LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
transom. Any back pressure from
a following wave or sloshing from
large wakes would force water back
into the turbocharger. He told us
that we could correct the problem or
look at rebuilding the engine again in
another five years.
Once the condition was pointed
out, the defect of the exhaust system
was quite obvious. I am also in a
quandary as to why the surveyor
who was selected for his expertise
with engine issues did not note the
exhaust design. The mechanic could
not find a production lift muffler
that would provide the necessary
separation between the engine
that would fit in the limited space
available, so he is fabricating one
from fire-resistant resin laminates.
Corrugated exhaust hose was
acquired from Vetus to achieve
the tight bends necessary for the
installation. We’ve yet to test the
system because of shipping times and
scheduling issues on all of our parts.
You did your homework and it
paid off. Congratulations to you. A
few points are worthy of mention.
A frequent refrain from those
faced with less-than-favorable oil
analyses is, “One analysis is of little
value without a series to determine
trending.” In short, that’s nonsense.
While trends are valuable for subtle
changes, a sample that shows gross
contamination with metal, salt,
or coolant, for instance, is as valid
as it gets. If you want to rule out
the possibility of an error, take
another sample and have it
re-checked. (See “Oil Analysis,”
PMM Dec. ’07 for a full article on
fluid analysis protocols.)
