mep-004a longevity

[thecrankyengineer]

Hi folks! I have the opportunity to buy an mep-004a but it has quite a few hours on the clock. Like, 4000+ hours. I know these things are tough but what kind of lifespan do they have? I've tried searching Google, this forum, and the maintenance manual with no success.

Anyone have any ideas?


Thanks!

 

[Triple Jim]

I've heard that the 003As were run 5,000 hours before a rebuild, and that in reality they were capable of a lot more than that. In my case, I run my 003A about 1/2 hour per month, plus outages, so maybe 10 to 20 hours per year. I'm 55, so if I live to be 100 I'll put up to 900 more hours on the generator. Even if I'm wrong and it's double that, it's 1800 more hours. I know you're talking about an 004A, but I think the principle would be the same. Now if you are powering an off-grid house full time, things are different.

 

[Jimc]

the military rebuilds the 003 at 5000 which is way overkill. if taken care of the actual rebuild time of most low rpm diesels is 20-25k hours.

 

[s011883]

I have a mep-005a that has 5000 plus hours and runs like a top. If you can believe this, the one with 5000 plus hours runs better than the one that only has 400 plus hours. These units were built to run and as long as you run them with load, change the oil every 100 hours (or at least once a year), and start them once a month to keep the engine lubricated, they will last.

 

[jamawieb]

I have a Mep-004a that has 8500 hrs that runs great. It's amazing how durable these units are, I've had several store bought gas units that won't last 800 hrs before they need to be rebuilt.

 

[thecrankyengineer]

Fantastic! Thanks for the info, folks. This is looking like a better deal all the time.