Anyone ever had engine & Tranny Oil Analized

[zinbaad]

Patiently or is it anxiosly waiting on the results of the 2 Yanmar oil & 2 transmissiom fluid analisis. I was wondering if anyone on board has had this done before? Since several boat owners have recomended having it done along with a survey I decided to have it done. My fingers are crossed to see good results. What to expect?Anyone had this procedure before?

[RicM]

You might want to join boatdiesel.com. It's not expensive and people there debate these issues at great length and detail. The take away I got from the discussion there is that oil analysis on recreational boats is pointless. Oil analysis is used by fleet operators of diesel vehicles and some long range fishing boats to determine the limits of service of the lubrication oil, cutting costs by using the oil to it's fullest capacity and determining other maintenence intervals. Oil samples from each engine are compared to past samples from the same engine as a means to gauge CHANGES over time and hours of operation. A single oil analysis in a survey will only tell you if the oil needs to be changed or not unless the previous owner had the oil analyzed at regular intervals and has the results available. If you change the oil at the manufacturers suggested interval (usually about 100 hours) or less there in no real reason to have it analyzed. The idea that the chemical makeup of the old oil will tell you if the rings are good or the bearings shot is bogus. If a diesel engine has good compression and doesn't leak oil it's fine, don't worry, on a recreational vessel it will probably out live you.

[zinbaad]

Thanks for the input as the samples are already sent in at least I will be able to compare both engines and trannies and have a base to work with.. God only knows how much $$ I have wasted on BS through the years. As I do know sometimes it is wise to take some suggestions because some we do not take we surely pay for some time later.
Thanks again

[Russell]

When my engine was surveyed prior to purchase the mechanic had an oil analysis done as part of the complete survey. He said one of the main things they look for is traces of antifreeze in the oil which can indicate a major problem. So the money may not be entirely wasted.

[RicM]

In rereading my post perhaps I sounded (unintentionally) dismissive. The testing can't hurt, and if it provides an additional layer of comfort for buyer and broker then it has value. I was about to send samples out for testing myself until I read the discussion on boatdiesel.com. My own erroneous assumption was that it would somehow tell me something about the internal condition of the engine, and if you read the stuff in the lab's websites they don't exactly disavow that misconception either. Our Albin is my first diesel engine, and it's a huge investment if it goes bad. Fortunately, I am learning that diesels are EXTREMELY durable. I change the oil and filter at 75 hours (we will do 150 hours this season) and have a registered Yanmar mechanic go over it and do any indicated service every spring. Other than clean fuel, just run them hard and often and they will, most likely outlive you.

[NJRobert]

Ric,

I purchased my 2007 28 Newport "new" back in Februaty 2007. Since then I have had Mack Boring do the maintainence on the engine. Zincs, oil change, winterizing, filters, etc. Last year it cost me around $525.00. This year it ran over $900.00, as I had the impeller changed too. Next year, I am being told, that it will run me around $700, for normal maintainence, as well as valve adjustment. I ended the season with a 2 year total of 176 hours, with about $2,000 in engine servicing / maintainence. Is this how much it costs to maintain engine durability? With diesel at my dock at a year-end "low" of $3.58 a gallon, I'm beginning to wonder whether or not I should start seeking out more cost effective alternatives. On top of this, the boat needs to be pulled every year mid-season as well, to change the zincs on the tabs and shaft, and to get rid of all the barnacles, which causes a drop in engine performance, usually around July. Unfortunately I am not a mechanically inclined "diesel" person. I was wondering if these are the typical expenses for this engine that one usually see's?

[RicM]

Sounds like the right ball park to me. Your boat cost you what, $150K to purchase, and you are spending less 1% a year to maintain it ? How much do you spend on maintaining your house? Did no one ever tell you that boats were holes in the ocean into which you throw money?
The Albin 28 with the Yanmar 315 is one of the cheapest boats of it's size to run, I average a little over 3 gallons/hour over the course of a (150 hour) season. A twin gas outboard can burn 60 gal/hour at fast cruise! I estimate it costs me about $5 grand a year to manintain, service, feed, store, and dock my boat for a season and worth every cent of it. If you decide that this boat is not for you, unfortunately, with the economy and energy prices in flux you may have a hard time selling. BTW do you keep your boat connected to shore power in your slip? That would be what's causing the fast burn rate on your zincs. I installed a galvanic isolator and it greatly reduced my zinc use.

[NJRobert]

With prices the way they are, one would think that the economy of a diesel, depending on how many hours it gets used per season, would have gone down. A year ago the price of diesel fuel was about a buck less than it is now. Also, I was a former boat owner with a 4-stroke 200HP . They are more fuel efficient than one might think.

I like your idea about the shore power and the galvanic isolator. I assume that it goes thru the hull. Wherabouts on the hull did you put it? Unfortunately shore power is a must so I will look into your idea. Thanks for your comments.

[RicM]

A boat that is connected to shore power in a closely packed marina shares the ground wire (#3) with all the other boats on the same circuit in the marina, effectively making a large multi-boat battery of all the metal parts immersed in the salt water. A galvanic isolator installs between the shore power connector and the main AC panel, and breaks that connection UNLESS a safety issue requires the ground. The isolator then snaps shut and completes the circuit. It doubled the life of my in water zincs. See:
http://www.yandina.com/galvanicIsolator.htm
http://www.newmarpower.com/AC_Shore_Pow ... ories.html

[RicM]

Also, remember that Poland Spring water in a 16 oz bottle costs $8/gal and all you do is drink it in & p!&& it out. It doesn't take you fishing, cruising, nothing, and you can get the same thing free (almost) from your tap.

[okelley]

I'm not mechanically inclined, but when I owned a diesel I watched how other folks changed the oil and filters, impellers, injectors, general light maintenance work. It isn't very complicated, less than gas motors. Boat charges were pretty expensive at the marina where I was ($200 oil change), I learned how to do a lot of the stuff myself. If you have a buddy or mechanic friend, or even the manual that goes with your engine, you might be able to save a lot. Also, once you've learned a few things, you can carry a few spares parts, and be confident that you can handle a problem at sea.

[okelley]

I'm down south, and when I had my sailboat I was even further south, in FL, maybe things were a lot different there, but there were divers who cleaned my boat bottom once a mo., and changed zincs, as needed, for around $30 (30ft boat). No on had their boat hauled just for a bottom cleaning. Do you have to haul your boat to do a bottom job?

[Carl]

Last season I had to replace my zincs in august when I pulled the boat to clean the bottom and wax it. They were all but gone. Over the winter I installed a galvonic isolator and when I pulled the boat this august I did not need to replace any of the zincs. In two seasons the cost of the isolator will be saved in zincs. These are great things to have if you keep your boat in a marina, as RicM described.

[RicM]

These things really work, and the circuit is a fairly simple one. I cannot for the life of me figure out why "they" have not miniaturized it and built it into a shore power cord.

[RobS]

Getting back to the title of this thread: I assume there is no historical data available from prior owner so having twins here will help as you will be able to compare one engine to the other. Like with compression tests, it's not so much as the actual psi a cylinder is reading at but the fact that all of the cylinders are within a percentage of each other.