Slight oily discharge reasons

[EdHouston]

Ok all knowing list

Oily discharge from exhaust what could cause such a situation?

I know a leaking oil heat exchanger can, been there done that.

I assume weak piston rings and or worn valve stems could also be causing this any other ideas?

Ed

S/V Moonlight Mile

[RayNWanda]

 Ed, with the cold weather we've had you could be seeing fuel. Especially during cold temperatures, a diesel engine can have a hard time lighting the fuel charge when it first starts up. The result is it blows some unburned fuel out with the exhaust gas. The unburned fuel will coat the inside of the exhaust system and you see a light sheen on the water. As the engine warms up, ignition improves. Did this problem appear with the recent cold temperatures? The fuel samples that I have tested on the gulf coast have been a 31.5-33 API gravity, which is a little on the heavy side. It is a great high power fuel that will deliver about 3% more than rated power on a dyno, but diesel engines can have a hard time lighting it at cold startup when the ambient temperature is low. It can also cause a misfire for the first few seconds at startup, sometimes accompanied by white "smoke". The smoke is unburned fuel. If you have these symptoms, it will probably go away when the weather warms up. Up north, they get a lighter fuel in the winter because the low temperatures cause other problems too (cloud point, pour point). But on the gulf coast, we get the same brew year round. Usually it is fine, but if we get really cold, the fuel is a little too heavy.

I was elected to explain this to one of the refineries in Port Arthur that makes fuel. They had 2 brand new trucks fogging the whole plant while they warmed up in the morning...

[EdHouston]

Damn Ray your good

Yes I was at the boat thismorning first time Ive been able to get aboard for about a week and thought I would fire her up before I head out to Edmonton AB this evening. Yes its cold and yes I had lots of white smoke so I am going with your explanation and will see what happens when I get home from Canada should be a little warmer then I hope.

Thanks buddy.

Ed

[SV THIRD DAY]

Ok....solution to cold temperatures....get down here!  I had sweat on my forhead as I was trying to pry and empty Paficico can form the cozy to make room for a new one....I know...that wasn't nice, buy hey....it was funny.

Rich

[slokat]

...and, It was sunny and 75 in Morro Bay, until the fog rolled in this evening.

[RayNWanda]

 Weather.com says it was about 25 degrees in Seabrook yesterday morning, and that's cold enough to cause this. I don't know how long you ran it, but it should have eventually warmed up and smoothed out. Your intake preheater would have helped warm up the intake air by using it on and off for a few seconds at a time. Your exhaust system most likely has fuel in it. There is probably a puddle of fuel on top of the water in the muffler, and the hoses are coated. Expect it to make a sheen next time you start it up. It may smoke again, but that should clear up pretty quick. The sheen should clear up as the exhaust system gets washed out by cooling water, but that could take awhile to get it all flushed out. I would try it again on a warmer day to verify that it is OK, then go ahead and change the engine oil as a precaution. While it was misfiring, the piston rings leaked a little fuel into the crankcase. It is most likely only a trace and you will not see a level increase on the dipstick, but it is present. Better safe than sorry.

[ishmael]

Wish I could say the same for Florida.  We are freezing our butts off down here.  And yes, I noticed the other day that we and a couple of others in Saint Marks are putting out more white smoke than usual and also have some oily discharge on startup.

Ron
S/V Matchmaker Pearson 365 Ketch
Lying Saint Marks Florida

[Dale Tanski]

I feel so sorry for you guys down there.  When it is in the 50's your freezing.  I go out in the morning and start the car without a coat and it hasn't been near 30 in weeks.  When you come in your hair is frozen from the morning shower. It was -2 Saturday.  I have yet to break out the long underwear yet! 

It is supposed to be a heat wave tomorrow reaching maybe 30 something before we get the next front rolling through.  I heard this morning that it was warmer in Anchorage Alaska (26) than it was in Florida (25). 

Damn this global warming!

Warm sailing...  Dale

[RayNWanda]

 Yea Dale, we are not used to the cold down here. When we get a good dose of it we don't like it. But the upside is that our boats can stay in the water year round. We can get quite a bit of sailing in during our "winter". Usually a cold snap only lasts a few days, then it warms back up into the 60's, so at worst we may have to wait a few days to go sailing. What we do have to watch- our bays are shallow. We don't think anything of sailing in 6 feet of water. The bottom contours are gentle, the bottoms are mostly soft. When the wind comes around out of the north, it blows the water out. So where you normally have 6 feet, now you got 4 or maybe 3, and that won't work. The water comes back in a few days, usually about the time it warms back up, and you're good to go again.

[ishmael]

Dale!  You are the man!  I could not handle that at all and my hat's off to you.  I like the incubator.  And yes, it is shallow.  Sometimes more like plowing than sailing!

Ron
S/V Matchmaker Pearson 365 ketch #311
Saint Marks FL