Westerbeke 108C-6 Oil Consumption

Does anybody on the forum have a Westerbeke 108C-6 (a marinized Kia bus engine by Asia Motors)?

Our boat had 500 hours on the engine when we purchased it, and now we have 1200 hours on the clock.

Over this 700 hour time frame we have had to add a quart of oil pretty much every 25 to 30 hours. While we had an oil analysis done at 600 hours that showed nothing unusual we are starting to be concerned about the amount of oil that the engine is using.

If anybody with one of these engines knows their oil consumption we would appreciate being able to compare notes.

It is not unusual for engines to be installed on an angle while the dipstick is not properly calibrated to call for reduced capacity.


If you engine is at an angle try letting it go down a bit and see if oil use stops.

I gave that a try. With a stated 12 quart capacity I have let the level drop until I had measured only 9 quarts left in the pan during an oil change. It was still using oil.

Some diesels at light load burn some oil. some do, some don't. And a qt in 25-30hr is not that bad at all. Just consider it in the cost of running.

Can also try running it hard for a day, maybe it has been babied and rings could use a bit more seating. But usually once they get some hours on them, rings are either seated or not. Cheap enough to try.

But if nothing changes, don't let it bother your enjoyment.

Is it a turbo or blown . Sometime seals in the turbo can leak , using oil.

Did the engine have a time when it sat unused for awhile, say one year plus?