Looking for owners manual - '78 Mitsubishi/Samofa 4DQ50

[Jay and Ebben]

Hi All,

I recently purchased a steel boat in Florida which has a '78 Mitsubishi/Samofa 4DQ50 diesel in it. I remain hopeful that I can fully rebuild this motor but there are not too many in the US - it was built in Holland. Samofa was purchased by Mitsubishi in the late 80's. I have a parts manual now but I am not able to find an operators manual written in english. These motors were sold in tractors and electric generators. Any help in downloading the operators version would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Jay

Here is a photo of the new steel horse in her former years - she is in rough shape now. It is now being readied for a full refit;

[Easy Rider]

Jay,
I have a boat w a Mitsubishi engine marineized by Klassen Engine Co. You can contact them at www.klassenengine.com They should have all the connections you may need to Mitsubishi to get parts and manuals pretaining to the basic engine. If the engine is recent Klassen will be able to supply you w other than Samofa marine parts (Klassen parts) to run on your engine. The only aluminum part I have on my engine is the valve cover. The exhaust manifold on my Klassen engine is welded steel. They last a very long time and that feature is one of the reasons I chose the Klassen.

Easy Rider

[pistnbroke]

what language is the manual you can find..stick it through an on line translator

[Jay and Ebben]

Thanks for the tips. The current manual I have is written in dutch. I tried to run it through one translator and it said there was too much text. Maybe I can find another. If you know of a good one please let me know.

I happen to see that this engine does have an aluminum valve cover and manifold. It is keel cooled (one large bay under the motor is a sealed tank of cooling water) so the engine never is very close to brine if all is running well. With that in mind are the aluminum manifold and cover and ? going to be a problem?

I am going to look into Klassen right now. Thanks!

[Walter Mars]

Hallo Bilgerat,

I have the information you are looking for, do you have a Email add. than i will send jou some PDF files.

Kind Regards

Walter

[Jay and Ebben]

Hello Walter,

Forgive me please for not completing this thread. I had managed to find the manuals that were written in english - another forum subscriber and I had been working together to find the information, and as it turns out there is quite a bit available! If you or any one else finds themselves short on literature for these models contact me. I can forward mechanics specs, an owners manual and other references to inquire about different models.

Thank you!

Jay

[Walter Mars]

hello jay,

good, i have al the specs, all available in the Netherlands.

Have fun with this great motor.

kind Regards

Walter

[Walter Mars]

sorry jay,

for partkits look ad parts-supply.com

Walter

[dazmaznav]

For anyone who is interested the full owner's manual for this engine can be downloaded in pdf form at this site :

http://www.samofa.nl/Samofa/Products...al%204DQ50.pdf

If anyone has the parts list in similar form I would be very happy to get the details.

[Jay and Ebben]

Try this link for Samofa manuals, including a parts list. It is a bit strange to log into - I find you have to wait the full 20 seconds as instructed before the page opens up but just be patient. The rewards are worth it. Good luck!

http://www.motoren.ath.cx/menus/samofa.php

I would love to hear of others thoughts on this diesel engine.... good, bad, etc. I would imagine the 4DQ50 is a fine machine. It seems very simple, heavy duty and well worth the hours to restore. I ended up with this motor after having purchased the boat that it was attached to... a surveyor called it a "throwaway" since he had never heard the name before here in the U.S.. Upon closer inspection, it appears to me to be a real jewel in the rough. Only 1100 hours on it! I look forward to this winter to pull it apart and clean it up!

Jay

[dazmaznav]

Hi Jay,

Yes, I got it, and downloaded it, and have listed a few essential part numbers in my manual. You have no idea how useful this is, and thank you very much.

Like you, we just acquired this beautiful little ( 30 ft ) Dutch river/canal cruiser, a real 'little ship', and the engine came with the deal. Just for your information I am a marine engineer of over 30 years standing, and as well as major commercial ships I also was a pleasure yacht constructor ( building in Taiwan ). Thus I have quite a bit of experience, all well bought and paid for ! I believe that this engine is a gem indeed, this one is running, and beautifully I might add. I am running through various things like completely renovating the fuel system, the boat is 30 years old after all. The extraordinary thing is that, having stripped the old system down, I have no idea how it ran at all ! The amount of goop in the tanks, pipes, filters and so on should have prevented any flow at all, but not at all, it purred from the get-go. And will probably only get better with time and good, regular maintenance.

So, in conclusion, I think that you have a great machine, and if you can restore it without breaking the bank ( assuming you can find one that isn't broken already ! ) then you will be very satisfied. I am in the middle of Holland at the moment and all of the workshops and brokers praise this engine's reliability and longevity to the highest level.

If I can help with anything just let me know,

David

[Jay and Ebben]

Thank you so much David for your input. It is wonderful to have finally confirmed my thoughts that this will be a wonderful and reliable diesel.
I am now excavating (with my son) a large area at my home to raise a used steel roof that will shelter this restoration project. I am looking at a nine year period to complete the work (all the while maintaining a healthy family lifestyle with my wife and kids). Then I hope to sail her many, many, many miles. I know this vessel can take us anywhere.... and I hope to live long enough to make that happen!

The photo below is of the vessel shortly after her arrival here after a 1300 mile overland trip from Florida to Vermont (northeastern US). As I said above: she is a true 'jewel in the rough', yet she will one day be as lovely as the day she was first launched. I have been looking for this boat for 30 years!

Sail on!

[dazmaznav]

Hi Jay,

Just a quick update and a photo. We completed the fuel system upgrade yesterday and took her out for a trial today, purring like a kitten, and even quieter than before. Pulls up to 2,500 rpm ( red line is 3,000, so the prop is probably a little over-size, which is fine for a displacement boat ).

This unit is as sweet as any I have had in a 50 - 100 hp natural aspiration diesel.

Have a happy Easter.

David

[Jay and Ebben]

Beautiful! I wish I lived closer so that I could climb aboard and take a closer look at many of the nice features I can see in your photo... ie. the split forward nav windows, the roomy cabins and the anchor rode set-up and more...

Would you tell me what you did prior to your first fire-up of the Samofa? I believe you mentioned you cleaned out a lot of yuck somewhere? was that all in the fuel system? or did you pull the head or pan? just curious.

Nice to hear she runs like a champ. I am excited to hear ours run but that will not be for quite some time!

I am jealous you are on the water.... How nice it must be!