Oil Sampling for my 3 cyl Diesel

3200 hours and lugging, could be getting by the rings, poor injector spray or not closing completely. How long since last oil change and how much is it making? Is it running up to proper operating temp?
if it has injector spray pattern issues, you will have blueish smoke all the time, not just at cold startup. if in bought it is relatively cheap to pull those and have them bench tested
 
3200 hours and lugging, could be getting by the rings, poor injector spray or not closing completely. How long since last oil change and how much is it making? Is it running up to proper operating temp?
Made a typo on the hours. It has 3020 not 3200hrs, not that it matters much. It has 100hrs on the existing oil with oil change intervals at every 200hrs. It is showing 3-4mm higher on the dipstick than normal and it's normally bang on all the time. No noticeable change in temperature. The engine runs fairly hot normally with thermostat starting to open at 194F and fully open at 221F. It did not come with temp or oil gauges, just alarms. I installed sending units and gauges a few years ago and no noticeable changes in either since that time frame.

You mentioned "lugging" and not sure what you mean by that. Maybe just that most of the hours are at idle??
 
if it has injector spray pattern issues, you will have blueish smoke all the time, not just at cold startup. if in bought it is relatively cheap to pull those and have them bench tested
No smoke other than a bit for a few seconds at cold start-up. The injectors have never been removed. I have not bothered with it as there has been no loss in RPM's or boat speed but maybe it's time. Shouldn't be a big deal for me to pull them and have them checked out as routine maintenance. The injector nozzle, Item 2, is around $70 US each so could just replace them if that's a better way to go.
 

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I wouldnt jump to any conclusions until you get that oil sample back.

Are you using a different oil than normal? 3 to 4 mm isnt very much

One thing I've seen more than a few times on Volvos, high hour mostly, is injectors running a leaky condition. Too much fuel. Glazes the cylinders. High hp usually breaks somthing. I dont recall oil getting past the rings though. New injectors and cleaning up the cylinder has solved it on 2 occasions for me however
 
I wouldnt jump to any conclusions until you get that oil sample back.

Are you using a different oil than normal? 3 to 4 mm isnt very much

One thing I've seen more than a few times on Volvos, high hour mostly, is injectors running a leaky condition. Too much fuel. Glazes the cylinders. High hp usually breaks somthing. I dont recall oil getting past the rings though. New injectors and cleaning up the cylinder has solved it on 2 occasions for me however
After the first initial oil change I have been using Royal Purple brand which was recommended by diesel mechanic at Gartland Marine.
I will be waiting to get oil sample before I start chasing causes.
 
Got my oil sample back and general comment at the top was:

"DIRT AND WEAR METALS APPEAR TO BE AT ACCEPTABLE LEVELS. OTHER READINGS APPEAR TO BE NORMAL. RESAMPLE AT THE NEXT SERVICE INTERVAL."

No Fuel, Water or Antifreeze found in the oil so not sure want is going on. The obvious comment for the higher level I was seeing on the dipstick would be that "the dipstick who changed the oil overfilled it". Well, I'm meticulous about the amount I put in ( 3.5 Liters) and I pull the dipstick before every use and only saw the increase in the last two months so not sure what is happening. I sucked out more than a cup plus the same amount to bring it at the correct level and will closely monitor over the next while to see if anything happens. If nothing changes I guess I will chalk it up to owner error somehow. The good news is nothing appears to be diluting the oil.

Don't know much about the data on the report so have been doing some online reading to try and understand what it all means. One thing I noticed was the viscosity at 100C was 12.7 which is acceptable but appears to be on the low end of the range from what I read. Still have a 100hr remaining before scheduled changeout so may get it tested again just to see what it reads then. Attached is a screen shot of the data section of the report in case any of you understand this stuff and can comment..

Thanks.
 

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good news, i have had it before where the dipstick hangs up on a collar and not get the correct reading.
 
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