Jump to content

Ruggerini PM105 diesels


Lucien

Featured Posts

Since she was built, Helix has been powered by a Ruggerini PM105/2L twin. Italian built as a marine unit although mechanically derived from a 40hp industrial, imported by Leverton, this one was sold to us by CT Marine. It has given pretty good service despite my initial misgivings (I was angling for a British engine but my father persuaded me of the merits of the Ruggerini), starts at the first turn in all weathers, no breakdowns in 23 years. The one issue it has always had is with carbon, a tendency to smoke heavily for a few minutes from cold and fill its heads up with soot, the latter from the age-old problem of chugging along at 800 rpm when the design was intended for more like 3,000. At first this caused valve leakage and rapid seat wear but we fitted hardened seats and had no further trouble with loss of compression.

 

Nonetheless its heads have to come off every 750-1000 hours for a clean, at which point I usually ring up Diesel Power Ltd. and order a gasket set to replace the one I'm using up. Recently I was advised that parts had been discontinued; in fact it was just a change in the stock code so they rang back and said I could have my gasket set after all but it made me think about how long the stock or production of parts might last, especially since Ruggerini were taken over by Lombardini and the design must be 30+ years old by now. Which prompts the question - who else in the UK has (or had) a Ruggerini PM105?

 

Lucien

Edited by Lucien
Link to comment
Share on other sites

How many hours a year do you do ?

If the 'sooting', up is the only problem would it not be worth buying a few years 'worth' of gasket kits and possibly any other consumable 'spares' whilst you can get them.

 

A reliable engine is worth its weight, if you are happy with it - keep it and dont worry

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's difficult to know what to stockpile other than the gaskets and a few seals. The only parts I've had to fit were a fuel lift pump (bog-standard type available anywhere), water pump (Ruggerini special, that probably is something to keep on the shelf) and a set of valves (already got valves, springs and rings in store here). Injection is by OMAP (Bosch equivalent) and widely available, however there are a few Ruggerini parts around the governor that are starting to develop some play that I might like to replace, would be quicker to buy these if still available rather than having to make new bushes etc. At around 5000 hours, while the engine was out of the boat for some engine room mods, I checked the bottom end and it was all still just within original acceptance figures, so I expect another 25 years running before thinking about that again. Usage varies, some years 500 hours, others less.

 

It does get the Italian Tune-Up occasionally when we're out on the tidal Thames and I was hoping it might have had a bit of a workout during the Diamond Jubilee Pageant but most of the time we were just chugging along as normal. Late in the evening when circling down at Blackwall Reach waiting for West India lock, I did manage to give it a blast for a few minutes closing the gap between our group and another. The only time I think the engine has ever really run at full rack for longer than that was going down to the Medway, working around container traffic in the estuary and generally having to keep it snappy.

 

Anyhow it would be great to hear of any other experiences of this engine on the UK waterways, good or bad!

 

Lucien

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 7 years later...

Just a little update to this after many years, mainly as a bump in case any other owners have come along in the meantime.

 

Earlier this year, I received a call from the owner of one of the other two of these engines that I knew about. They had recently overhauled their PM105/2 which was running fine, but after about 80 hours something naughty happened to the front overhang of the crankshaft with the aux pulley left flapping about. For various reasons, including a similar concern about lack of ready access to spares and the urgent need to get underway to avoid being marooned the wrong side of a stoppage, they elected to swap out the Ruggerini for a modern 4-cyl. They kindly donated the removed lump and stock of spares to the cause of keeping Helix's engine going for the future.

 

I now have a complete spare engine, in good running order except for the crankshaft (and it may be repairable), plus an unused but surface-rusted IP (which might or might not be OK inside), starter, water pump and various other bits. It's tempting to look at fxing the damaged crank, except that I would then have two engines and no parts mule for either of them. I will buy half a dozen gasket sets and that should deal with all foreseable maintenance requirements for a decade or two, even if parts become unobtainable. Beyond that, if the hull is still viable I will have fitted my 4LK, or the whole lot will be baked bean cans. Based on past experience, we will have had 50 years trouble-free cruising with the Ruggerini and I will still have a spare engine in good running order except for the crankshaft.

 

So, one more time, who has, or had, or saw, or tripped over in a junk yard, a Ruggerini PM105?

Edited by Lucien
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.