oil analysis abnormal questions

[RobertP]

on my buddys boat his diesel oil analysis came back saying high copper and high iron what does this mean?

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

on my buddys boat his diesel oil analysis came back saying high copper and high iron what does this mean?

(sigh!)



It means he possibly has high engine wear or lubricant contamination...



We needs LOTS more info!



What brand/displacement diesel engine

How many hours on engine

how many hours on oil

What brand, weight, type oil

how "high" is "high" on copper and Iron

What sort of water/oil cooler is used on engine

What sort of air cleaner arrangement

How regularly are filters serviced

Is engine primarily used for high speed cruising, or low speed trolling



Get back to us with that info, and MAYBE we can start coming up with meaningful suggestions, otherwise, we're just shooting in the dark...

 

[RobertP]

the only info i have at the moment is that it a cat diesel, model # 3176 its only got 1450 hours on it. the oil has been changes every 200 hours and the copper was at 91 and the iron was 122. i have yet to see the print out. this is only one of the two engines on the boat i don't think he had them both tested. not sure though.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

200 hours on the oil, calculating and equivalent of an average 50 MPH in a road vehicle would be about 10K miles on the oil - fairly high use - and about 72K on the engine itself. Boat engines typically work harder than wheeled vehicles due to the higher drag of the water they travel in.



Boat engines often have unusual cooling systems for water and oil that CAN slew oil analysis results - copper based oil coolers might run analysis numbers upwards - and rod/main bearings might be wearing abnormally as well. If some external auxilliary accessories share the engine's oil supply, that could also affect oil analysis.



Added to the above, is the fact that USUALLY, a complete oil analysis displaying abnormalities will show increased readings across a rather wide range rather than just one or two. A leaking air filter, for instance, usually shows high Silicon readings, along with coresponding high Iron, Aluminum, Chromium, and related readings - pretty uncommon for a SINGLE item in an engine to show a high wear rate all by itself...



Lots of unknowns and incomplete info here make accurate "guesses" difficult...