Volvo Penta engine life expectancy is one of the informatione a lot of customers and users seek to know.
The Volvo Penta is one of the inboard motors that is built with reliability and long service life in mind.
According to Volvo, you should expect your Volvo Penta engine life expectancy to be above 1000 hours before the need for a major overhaul will set in.
But to achieve this, you have to use your engine in a good way.
This includes practices like performing maintenance on time, replacing faulty parts with genuine parts and operating your boat within acceptable range of specification.
With this, you will have a Volvo Penta engine that will actively keep your boat functioning without critical performance flaw.
Importance Of Checking Volvo Penta Life Expectancy
1)For Business Purpose
When running a commercial boat business, you have to make use of one of the best engines.
This will help in making sure that your boat performs well when it is running.
A good engine will also not develop fault easily.
Having a boat engine that develops fault easily is a big turn off when operating a boat business.
This can lead to the stalling of the boat on the water thereby exposing the boat passengers to danger.
This can easily lead to loss of patronage from the boat passengers.
To avoid situations like this, you have to make sure that you make use of a good boat engine.
One of the ways in making sure of this is to use boat engines from reliable brands.
To be a step ahead in this, you should make sure that you check of the life expectancy of the engine.
This will help avoid using an engine that will need a total overhaul soon.
Also make sure that you read of users review to be sure.
Apart from reading the review from users, also make sure that you inquire of which engine is best suitable for your boat from a reliable and experienced technician.
2) To Avoid Wastage Of Funds
Another reason why it is important to check the life expectancy of the Volvo Penta engine is that it helps in projecting how soon it may critically break down.
For some boat engine brands, you will experience a quick break down.
But for reliable brands like the Volvo Penta, critical breakdown is not easily experienced.
This will help avoid wastage of funds in frequent change of faulty parts.
That is why you have to make sure that you choose a reliable brand like the Volvo Penta to run your boat.
3) To Avoid Spending Excess Funds On Maintenance
When you make use of a good engine to run your boat, the cost of boat maintenance will be moderate.
This is because change of parts will not frequently occur during maintenance.
But this is not the same when you make use of a bad engine to run your boat.
When using a bad engine, parts will fail more often.
This will lead to a higher maintenance budget which is bad for any boat owner.
That is why you have to make sure that you use an engine with a long and proven life expectancy.
This will help avoid spending too much funds when performing maintenance of your boat.
Factors Affecting Volvo Penta Engine Life Expectancy
1)Performance Of Timely Maintenance
Before a life expectancy of an engine is given by the manufacturer, the engine has been subjected to some test.
After this test is when the result comes out.
But irrespective of the value the manufacturer has after the test, the boat owner plays a vital role in how long their boat engine can last.
One of the greatest factors that determine how long a boat engine can last is prompt maintenance.
If you maintain your boat engine well, it will easily surpass the life expectancy range the manufacturer gives.
But if you do not perform maintenance on time, the life span of your Volvo Penta engine will be reduced.
To avoid this and enjoy continuous good performance, you have to make sure that timely maintenance is performed when you use a Volvo Penta engine.
2) Use Of Original Replacement Parts
At some point, your Volvo Penta parts will develop a fault.
When this happens, you have to make sure that you replace the faulty part with a good one.
But in doing this, you have to make sure that you use genuine parts for replacement.
This will help ensure continuous smooth performance.
Apart from having a continuous smooth performance, damage will not extend to other parts.
But if you do not use genuine parts, you are risking the lifespan of your Volvo Penta engine.
Apart from risking lifespan, the Volvo Penta will not function optimally when you use fake parts.
This can also lead to the damage of other parts of the Volvo Penta engine which will negatively affect the life expectancy too.
To avoid this, genuine parts have to be used as replacement when parts develop a fault.
This will help ensure a smooth performance always.
3) Use Boat Within Acceptable Performance Limits
Every boat engine has a performance limit.
This limit dictates the type of performance that can be expected from the boat.
One of these limits include the maximum amount of load that should be imposed on the boat.
These limits are what helps the boat to function well.
But to maintain a good performance from the boat, these limits should not be exceeded.
When they are exceeded, the performance of the boat will reduce.
One of the ways in which this can happen is when a boat using Volvo Penta engine is loaded above its specified maximum load limit.
This will reduce the performance of the boat and will affect the Volvo Penta engine life expectancy negatively.
4) Technician Level Of Experience
When maintenance is being performed, it has to be done carefully.
The right capacity of replacement parts have to be used.
The right type of oil and other fluid like the coolant fluid has to be used too.
But for a volvo penta maintenance process to be properly done, it has to be carried out by an experienced technician.
This will help ensure that the maintenance process is done well without damaging other parts of the boat.
When a bad or inexperienced technician handles maintenance of a Volvo Penta engine, the chances of causing damages is very high.
This can lead to the damage of vital parts in the boat.
To avoid this, a reliable and well experienced technician has to be used to carryout maintenance of a boat with Volvo Penta engine.
How To Improve Volvo Penta Engine Life Expectancy
1)Perform Timely Maintenance
For the life expectancy from a manufacturer to be possible, the boat owner has a part to play too.
This includes things like performing timely maintenance.
When timely maintenance is performed, the Volvo Penta will be able to maintain a good performance.
Apart from maintaining a good performance, the boat will last longer.
2) Avoid Overloading
One of the things that destroy the performance and lifespan of any boat engine is overloading.
When a boat is overloaded, the components of the boat will be put under serious stress.
This will affect the performance of the boat.
When overloading is continuously done, the life span of the boat engine will reduce drastically.
This will end up affecting the life expectancy of the Volvo Penta negatively.
To avoid this and enjoy a continuous fluid performance, overloading has to be avoided when using the boat.
This can be done by knowing the maximum load the boat can carry.
After the weight a boat can carry is known which can be seen on the capacity plate of the boat, exceeding the load range has to be avoided.
3) Replace Faulty Parts With Genuine Parts
As you keep using your Volvo Penta engine to run the boat, some parts will develop fault as time goes on.
This can include parts like the spark plug or other parts like the fuel pump.
When any of these parts develop a fault, it has to be replaced.
In doing the replacement, a genuine part has to be used.
This genuine part can be gotten from reliable dealers.
4) Use Services Of Well Experienced Technicians
To improve Volvo Penta engine life expectancy, maintenance has to be done on time.
The maintenance period can also lead to the damage of the Volvo Penta engine.
This occurs when fake parts are used.
Damage can also occur to the Volvo Penta engine when a bad and inexperienced technician performs maintenance of a boat using a Volvo Penta engine.
To avoid this, always make sure that you use the services of a recommended technician.
This will help in making sure that maintenance is done properly.
5) Use Good Quality Fuel
One of the biggest problems of a boat has to do with the quality of fuel used in running the boat.
When a good quality of fuel is used, the performance of the boat will be great.
But if the quality of fuel used is bad, the performance of the boat will be poor.
Using a bad fuel quality will affect the boat parts too.
One of the parts that will be badly affected is the engine of the boat.
A bad fuel will lead to a quick damage of a boat engine.
This will also reduce the Volvo Penta engine life expectancy.
That is why it is very important to always use a good quality of fuel to run a Volvo Penta powered boat.
This will help achieve good performance as well as making sure that the engine last long.
Further Readings
Common Volvo Penta Inboard Motor Engine Problems
Why Volvo Penta 3.0 Inboard Engine Bogs Down When Accelerating