Engine oil check
 

It's been a while since I checked the condition of the engine oil on my
Westerbeke 13... last time was at purchase.. about 18 mos. ago.

An old oil sample was sent off for analysis as a condition of the purchase,
and nothing out of ordinary was found, but I changed the oil anyway.

I'm thinking that it's that time again, and I was going to send away to have
a sample tested when I ran across this article. It's a heck of lot less
expensive to test it this way vs. the $45 the last time for a one-time test.

Has anyone done this? It seems to be fairly new.

http://www.marinelink.com/Story/Engi...st-210344.html

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

Engine oil check
 

"Ernie Harrod" wrote in message
...
crap removed


You are one sick puppy. Do you get a thrill out of stalking people? You
clearly know nothing about boats or engines, but you know a heck of a lot
about stalking. **** off.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

Engine oil check
 

"Capt. JG" wrote in
:

You are one sick puppy. Do you get a thrill out of stalking people?
You clearly know nothing about boats or engines, but you know a heck
of a lot about stalking. **** off.



Cap'n J, is it running good?

MOST important is what happens to the LEVEL on the dipstick...does it drop
a little?

Diesel engines USE oil, some more than others. Anyone you know who has a
diesel that doesn't use oil (they usually brag about it), either has water
intrusion, which is easy to spot, or fuel intrusion past the rings, which
isn't until it's bad.

Oil analysis is used to EXTEND oil change intervals on engines that use a
LOT of oil, big diesels using gallons and gallons. As yours is not
anywhere near this category and an oil change is so cheap, screw all that
and just change the oil every hundred hours OR SIX MONTHS, anyway. It
doesn't break down in a hundred hours or 6 months sitting there full of
fuel and acids and water so just changing it is fine....UNLESS THE LEVEL
RISES!..which is BAD...

They crank fine at 25,000 hours if you do this...(c;

Engine oil check
 

"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...
It's been a while since I checked the condition of the engine oil on my
Westerbeke 13... last time was at purchase.. about 18 mos. ago.

An old oil sample was sent off for analysis as a condition of the
purchase, and nothing out of ordinary was found, but I changed the oil
anyway.

I'm thinking that it's that time again, and I was going to send away to
have a sample tested when I ran across this article. It's a heck of lot
less expensive to test it this way vs. the $45 the last time for a
one-time test.

Has anyone done this? It seems to be fairly new.

http://www.marinelink.com/Story/Engi...st-210344.html

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

The oil analysis that we used to do looks at a lot more than the fluid or
chemical contaminants that the kit you reference does.

Typically, a report would consider various metal traces found in the oil and
suggest possible sources.

The full lab analysis gave great comfort.

In my opinion (and for my engine and conditions, your mileage may vary) 18
months is too long to leave oil in an engine. Oil is relatively cheap and
easy to change compared to pistons, valve lifters, etc. I have elected to
change ours twice a season. Probably overkill but provides a lot of peace
of mind.

Engine oil check
 

"Larry" wrote in message
...
"Capt. JG" wrote in
:

Cap'n J, is it running good?

MOST important is what happens to the LEVEL on the dipstick...does it drop
a little?

Diesel engines USE oil, some more than others. Anyone you know who has a
diesel that doesn't use oil (they usually brag about it), either has water
intrusion, which is easy to spot, or fuel intrusion past the rings, which
isn't until it's bad.

Oil analysis is used to EXTEND oil change intervals on engines that use a
LOT of oil, big diesels using gallons and gallons. As yours is not
anywhere near this category and an oil change is so cheap, screw all that
and just change the oil every hundred hours OR SIX MONTHS, anyway. It
doesn't break down in a hundred hours or 6 months sitting there full of
fuel and acids and water so just changing it is fine....UNLESS THE LEVEL
RISES!..which is BAD...

They crank fine at 25,000 hours if you do this...(c;

Actually, I haven't had to add a drop since the oil change. I feel the oil
every time I check it, doesn't feel gritty.

I was thinking, perhaps wrongly, that an analysis would tell me if there was
something going on that wouldn't be obvious by a drop in oil or in a burnt
aroma, or stuff in it.

I doubt I've run it 100 hours in 18 months... probably under 50.

Maybe I'm trying to fix something that isn't broke. :-}


--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

Engine oil check
 

"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...
It's been a while since I checked the condition of the engine oil on my
Westerbeke 13... last time was at purchase.. about 18 mos. ago.

An old oil sample was sent off for analysis as a condition of the
purchase, and nothing out of ordinary was found, but I changed the oil
anyway.

I'm thinking that it's that time again, and I was going to send away to
have a sample tested when I ran across this article. It's a heck of lot
less expensive to test it this way vs. the $45 the last time for a
one-time test.

Has anyone done this? It seems to be fairly new.

http://www.marinelink.com/Story/Engi...st-210344.html

That test shows only contaminants and I see they include carbon.
Carbon will always be present in the sump oil of a diesel to some degree so
this test is usually going to show it up..
.. The main reason for regular oil changes is that modern oils contain
additives that hold carbon particles in a colloidal
suspension,which is why the oil in a diesel turns black.
If you do not change the oil at specified intervals the additives become
exhausted and the carbon load being held in the oil starts to fall out of
suspension and cook itself onto the pistons, rings and cylinder walls and
form sludge in the sump.
So prolonging the period between oil changes meansyou save a bit on oil
costs and your maintanance bills are much higher.
How easy is it to remove cylinder heads and/or draw pistons from the engine
in your boat?
I change my oil at the end of every season for this reason regardless of
hours run and always well before the engine makers recommended hours.
It pays off in the long run. My engine never has used oil in it during the
cold winter,when acids,water or anything else can condense and start
corrosion
or other problems.

