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Increase Engine Life?

Discussion in 'Engines' started by MGTSCIENCES, Jun 18, 2004.

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  1. MGTSCIENCES

    MGTSCIENCES New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2004
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    Location:
    Albuquerque, NM
    Increase Engine Life or How to Avoid Premature Failure?

    What are the most important things that you can do to increase engine life?
    What are the actions I need to take to avoid premature engine failure?
    Last edited: Jun 18, 2004
  2. diesel

    diesel New Member

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    Apr 11, 2004
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    Location:
    Victoria, B.C.
    What engines do you have?
  3. MGTSCIENCES

    MGTSCIENCES New Member

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    Jun 17, 2004
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    Location:
    Albuquerque, NM
    Engine types

    Just a newbie asking for generic help on marine diesel engines.
  4. brianwill

    brianwill New Member

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    Jan 11, 2004
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    Location:
    Texas
    In very general terms, change your oil and coolant per the manufacturer's recommendations and don't exceed about 75% of the engine's maximum rated rpm. I also refrain from "firewalling" the engines and use a smooth acceleration. The best description I've heard for marine engine use is that you're in first gear trailering a heavy load uphill all the time--pretty severe service.
  5. trouty

    trouty New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 23, 2003
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    Location:
    West Australia
    Start out

    with commercial rated engines.

    The same engine can be rated recreationally at 300 hours per year average use - and put out 450 HP - OR ot can be rated at 150 Hp and work 3000 hours per year commercially...

    By using derated commercial engines and ALWAYS changing your engine oil, filters, every 250 hours - you can help increase your engine life considerably.

    Lastly - have a Fiat oil spinner plumed into the engine oil routing somewhere.

    These things spin at something like 15000 rpm's and tend to remove carbon deposits from the oil thru centrifugal force. Carbon particles tend to get past the rings in diesels and often they are so fine the oil filtration system can't remove them.

    The Fiat centrifuge will, and your engines will thank you for it with increased life between rebuilds.

    2 stroke diesles like the GM's are worse for it than 4 stroke diesles - but they all do it to an extent.

    Lastly - you could also add the Franz style filters as well, (long distance road trains use them with success)....they take a whole roll of toilet paper, minus the centre cardboard insert....and they bypass about 1/3 of the engines oil at any given time thru these filters, which are so effective, the oil in your engine remains clear all the time basically - s0me trucks use 3 Franz filters in succession..

    The elements (toilet paper rolls) are cheap and easey to replace, and you'll always have clean oil. Theres been some suggestion that they are 'too effective', and that they remove detergents and other micro particles from the oils that manufacturers put in there - but the test is in the eating of the pudding as they say - and long haul trucks with over 5 million Km's between rebuilds is the answer.

    Clean oil...Clean air...and clean fuel...feed them that and they will thank you.

    It all depends on how you look after the engines too - adequate air circulation thru the engine room, adequate cooling, and what cruise RPM's range you utilise..
    Engines used in the tropics (warm water and high moisture content air) seem to last less time than those used in colder drier air & water.

    Cheers!
  6. John B

    John B Senior Member

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    Jan 28, 2004
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    Location:
    New York
    Troutly,

    Who is the manufacturer of the Franz style filters? Or do you have a link to a web site for a manufacturer.

    Thanks,
    John
  7. trouty

    trouty New Member

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    Location:
    West Australia
  8. brianwill

    brianwill New Member

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    Location:
    Texas
    Trouty,

    Commercially rated engines in a planing hull would have to be huge wouldn't they? If you get 450 hp out of an 8 litre recreational engine, wouldn't you have to go to a 12.5 - 15 litre engine to get the same hp at a commercial rating? These bigger engines simply won't fit in my boat, and the 8L engine at a commercial rating of 275 hp (full throttle) won't get it on plane.

    I think I'm stuck with recreation ratings for my future unless I go with a trawler displacement hull.