Sodium in Oil

[Dan]

I had my oil analyzed and it came back with a trace of sodium in the oil. Apparently that's salt water getting in. Where would that that occur? Oil cooler? Other? What sorts of corrective actions would you take if it were your boat?It's a Yanmar 4JH-2TE

 

[RichH]

Possibilities ....

Water pump shaft seal, oil cooler if you have one, pin hole in exhaust manifold (between gas side and cooling water side), weepy head gasket, etc. etc. Sodium is a trace contaminent in virtually everything on this planet. Could even be a natrual contaminent from the oil you use or from natural blowby of the compression rings, etc. I wouldnt worry about trace amounts of sodium. Putting this in persepective if you layed a sheet of plywood on the surface of the state of Connecticut and compared its area to the whole surface of Ct. .... the 4x8 sheet of plywood would be a 'trace amount'. ;-)

 

[DRhoads]

Might try asking

These guyshttp://www.freeboards.net/?mforum=yanmarhelp

 

[CalebD]

Flush the oil system with a few

back to back oil changes (use cheap oil for this) then re-fill with engine's oil of choice. We got salt water in our oil from a stuffing box failure and had to put 3 gals of cheap oil in and out to clear out the water. Ours was not 'trace amounts' as the oil was visibly grey from the suspended water droplets.Check the possible entry points as outlined by RichH.Change oil frequently.Go sailing.

 

[Stu Jackson]

RichH is right

The key to oil analyses is NOT just one, but comparisons of many over the course of time. Don't sweat it, don't bother changing your oil (unless it's scheduled to do so) and take another sample in a few months.

 

[KennyH]

Sodium is an additive

Sodium is an additive in small amounts to oil. If your oil analysis showed from 4-8 ppm sodium this is normal. If it showed 20+ this is not normal and would indicate antifreeze getting in the oil. Most likely source is head gasket. Also if you are using Mobil products they use larger amounts of sodium as an additive in most of their regular oils, so in that case all bets are off. Mobil 1 does not have the larger amounts of sodium except the 4-8 amount above. Royal Purple also used large amounts of sodium in the past but no longer uses it.

 

[Dan]

Thanks, all

Your comments provide some perspective (and not a little confusion!), but I can at least begin to tackle the problem!Thanks again.

 

[Ken13531]

sodium in antifreeze

I presume you are using glycol antifreeze as coolant in the Yanmar. If so I would suggest you are getting coolant into the oil.I am not much on the Yanmar diesel but oil cooler elements are likely if it has one. Talk to your Yanmar shop if there is one nearby for clues and possibilities. Someone else on this site may give help on this tooGood luck.Ken

 

[Ken13531]

I forgot

yes. One oil sample is not conclusive. Change often and test each sample. even test a sample of new oil so you know how much sodium is in the oil to begin with. Use same oil lab for all tests too.Ken