Oil Analysis 5.9 6BTA

[Joe Gagen]

Hi I own a 2005 Meridian 459 with twin 5.9 6BTA engines just under 2 years. I just received a recent oil analysis report that doesn’t look too good on my port engine. The engine has 794 hours with 142 hours on the oil (Rotella T4 15-40) The boat always seems to run great and operates consistently during various RPM on both engines staying in the 170-180 temperature range. Before I speak to the marina service department or if someone has a recommended Cummins tech in the Jacksonville, FL area I wanted to get some suggestions at what I should expect & budget. For some reason the system wouldn’t let me add a picture or attachment but I added the link below & hope the report is viewable there.

Thanks for any info!

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0fuVosxOehjpQBllZQT0Vzq9A

Topic

[Rich Wood]

I run my engine every day, but…

Not to derail, but I run my engine every day, change oil, filters etc etc. This is my sample.

What say you?

[Joe Gagen]

Thanks guys this info & feedback is great! I was really concerned because the starboard engine report was within “normal limits” & noticeably better than the port. They both have been operated the same. For now on I’ll make sure the engines are put under proper load and brought up to temperature. I’ll have the oil checked again in another 50 hours & see if there’s any improvement.

[Rob Schepis]

Exactly as Clark states – An hour at load, you need to gets the oil up to FULL operating temp for a reasonable amount of time. Anything short of that is just creating condensation issues which leads to issues you are seeing in the oil report. So if you can’t get it out of the slip, don’t even bother to run her. And don’t think that just because your coolant temp gauge hits your normal running temp that the oil temp follows suit. Oil temp takes way longer to get there. Look into having Wolverine oil pan heaters fitted. Especially important for boats that may sit in the slip for extended periods.

[Clark Leighs]

No, you do not need to have the engine rebuilt IMO. If you are going to start and warm the engine then do it with a real run. An hour at load. My older 1976 V555 engine survives up to 5 months with no starts and good reports except for specific problems. The catch is how is it setup to survive.

I cap off/plug the air intakes so no air can flow an open valve. I do a lot more but that is one of the main things is to stop airflow.

[Steve Lewis]

Charlie and Joe,

Rob short handed the response since the detail has been covered quite a few times in the past. in Joe’s case the offending process is running the engines in neutral at the dock to “Warm them up”. Best practice as detailed in this forum is to warm an engine in gear under a light load. It may not be exactly convenient but it is the best practice. Fire the engines just before shoving off then run them in gear at slightly above idle. 700 – 800rpm until such time as you can advance throttles to what ever hull speed is for you. Run there until thermostats open. You will know this as your coolant temps will rise then fall then stabilize once the stats open. At this point you can continue at hull speed or run on plane.

I follow this process each time we go out. Our marina is located in a protected harbor. The no wake zone that gets us from the marina out onto Lake Erie is about 7-10mins at 750 – 800rpm. I then advance to 1140rpm which is hull speed for us. We either continue at 1140 or advance to 2140 and get going as our 160F stats are open at that point.

That is proper warm up. By running at the dock you do not load the engine and will get the goofy stuff in the oil sample.

So…… Change the oil and then modify your warm up process.

[Joe Gagen]

Rob, does that mean it should be ok this season with the fresh oil change or do you recommend to have some specific service/repair performed immediately? Or would you just suggest a more frequent oil change & analysis? I do want to maintain the engines properly & know if there’s something I need to do.

Thanks!

[Charlie McVey]

No clear answer.

Ok eat me alive. Based upon what I read. Had questions about a poor analysis. So would you pay to have engine rebuilt based upon this one result. Would you change the oil after having set up for the year and see what the next analysis shows. My question is based upon his analysis what would you do?

[Rob Schepis]

“The boat hasn’t been taken out much this past year but the engines are started & warmed up monthly.”

There’s your issue right there………..

[Joe Gagen]

Both engines start easily with no hesitations & idle fine, not sure if there’s a blow by issue or not, oil consumption is fairly consistent with both engines, there’s some smoke at startup that looks a little bit white(ish) but doesn’t appear to be excessive, I’ll have to pay more attention to it. I never thought there was any problem. Coolant level stays relatively stable when being used often, I’ll add a little in the overflow jug on occasion after normal use if the level drops slightly from my minimum cold mark but it’s a very small amount. The boat hasn’t been taken out much this past year but the engines are started & warmed up monthly. Last month I changed the oil/filter and sent off a sample for analysis.

[Rob Schepis]

Do you notice any “working differences” between the two engines, such as: Ease of cold start, blowby, oil consumption, smoke of any color, coolant level stability, etc etc…. ?

[Joe Gagen]

Both aftercoolers were removed, serviced & pressure tested at 654 hours in March 2020.

[Tony Athens]

Oe question based on your 15+ year old engine as to “Marine Age”..:

During those 15+ yrs, how many times have your aftercoolers be removed from the engine , put on a bench and serviced per my protocol?

[Author]

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