7.3 idi boat engine?

[AmigaDave]

Have any of you heard of, or seen an idi converted for use in a houseboat, with cooling water circulated from the lake/river?

I like the simplicity and lack of electronics dependency of the idi diesels, and have been thinking of retiring on a very large houseboat of my own design and making, and diesel propulsion has decided advantages over gasoline. I'm mechanically competent, but no auto/truck mechanic, so I don't know if this idea is feasible, or practical, but I have the donor truck with almost 400,000 miles on it, that I could remove and rebuild the 7.3 idi engine from.

What do you think?

 

[79jasper]

They were made. Just rare to find.

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[mblaney]

I think you would need a closed cooling system and a heat exchanger for lake water. Cavitation issues. Probably a good idea anyway, saves time for winterizing, etc.

 

[snicklas]

I think there are 2 in the marketplace.....,

 

[pelky350]

Someone had a marine idi for parts in this forum a little while ago maybe do a search for it? That could help with ideas for your project, possibly parts if it happened to be availablestill but that's seems like it was a while ago

 

[G. Mann]

Might want to reach out to the big boat crowd.. I know there is a "boatload" of them running Detroit Diesels and Cummins [sorry for the pun.. ) ]

They might have better info on how it was done.. if it ever was..
Remember... B-O-A-T means "Bring Out Another Thousand" so anything can be done with enough money thrown at it..

 

[u2slow]

Mercruiser definitely marinized some 7.3 IDIs...

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You'd have to see of the components are readily available, or obsolete.

A shaft drive and rudder are probably a wiser choice than a $tern drive for a heavy houseboat.

I would search out a 93-94 factory turbo engine to rebuild. The rotating assembly can simply be worked harder (rods/pistons feature floating wrist pins, and those style pistons use better-sealing rings)... whether or not you decide to use the turbo.

You could forseeably run dry exhaust and insulate it. (a common arrangement of larger boats/ships). A closed-cooling system can be built from scratch. Basically need a heat exchanger, sea-water pump, and some pipework. One of the ships I've worked on used older 7.0L Mitsubishi Fuso truck engines as generators... manifolds were fabricated, and a generic Jabsco pump was rigged up on a belt (no worse than a building your own alt. or p/s pump bracket.)

 

[Jefff27]

I have a IDI in my lobster boat, that is what got me hooked on them and made me get a matching truck. They are great, Star Powr (correct spelling) is who did the marine conversion. Some parts are hard to find, but I buy all my parts as if its a idi. Let me know if you have any questions or need some pics.

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[IDIoit]

Remember... B-O-A-T means "Bring Out Another Thousand" so anything can be done with enough money thrown at it..

with bigger boats, it takes a thousand just to fill it with fuel.
when you get above 30' its..
Bust Out Another Tengrand

 

[pcwizzy16]

Why not a 6.9L? You'd have less cavitation issues.

 

[jwalterus]

I'd looked into this for a 19' cuddy I had, it had a 351C originally.
The biggest problem is obsolete parts, you are looking at an OMC or Volvo Penta for a sterndrive.
They did do a Mercruiser alpha I, but it was only for a couple years.