tomsboat
Senior Member
I'm going to have 1000 hrs on my Yanmar 6LY3STP 440 hp engine should I have it serviced before my winter storage or for my spring commission for the 1000 hr service ? Tom
1000 hr engine
- Thread starter tomsboat
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Cigatoo
Guru
I don’t think that your engine cares. However probably easier to find people available to do the work in the fall / winter as compared to spring.
FF
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" Also if they find anything that needs to be repaired it could be done during layup."
And you will have a long lead time to find parts.
And you will have a long lead time to find parts.
Irish Rambler
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ALWAYS ALWAYS service your engine at the end of your cruising season.
The reason is that during the start up process the engine passes through a short temperature range that produces tiny amounts of acid.(which is why you're advised to start your motor and run it under a light load so it reaches operating temperature quickly).
Once you've serviced your engine the working parts will be bathed in clean oil over the winter months preventing any premature wear.
You can easily check this yourself by lifting the dipstick and dabbing a tiny amount on your finger and tasting the oil, if it needs servicing you will taste the oil is slightly acidic, now try it with a little new oil. Taste the difference.
It be a old fashioned crude check and the young 'uns may well laugh, but it sure as hell works.
The reason is that during the start up process the engine passes through a short temperature range that produces tiny amounts of acid.(which is why you're advised to start your motor and run it under a light load so it reaches operating temperature quickly).
Once you've serviced your engine the working parts will be bathed in clean oil over the winter months preventing any premature wear.
You can easily check this yourself by lifting the dipstick and dabbing a tiny amount on your finger and tasting the oil, if it needs servicing you will taste the oil is slightly acidic, now try it with a little new oil. Taste the difference.
It be a old fashioned crude check and the young 'uns may well laugh, but it sure as hell works.
catalinajack
Guru
Waste of good oil. There is no acid in the oil unless it has been run for hundreds of hours, like maybe 500 hours. That's why diesel oil starts out high in TBN. It's in the additives. Until the TBN is reduced to less than two, there is NO acid in the oil. The idea that changing the oil at layup cuz there is acid in the oil is poppycock. Said with all respect.
Irish Rambler
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I was taught at Rolls Royce diesels and I fully agree that things have moved on in oil additives especially over the last 10 to 15 years or so all I can say in mitigation is that we've never had to strip an engine down or replace one either in our families fleet of trucks and certainly not in any of my playthings. Each to their own I guess.
catalinajack
Guru
Irish Rambler, your observation on oil aadditives and advances in oil technolgy is exactly my point. No doubt your experience with your fleet of trucks is the result of keeping fresh oil in the engines. My point is that the oil you change out today is still fresh when you do so. Think about it logically for a moment. When you start an engine with a fresh oil change you immediately begin to produce acids. Why not change the oil every week to make sure the engine isn't being damaged? Acid is acid whether the engine is being used or is sitting unused over the winter. The additives do their job to neutralize the acids until the additives are consumed. An oil's ability to continue to neutralize acids is determined by it's Total Base Number (TBN). As long as the TBN is within spec, about "2", it is good for continued use. Any oil analysis will reveal the TBN and soot level which should also be within spec which is what a good oil filter takes care of. But, changing the oil prematurely may be worth the cost to you and many others, cheap insurance, I guess. I am as frugal as any other guy but throwing away perfectly good oil is not my idea of frugality not to mention the hassle of, in my case, of storing and disposing of six gallons of oil while cruising. But, as you say, to each his own. By the way, I enjoy your terrific travelogues.
twistedtree
Guru
I always changed oil in the fall before layup, and changed fuel filters in the spring commissioning. Other work I would do over the winter layup. I’m not sure what’s in your 1000 hr service, but it’s probably a valve adjustment, and maybe cooler servicing.
But this is all based on doing the work myself, so pacing it out is desirable, and if problems in workmanship appear in the spring, the schmuck who messed it up is on hand to fix it.
But if you are hiring it out, I think Ski has a good point about checking the work right away while the tech is still there. Plus it will cost less to have them travel once and do everything at the same time. That means fall or spring, and I expect you will be competing with a lot fewer people in the fall than in the spring.
But this is all based on doing the work myself, so pacing it out is desirable, and if problems in workmanship appear in the spring, the schmuck who messed it up is on hand to fix it.
But if you are hiring it out, I think Ski has a good point about checking the work right away while the tech is still there. Plus it will cost less to have them travel once and do everything at the same time. That means fall or spring, and I expect you will be competing with a lot fewer people in the fall than in the spring.
