The starting fluid device was never offered for the marine version of the 8.2 because having such a volatile fuel as starting fluid in the engine space of a vessel, especially a diesel fueled one, is extremely dangerous. However when these Iron/aluminum blocks are overheated, the aluminum expands faster then the cast iron liner, popping the aluminum loose from the cast iron liner making the block unusable due to the reduced heat transfer from the iron liner to the aluminum before going on to the coolant. The shorter the piston skirt, the greater the wear experienced by the pistons, the rings and the cylinder bores. This engine family was produced by GM through 2000, when it was replaced by the new Duramax line. But remember that tight quarters may limit your choice of replacement engines.Johnson & Towers Marinized Detroit Diesel 8.2L Four-Stroke-Cycle V8 Diesel Engine with Turbo & Intercooler.Detroit Diesel has never produced any other engine to fill this medium duty truck market. Due to the poor design detailed above regarding head gasket failures, even the slightest overheating can result in serious consequences. In my previous installment of When Diesel Was Dreadful, I discussed Oldsmobile’s hapless V8 and V6 diesels, the engines that singlehandedly ruined the compression-ignition engine’s reputation in the United States.
In fact, it proved to increase the distortion of the head and block where they mated to the head gasket resulting in even more uneven compression of the gasket.

In this case, “Hydrolocking” damage to the inherently “weak bottom end” due to a coolant leak into a cylinder from a blown head gasket as discussed earlier was determined to be the cause for this failure.Detroit Diesel 8.2 with #4 rod thrown thru the crankcase and the oil pan which has been removed.Even though the connecting rod pins on a V8 crank are the widest journals on the crank, when assembled the V8 crank will have two connecting rods crowded onto each rod journal leaving little room for each individual rod bearing.V8 Crankshaft with Two Rods assembled to each rod Journal.In the picture second above and the illustration below, it is easy to see how narrow the rod bearings of an 8.2 have to be.

A proper engine survey and/or a very low price and shipping cost may reduce enough risk that acquiring such an engine may provide a viable solution. Consider retrofitting the engine with the larger head bolts and later, stronger head gaskets.Fluid analysis of the engine coolant and engine oil can help detect a leaking head gasket and can also help determine the extent of other internal damage.It may also prove helpful to pull the fuel injectors and inspect the cylinders with a borescope for internal engine damage, and “water washing”, which is evidence of a “blown” head gasket.If you replace injectors BEWARE. While this may have helped a little, unfortunately this so called “vast improvement” did not come close to solving the inherent weakness of the 10 bolt “free standing” design. The first number in the model series designation refers to the number of cylinders, and the second - 71 - the nominal displacement per cylinder in cubic inches, a rounding off of 70.93 cu in. The 8.2L Detroit Diesel Engine, also known as the "Fuel Pincher," was introduced in the 1980s. Always use a quality A number of vessels are fitted with 8.2s for propulsion. The engine shows evidence of engine coolant leaking past the head gasket and into the cylinders. There is a direct relationship between the length of the piston skirt and the length of the engine’s service life. This can result in some or all of the injectors delivering too little fuel for the higher rated engines or too much fuel for the lower rated engines. Note the wear and damage to the 8.2 piston, especially between the top ring and the top of the piston pictured in the Longer life engines typically have piston skirts at least as long as the cylinder bore diameter. This engine has a displacement of 738 cubic inches (12.1 liters). You can see how crowded a small V8 crankcase can be in the picture directly below.