Inline filters supply the fuel, air and water filters for reasonable prices.

It has been trouble free and starts easily, provided you use the heater plugs.  Fuel consumption seems reasonable.  As TB has said, it has unit pump/injectors , but like all pumps and injectors they need a specialist to clean and set them up.  At least there are no timing issues because that is taken care of by the cam. 

 

N

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.