Heavy-duty diesel specialists · Sharjah, UAE
Diesel engine repair & overhaul
Engine stopped, smoking, losing power or due for an overhaul — we diagnose it, repair it and rebuild it. Marine, generator, fire pump, plant and industrial diesel, in the workshop or where the engine stands.
Why engines reach us
When people call us
Most jobs arrive in one of four shapes. Find yours and you already know which page to read next.
Something failed and the machine is stopped
A genset that will not pick up load, a main engine shut down on low lube oil pressure, a fire pump that failed its weekly run. This is a callout, not a quotation exercise.
Something is degrading and you want to know how bad
Blow-by pushing oil out of the breather, exhaust temperature deviation between units, rising oil consumption, white smoke that will not clear once warm. The answer is a measurement, not an opinion.
The engine has reached its hours
Scheduled work, agreed scope, agreed downtime window. Planned rather than forced, which is the cheapest way an overhaul ever happens.
A component needs repairing, not the whole engine
A turbo, an alternator, a starter, a heat exchanger, a cylinder head. These land on the bench individually and go back on the engine.
The same symptom — smoke, a knock, low power — usually has four or five possible causes, and replacing parts until one of them stops the symptom is an expensive way to find out which. Send the engine make, model, data plate and the symptom, and you get a sensible answer rather than a brochure. See diagnostics →
The full scope
What we do on a diesel engine
Marine main and auxiliary engines, generator engines, fire pump engines, truck and plant engines, and industrial diesel units. We do not service car engines.
Diagnosis & assessment
- Fault finding on site or in the workshop, before anything is stripped
- Compression, crankcase pressure and running measurements
- Strip-and-report: the measurements first, the scope second
- Findings written against the manufacturer's limits
- An honest answer on whether the job you asked for is the job you need
Overhaul & rebuild
- Full engine overhaul — strip, measure, rebuild, test
- Top overhaul: heads, valves, seats, injectors, gaskets
- Major overhaul: pistons, liners, crankshaft, bearings
- Reconditioning after a seizure, a bearing failure or a contaminated engine
- Rebuilt to specification, run and checked before it leaves
Systems & components
- Turbochargers — stripped, rebuilt and balanced on our own bench
- Cooling — radiators, heat exchangers, oil coolers, water pumps
- Starter motors and charging alternators — rebuilt and bench tested
- ECM, ECU and governor work on electronically controlled engines
- Injection pumps and injectors — tested and calibrated in house
Where the engine stands
- On-site and in-situ repair in your plant room, vessel or yard
- 24/7 emergency breakdown response, UAE-wide
- Marine main engines and onboard auxiliaries
- Fire pump engines in buildings, plants and ports
- Trucks, plant and heavy equipment
And the machining, when the measurements call for it
Every overhaul reaches a point where a reading falls outside limits — a main journal out of round, a head bowed past the flatness limit, a tapered liner bore, a stretched big end. A workshop without machines then has two options: buy a new part, or send yours out and wait. We have a third. Cylinder head machining, boring, honing, crankshaft repair, connecting rod repair, lathe work and press work all happen in the same building the engine is stripped in, which is why our quotes routinely carry a machining line where another workshop's carries a parts line. It is not always the right answer — a crankshaft already at its last permitted undersize should be replaced, and we will say so.
How a workshop job runs
Measured before it is quoted
You get the measurements, then the scope. Not the other way round.
- Receive and record
Engine or component logged, application and history taken, visible damage photographed before anything is touched.
- Strip and clean
Components cleaned so that measurement is possible; a dirty part cannot be measured honestly.
- Measure and report
Journals, bores, liner wear, head flatness, valve seat condition, rod alignment — findings against manufacturer limits.
- Scope and quote
The measurements first, then the scope. Nothing starts until you approve it.
- Machine or replace
In-house machining where the component is recoverable; parts sourced where it is not.
- Rebuild to specification
Torque sequences, clearances and timing set and recorded.
- Test
Run and checked before the unit leaves the building.
