4.236 oil/diesel in exhaust

[witzgall]

Hi all, We have a new to us boat with a Perkins 236 engine. She went through a external and some internal overhaul about 12 years ago and had only 150 hours since. It was owned by an elderly man who had the entire engine room emptied, and everthong redone.

On her maden voyage from Duxbury to Onset MA, we noticed some sheen in the exhaust. It seems to be a fair amount. It looked like the oil pressure was high but looks ok now. The engine starts right away. She has been on the hard for 18 months


Could this be a leak in the oil cooler? Other ideas? We need to get her out of here soon, down to Annapolis, so it is a big concern of ours.

[DeepFrz]

Was it better after the voyage than the beginning? Its probably an injector problem or compression problem in at least one cylinder.

What did the mechanic that did the engine survey say on the survey? You did have an engine survey, didn't you?

[witzgall]

It seemed worse after. The engine seems to be running strong, and temps are good.

No, we did not get an engine survey. Your comment about that was not helpful. Anyone else care to chime in?

[DeepFrz]

Maybe my comment wasn't helpful to you but it may be to some newbie considering a new/old boat.

[Tom.B]

I would think it's pretty normal. My Perkins sheens a lot too. Remember you likely have thirty year-old injectors an a minimum twelve on the valve stem seal and seats that have sat unused for a long time. I have also heard of glazing on the cylinder walls, but I haven't researched that yet so I will only mention it. The best advice is to immediately get an oil analysis done at the local shop that sells and services heavy equipment. I looked around online and found a few, but in the end, the Gregory Poole shop by the fairgrounds in Raleigh did it for FAR less money and had the results the next day. They even helped me understand the numbers in a follow-up phone call. Moreover, it establishes a baseline for the motor under your ownership. Once you know the general health of the internal parts, THEN you can come up with a plan to possibly solve the problem. If it's running well now, you are probably fine, but just monitor it (I am sure you are) just to make sure it doesn't get worse.