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Old 02-04-2013, 09:57 AM   #11
sunchaser
Guru
 
City: Carefree, Arizona
Vessel Name: sunchaser V
Vessel Model: DeFever 48 (sold)
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 10,186
Quote:
Originally Posted by djmarchand View Post
Marine diesel manufacturer's recommend changing the oil every 100-200 hours.
David
It depends on the engine and year. My 2003 engines (Perkins Sabre 225/Cat 3056) are book stated at 400 hours with "low" sulfur fuel. Many marine engine books were written when low sulfur fuel didn't exist.

I had a long talk a few days ago with the manager of PNW Cummins Marine about detecting a leak in an aftercooler. He said do it with an oil analysis (yearly for most of us) and I said have a drain valve on the bottom of the cooler to detect salt water on a daily basis. Oil analysis is too late - he agreed. Point being, when cruising, look things over every day, very carefully.

On a side note, Tony Athens just posted on boatdiesel that oil analysis is salve only and he has not seen in his 40 years of marine diesels that oil analysis ("no real benefit") trumps good maintenance.
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