The question every fleet manager has
Repair or replace — a measurement, not an opinion
Repairability is measurable. On a crankshaft it is ovality, hardness, bend and crack depth, and how much material is left above the bottom undersize. On a cylinder head it is flatness, seat recession and cracks. On a liner it is wear, taper and ovality.
Replacement usually wins when
The engine is past saving
- The crankshaft is already at final undersize
- The block has cracked into a water jacket where it cannot be reliably repaired
- The engine is obsolete enough that parts will arrive slowly and expensively for years afterwards
We will tell you so, with the readings that put it there.
Repair usually wins when
The core is recoverable
- Block and crankshaft are within recoverable limits
- The engine has a known service history
- Spares are still available
- A replacement unit has a long lead time — machining and rebuilding a known engine beats waiting for an import
The first thing to ask us for is not a quotation. It is a measurement.
What arrives here
Engines and applications we work on
Engine makes with real depth here are Caterpillar, Cummins and Perkins. We also work on MAN, Volvo Penta, Yanmar, MTU, Deutz, Detroit, Wärtsilä, Kubota, Komatsu and John Deere engines.
We hold no brand dealership. Manufacturer names appear here only to describe the equipment we repair; no endorsement is claimed or implied. Established 2011, over 25 years of experience, ISO 9001:2015 certified.
Coverage
Where we work
Our workshop and machine shop are behind Yerevan Steel Factory in Industrial Area 15, Sharjah — this is where engines are delivered and where all machining happens. We attend sites, plant rooms and vessels across Dubai, Ajman, Abu Dhabi and Fujairah, and we collect and return engines and components from all of them.
Breakdown calls are taken outside workshop hours. If a machine is stopped at night or over a weekend, phone rather than email and you will get a straight answer about when an engineer can be with you.
Photograph the engine make, model and serial number and send it with the symptom, the running hours and a short video if there is a noise or smoke to hear. It saves a round of questions and gets you a useful answer before anything is moved.
Straight answers
Frequently asked questions
Do you repair car or light vehicle engines?
No. We work on heavy-duty diesel only — marine, generator, fire pump, truck, plant and industrial engines. Car and light 4x4 engines are outside what this workshop is set up for, and we will tell you that on the phone rather than waste your time.
How much does a diesel engine repair cost?
It depends on what the measurements show, which is why we strip and measure before quoting rather than after. Anyone who quotes a heavy-duty diesel repair over the phone is guessing, and guessing in the direction that suits them. A component repair — a turbo, an alternator, a head — is quoted on inspection. A full overhaul is quoted in two parts: the strip-and-report stage, then the repair scope once the wear is known. You see the measurements that justify each line, and nothing starts until you approve it.
How long will my engine be off the road or out of service?
Turnaround depends on engine size, the machining involved and parts availability. Component jobs are faster than full overhauls, and in-house machining removes the subcontractor's queue from the timeline — usually the longest single variable in a UAE repair. We give you a date once the engine is measured, not before.
Do you use genuine parts?
We source genuine parts where the customer specifies them and quality aftermarket where that is the sensible choice, and we tell you which is which on the quotation. We hold no brand dealership, so we are not tied to one parts channel.
Can you come to us instead?
Yes, for a large share of work. Diagnostics, top overhauls, injector and pump changes, turbo changes and many component swaps are done on site. Anything needing a machine — crankshaft grinding, boring, honing, head machining — comes to Sharjah. See on-site and in-situ repair for the honest boundary.
Are you certified?
Abra Diesel is ISO 9001:2015 certified. We hold no manufacturer dealership and do not claim one.
What warranty do I get?
A repair should last, and if it does not you should know where you stand. Cover depends on the work and the parts used — an overhaul and a turbo rebuild are not the same undertaking — so the terms that apply to your job are written on your quotation and your invoice rather than left vague.
Every service in this pillar
Go straight to the job
Engine stopped?
Send the engine make, model, data plate and the symptom — or just photograph the plate and the damage. If the machine is stopped now, phone rather than email and you get a straight answer about today.