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Bertram31.com General Bulletin Board
Re: 453 Detroit Diesels
Posted By: Randy Cootes In Response To: Re: 453 Detroit Diesels (Walter Kaprielian)
Date: Tuesday, 19 July 2005, at 7:03 p.m.
Les,
The DD 453's are extremely simple, parts are dirt cheap and mechanics are readily available. However, they inherently leak oil, a lot of oil, which is the reason they have been labeled "Oil slingin' dump truck engines". Bilge maintenance is a nightmare.
We had normally aspirated 453's in a 1972 B31, only 110 HP each. The boat was painfully slow, topping out at 16-17 knots but the fuel burn was good. We repowered with 300 HP Cummins 6BTAs and couldn't be happier. Fuel burn, miles per gallon, is as-good or better. The boat performs completely different, like a planing hull should, cruises at 28 knots, top end at 34 knots. The diesel-to-diesel repower was relatively simple. Also, the weight per engine went from about 1,500 lbs to 1,200 lbs each.
There are other turbo and turbo-aftercooled DD 453's models bringing more horsepower but it's hard to beat the Cummins and Yannies in these boats.
Unless you can get a great deal on the DD 453's, it would be difficult to recommend that engine over the others. If you end up going with the DD's, I have lots of info, wiring diagrams, etc. from the Bertram owners manuals that could be useful. Don't hesitate to ask.
Randy Cootes
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