18 HP yanmar diesel motor

[jeffex]

My brother in law asked me to find out opinions on the yanmar diesel engine. He is looking to buy a JD 355 18 hp yanmar diesel or a JD 345 gas 20 hp. What is your experience?

[bob]

I have a 18hp Yanmar diesel on my Gator. Tons of power and torque compared to the 10hp Kawasaki I had on my first Gator. It sips fuel. It uses less fuel than the 10hp gaser.

[Bunton Guy]

Yanmars are good they are built tough...they are the cummins of small diesels (i.e LOUD knock)

[jeffex]

thanks for replys. My brother-in-law will be glad to here the positive responce. It is $575 more for the diesel and I told him I thought it was worth the the cash.

[Bunton Guy]

Ahhh its worth more to me than that...I love the yanmars well...diesels in general. Nothing smells better than fresh diesel exhaust in the morning....sun comming up mid 60's outside....sweeet green grass to cut on a 5 acre field....2 cold bottles of water waiting for you when your done and a mower raring to go OK WAIT stop dreaming...geesh spring is just around the corner I cant wait

[Russ]

I have a Yanmar 26HP on a DC-60. It is bullet proof and paying for itself in gasoline savings.

[Lombardi]

I have a Yanmar 22 hp on my JD F935. Have had no problems. Very fuel efficient. Burns around 11 gal. every 2 days, 16 hrs. of mowing.

[BigDave]

I believe the 18 hp is the 2-cylinder -- my dealer told me that the next size up is a 3-cylinder and runs drastically smoother.

That bit of advice probably doesn't help your brother-in-law, who probably won't be willing to pay an extra two grand for a JD 4-series.

But I would advise him to give the 18 hp a good test-run to make sure he's comfortable with an engine that's not a smooth as the kaw gas -- but will use less fuel and last longer because among other things it's liquid cooled.

[Flex-Deck]

Yanmar Diesel all the way to the bank - reliable - fuel efficient - long life - minimal maintanance - Three cylinder is smoother than the two cylinder, but the advantages of both are way above a gasser.

Thanks, Brad

[LakeSide Lawn and Landscape]

i would for sure go with the 3 cylinder.If you run the 2 cylinder and the 3 side by side you will know why.:) The yanmar is a great engine as you may know that is what is in all the small john deeres.hope this helps!

[marvinlee]

The aluminum V-twin 18 HP Yanmar is a drastically different engine from the cast iron three cylinder in-line Yanmar. Despite Yanmar claims of a smooth, quiet V-twin, many listeners will disagree. I have heard, unconfirmed, that Yanmar will be discontinuing the V-twin within the next year. Durability on the three cylinder has been excellent. I have no knowledge of the V-twin engine life expectancy.

[Bunton Guy]

Marvinlee I have the 20 HP V-twin Yanmar and it says in the manual the engine has been tested to a life expectancy of 8,000+ hours but I have talked to many many many owners that have gotten 10,000 hours with ease.