Engine oil check
 

On Sun, 30 Mar 2008 04:43:04 +0000, Larry wrote:

"Capt. JG" wrote in
:

You are one sick puppy. Do you get a thrill out of stalking people?
You clearly know nothing about boats or engines, but you know a heck
of a lot about stalking. **** off.



Cap'n J, is it running good?

MOST important is what happens to the LEVEL on the dipstick...does it drop
a little?

Diesel engines USE oil, some more than others. Anyone you know who has a
diesel that doesn't use oil (they usually brag about it), either has water
intrusion, which is easy to spot, or fuel intrusion past the rings, which
isn't until it's bad.

Oil analysis is used to EXTEND oil change intervals on engines that use a
LOT of oil, big diesels using gallons and gallons. As yours is not
anywhere near this category and an oil change is so cheap, screw all that
and just change the oil every hundred hours OR SIX MONTHS, anyway. It
doesn't break down in a hundred hours or 6 months sitting there full of
fuel and acids and water so just changing it is fine....UNLESS THE LEVEL
RISES!..which is BAD...

They crank fine at 25,000 hours if you do this...(c;

It can also be used to find out what is wearing out. If you perform
periodic oil analysis and keep a record you can see the bearings and
rings wearing out. Whether this is of interest on a pleasure boat is
debatable (it is on airplanes) so the advise to change the oil and
filters every X hours probably results in lower costs and very
possibly longer engine life.

Bruce-in-Bangkok
(correct email address for reply)

Engine oil check
 

"Capt. JG" wrote in
:

Actually, I haven't had to add a drop since the oil change. I feel the
oil every time I check it, doesn't feel gritty.


Because the fuel is a thin oil, you won't feel much difference until it's
really contaminated with fuel. The lamp black color of it two minutes
after you crank on new oil is the carbon blowby all diesels at these
tremendous pressures have. It's so finely ground up, it doesn't feel
gritty, either. Gritty would be like bearing grindings and very rare,
indeed.

I was thinking, perhaps wrongly, that an analysis would tell me if
there was something going on that wouldn't be obvious by a drop in oil
or in a burnt aroma, or stuff in it.

It will if something's grinding apart or coolant is leaking in, another
item that causes the level to rise...head gaskets/cracked block..yecch,
ugly thoughts on Sunday morning.


I doubt I've run it 100 hours in 18 months... probably under 50.

Ok, so what you need to do is to start changing oil at least every 4-6
months. A chemical change takes place between oil and the contaminants
the engine introduces into it when running. These conttaminants break
the oil down, hence the month limit on used oil life. Get the oil change
gadget that makes it easiest on you and do it yourself. Don't reuse the
filter. It'll run for decades, or until the rubber parts fail. Change
the water pump impeller yearly. That's a pain but doable.


Maybe I'm trying to fix something that isn't broke. :-}

Everybody does that. Too much free worrying time influenced by
libations...(c;)

Engine oil check
 

Bruce in Bangkok wrote in
:

Whether this is of interest on a pleasure boat is
debatable (it is on airplanes) so the advise to change the oil and
filters every X hours probably results in lower costs and very
possibly longer engine life.


At 50 hours in a year, he needs time interval changes and worrying over
zinc anodes inside the engine being eaten. He'll never wear it out...

Engine oil check
 

"Larry" wrote in message
...
"Capt. JG" wrote in
:

Actually, I haven't had to add a drop since the oil change. I feel the
oil every time I check it, doesn't feel gritty.


Because the fuel is a thin oil, you won't feel much difference until it's
really contaminated with fuel. The lamp black color of it two minutes
after you crank on new oil is the carbon blowby all diesels at these
tremendous pressures have. It's so finely ground up, it doesn't feel
gritty, either. Gritty would be like bearing grindings and very rare,
indeed.

I was thinking, perhaps wrongly, that an analysis would tell me if
there was something going on that wouldn't be obvious by a drop in oil
or in a burnt aroma, or stuff in it.

It will if something's grinding apart or coolant is leaking in, another
item that causes the level to rise...head gaskets/cracked block..yecch,
ugly thoughts on Sunday morning.

Very. Thanks! LOL


I doubt I've run it 100 hours in 18 months... probably under 50.

Ok, so what you need to do is to start changing oil at least every 4-6
months. A chemical change takes place between oil and the contaminants
the engine introduces into it when running. These conttaminants break
the oil down, hence the month limit on used oil life. Get the oil change
gadget that makes it easiest on you and do it yourself. Don't reuse the
filter. It'll run for decades, or until the rubber parts fail. Change
the water pump impeller yearly. That's a pain but doable.

I didn't mean to imply that it just sits... I do start it and run it for
10-15 minutes, either because I haven't run it in a while or because I'm
going out or coming in. Does that make a difference? I don't mind changing
it myself. The hardest part of doing anything with the engine is actually
checking the oil. The dipstick is in on the starboard side about mid-engine,
but the engine is offset in the bay, with the forward part inset to
starboard. So, basically, I have to reach around it to get at the stick,
which I can't see directly.


Maybe I'm trying to fix something that isn't broke. :-}

Everybody does that. Too much free worrying time influenced by
libations...(c;)

Heh..

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com