selene 53 twin cummins

Hi i am looking at a selene 53 from 2005 with twin cummins bta 330 hp. I read a lot about the small issues with the cummins like aftercooler and the seawaterpump. Is it possible to maintain the twin cummins in the ER properly. From the pictures it looks quite narrow on the outside of the engines. i think 330 is too much at all but there are not many choices on the market. at least the engine is still a mechanical one which i prefer.
carsten

The aftercoolers are not a problem IF you service them regularly. The seawater pumps are an easily solved problem by replacing them with SMX pumps. I replaced my seawater pumps with SMX pumps a couple of years ago, i replaced one aftercooler and put a new core in the other one since I don’t think they had ever been serviced since new in 1998 but my boat is a freshwater boat. I have the 450 HP 6CTAs but the servicing is similar. Check out Tony Athens website. He is the guru on Cummins. Sbmar.com

Rock solid engines. Easy to self service if you have basic skills. My preferred engine brand.

thks i have the skills, maybe someone with a selene will join reg the available space. i am not afraid in working on a cummins but if you can not reach the water pump it can be pita

Comodave said:

The aftercoolers are not a problem IF you service them regularly. The seawater pumps are an easily solved problem by replacing them with SMX pumps. I replaced my seawater pumps with SMX pumps a couple of years ago, i replaced one aftercooler and put a new core in the other one since I don’t think they had ever been serviced since new in 1998 but my boat is a freshwater boat. I have the 450 HP 6CTAs but the servicing is similar. Check out Tony Athens website. He is the guru on Cummins. Sbmar.com

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What Comodave said, 100%. I am on my third boat with Cummins with SMX parts

seems to be good engines....only quite big with two 330 , half would be enough but seems that selene in general put a lot of HP in.....

My Formula has fuel tanks outboard of the engines. About 4 to 5” of room. Formula put a hatch from the aft cabin to access the water pump on the port engine. But it was waaay to small. I cut out the bulkhead and put a larger hatch to be able to work on the pump. My mechanic loved it when he installed the SMX pump.

Can you post pics of the engine room? My engines are Cummins 6BTA and I have a cramped engine room so can relate. For general maintenance it's not that bad but I make sure to wear elbow and knee pads if down there for long.

Hands down my favorite engine BTW. I'd deal with some contortions to have good reliable engines.

I have a Selene 57 with a Cummins 450hp and it has plenty of room all around the engine, but it's a single (which I prefer). I would get on one and see for yourself how much room there is. My friend has a 53 with twin John Deeres. It has less draft, but the fuel economy and range isn't as good as a single.

I own a 53 with a single qsl9. Great engine easy to work on. I was just at the rendezvous in Baltimore and went through a 53 with twins. The one trick is getting access to change the impeller on the port engine. It’s doable but requires advanced placement boat yoga.

For what it's worth, here's my experience with two, 1999 6BTA 330hp engines. Mine are probably very tightly packed into the ER compare to the Selene but I can service all the regular needs myself. The biggest issue in six years so far was the tight fit did not allow the proper drain angle for the wet exhaust mixers, resulting in a pocket of raw water never draining after shut down. One day, I noticed raw water slowly running into the bilge from the corroded mixer. Luckily no turbo damage. Surveys during purchase never unwrapped the heat insulation or looked there so now I inspect annually. Seaboard Marine (SMX) custom made beautiful replacement mixers to solve the issue. Also, I removed the fuel coolers due to corroded hose ends and for easier impeller access using the SMX replacement kit. Latest issue was a weld separation in the fuel return manifold and that's when I learned Cummins is not making replacement parts for these older engines. That said, I've been a fan of the reliability and have been able to find replacement parts or services to repair broken parts. Just know you need to stay limber and as previously noted, plan on bilge yoga