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How to identify the base engine from the marine model

Read a marinizer plate, a Kubota or Mitsubishi casting, and the confidence grades here. If the grade is only likely, don't order pistons yet.

Start with the plate

Broker listings lie. Re-powers happen. A "Beta 38" in an ad may be a 35, a 28, or a different marinizer Kubota. The engine plate (marinizer) and the block casting / Kubota serial are the two texts that matter. The engine page here is a third text. I only print a base engine when I've got a source. If the page has no blurb, I haven't sourced a mapping yet. See Methodology.

Marinizer codes that already name the block

Beta. Internal codes such as BV1505 name a Kubota V1505 with a B prefix. That's as close to a smoking gun as this industry gets. Still match cylinders and displacement to the Beta map.

Nanni. Model numbers (N4.38) encode cylinders and rough power. They omit the Kubota code. You need the table plus the plate. HE-range rows graded likely are fingerprint matches. They're good for filters. They're poor for a piston order until a serial confirms.

Universal. Universal reused model names for decades. M-25 versus M-25XP are different Kubota D-series codes. M4-30 is the Y-850 exception with no tractor book.

Solé / Westerbeke. Read the base-engine line. SK-60 is Kubota. MINI-44 is Mitsubishi S4L2. Westerbeke W40A is Perkins 4-107. Read the exceptions on those guides.

Cast-in industrial identity

Kubota small engines in the family I use: Z is 2-cyl, D is 3-cyl, V is 4-cyl. Examples include Z482, D722, and V1505. The serial plate on the block is Kubota, even under a Beta rocker cover.

Ford Dorset/Dover: 2712E, 2725E, 2704ET and kin appear on the casting or plate as Ford industrial codes. Marinizer model names drifted around them. See the Ford guide.

Perkins: the marine M suffix (4.236M) marks the industrial type with marine cooling. The industrial page and the marine page share internals. See Perkins.

Volvo families: MD27/29/32 are XDP 6/90. MD21 is XDP 4/90. MD22 is Perkins Prima. MD2010-2040 are Perkins 100-series / Shibaura. D1/D2 are Shibaura (some codes still likely / blank). See Volvo families.

Yanmar GM/YM: no tractor base engine. The plate will say Yanmar, and that is the honest answer. See Yanmar.

Read the plate, then the page

  1. Find the variant page (/<brand>/engine/<code>).
  2. Read the blurb and the confidence chip.
  3. If the grade is Confirmed and the plate matches, treat it as a strong lead for internals.
  4. If the grade is Likely, use it for filters and impellers with measurement.
  5. If the grade is Likely, don't order a crankshaft.
  6. If the grade is Unverified or blank, stop.

See How to use the site for the UI. Use contact if you have a source I lack.

Displacement, bore, and stroke on the spec chips should agree with the base-engine family. A "V1505" story on a 2-cylinder plate is a data bug or a re-power. Believe the iron.

Confirm before you order

  1. Use the plate and these pages.
  2. Skip forum first-hits as a parts order.
  3. Westerbeke B-series rows here use Mitsubishi. Read the engine page.
  4. Volvo MD families split across Indenor, Prima, Shibaura, and Volvo-own. Use the family map.
  5. If the engine is a generator, read generators first.

Onan MDKAZ uses Kubota V1505. Capsule parts stay Onan.

FAQ

Serial lookup services? Kubota and Perkins dealers can decode industrial serials. I record the mapping I can source.

Fingerprint matches. I've inferred some Solé Mitsubishi codes from bore, stroke, and cylinders. That's why they are likely. A casting number beats a fingerprint.

Drives. A saildrive is drive hardware. SP60 anodes are wear interchange. See anodes.

These numbers come from public and third-party sources. They can be wrong. Check against an official source before you order. Methodology · All guides.