Los Angeles Boat Diesel Engine Repair

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Best Diesel Engine Service by Town in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES MARINE DIESEL ENGINE REPAIR

HOW TO FIND THE BEST MARINE DIESEL MECHANIC

Do your homework when selecting a boat repair shop to repair your boat’s diesel engine. The Boat Diesel Engine Repair page on Mariner Exchange is a good resource to research repair facilities online that are located in your area. It’s important to look at a boat repair shop's customer reviews, the professionalism of their website, and other comparable projects that they’ve done. You can also get great referrals from your marina manager, but don’t be afraid to look outside the marina. Marina managers tend to refer diesel boat motor mechanics they know or who are located in their marina. A certification from the American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) for marine diesel repair is also a strong endorsement. Areas in Los Angeles with a high concentration of good quality marine diesel mechanics include: Long Beach, Wilmington, Newport Beach, Marina del Rey, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Santa Ana, and several others. Long Beach is a hot spot for commercial diesel engine work while places like Newport Beach and Marina del Rey are recreational boating hubs.

COST FOR MARINE DIESEL ENGINE REPAIR IN LOS ANGELES AREA

The Los Angeles area is very spread out, which means you may have to expand your search area for marine diesel engine repair services. Look for diesel boat motor mechanics that offer mobile service, but be careful and be sure to ask the rate for travel. Some diesel mechanics will bill per hour or per mile for the distance they have to travel to service your boat’s engine. Marine diesel engine repair could cost anywhere from $250 to $3,500 depending on the time and labor required. Annual engine service should be on the lower end of the cost spectrum while engine rebuilds are on the higher end.

HOW TO MAINTAIN YOUR BOAT’S DIESEL ENGINE

To avoid costly repairs on your boat’s diesel engine, follow these maintenance tips. Ultimately, the best protection against extensive diesel engine repairs is regular maintenance and annual service done by a professional.

  1. Make sure your engine gets annual repairs and tune-ups by a certified marine diesel mechanic.

  2. If your engine begins to make unusual sounds, have a diesel mechanic examine it. The noise could be cylinder damage or improper engine cooling which could be catastrophic.

  3. Clean your fuel if the boat has been sitting for a long period. Contaminants in the diesel fuel can disrupt your engine’s combustion process.

  4. Check your air filters to make sure they are not clogged.

  5. Check your oil. Oil is the life blood of the engine and should be changed regularly.

  6. How’s your cooling system? If your diesel engine is not spitting out water, that’s a very bad sign. You need to make sure water is circulating through the engine and you need to make sure the raw water or fresh water intakes are not blocked. If there is no water coming out, shut off the engine immediately.

IT’S TIME FOR A NEW ENGINE...MAYBE? DIESEL ENGINE REBUILD

If your boat’s diesel engine is beyond repair, you always have the option to repower. A full repower can increase the value of your boat, however, not so much that the new value of the boat will cover the cost to repower. A marine diesel engine repower is a good option if your current engine is completely shot or is so old that many of the parts are no longer available. When you hire a diesel boat motor mechanic to do the repower, it’s a good rule of thumb to see if they are a dealer for the engine manufacturer. The manufacturer will have done some due diligence and ensured the boat repair shop knows how to install the engine.

If you don’t want to spend the money for a new engine, you can hire a diesel engine repair professional to do a complete engine rebuild. An engine rebuild is often a very good option if the engine is not too old and replacement parts are readily available in the market. If your engine was manufactured in the 1980’s, for example, a rebuild may not make sense. Finding parts for old engines is time consuming and expensive.

When hiring a mechanic to rebuild your boat’s diesel engine, the same rules apply for selecting a mechanic to repower: look for a provider that is certified by the manufacturer of the engine. Also, make sure your diesel boat motor mechanic checks the integrity of the water pump, alternator, and the starter. An engine rebuild is a great option unless these parts fail after the rebuild and you have to repower the boat anyway.