Volvo D6 Marine, 5W-40, 400 hours, high AL

[Stevesmith23]

Newbie, as title suggest, have an oil sample back on a Volvo D6-435 pre-purchase inspection that has high Aluminum (50ppm), Iron (18ppm) and Lead (5ppm). Boat has been sitting a lot and last had an oil change in 2021, as I understand.

I do not have any other samples / trends to compare it against. How concerned would you be prior to making a purchase with this information? Any insights on marine D6 applications appreciated.

 

[fantastic]

I don't know anything about that engine but those readings seem to indicate high wear. Do you plan to buy it & are you prepared to deal with any major engine issues? If so have at it?

 

[Stevesmith23]

Thanks for the reply. I was planning to buy, but did not factor in the high engine wear to purchase price. I have a contractual out, and was considering options.

 

[KEVINK0000]

I know less than nothing about this engine, but the results and the marine use lead me to believe corrosion rather than wear is the cause of your numbers. Which in my opinion somewhat mitigates the results.

 

[OLEJOE]

If 402 hours is the total run time on the engine, that’s not very much.

 

[userfriendly]

High aluminum could be aluminum oxide (rust) from high humidity and/or water vapour in the block.
I had this on a UOA from a duramax that was daily driven over a winter with months of cold starts down to minus 40.
I blamed it on condensation in the engine as high Al never showed up again.

 

[Strumpan_]

402 hours on a D6 is nothing, we do 1000h on D6s with semi synth 10W-30 and they live to 10-15k hours before being exported to some garbage country.

 

[OLEJOE]

402 hours on a D6 is nothing, we do 1000h on D6s with semi synth 10W-30 and they live to 10-15k hours before being exported to some garbage country.

Since you have knowledge about these engines, maybe you can give the OP some insight into his concerns about the UOA. I too have zero experience with marine engines.