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by Rick Eyerdam

Most of us share the idea that as long as we keep oil in our engines and change it with some degree of regularity, then we have done all that needs to be done by way of lubrication.

This might be true if we use our boat daily so that the pistons, bearings and all the other moving parts are constantly bathed in dinosaur blood. Things are much different for the rest of us who crank up our engines a couple times a month at most.

Larry Friis, who has a financial interest in the matter, cites studies indicating that up to 90 percent of engine wear occurs during start-up. In fact, he says one start-up atter a long lay-off is equal to 500 miles of wear during normal operation.

The reason for this distressing situation is that each time an engine starts after sitting for a while, there is not only an absence of oil pressure but also an absence of coating on those metallic parts that must rub up against each other to make the engine work.

It can take several minutes for oil to coat bearings and other critical parts. Meanwhile, abrasive metallic particles are worn off the unprotected engine parts to accumulate and become an abrasive grit within the lubricating oil.

Worse yet for performance-diesel owners, the final critical part to get lubrication when a diesel is started is that high-speed turbocharger.

This is one of the reasons Professor Chuck Husick, in his engine-life article on page 41 of this issue reminds us to run our engines at least once a week to keep everything at least partially lubricated.

Friis recommends another alternative that, frankly, ought to be standard equipment on all turbocharged engines: installation of a simple pre-start engine-lubrication system to end the wear caused by dry starts. He does this because it is a good idea - and because his company, Engine Lubrication Systems of Paoli, Pa., manufactures and sells an engine-lubrication system like the one pictured above. Call him at 800-836-8601 for more information.

A separate, battery-powered pump picks up lubricant from the oil pan and propels it into the appropriate sections of the engine block, with the obvious beneficial results. The oil pump is actuated when the ignition switch is turned to the On position just before start-up. The system can be disconnected and plugged. It can also be used to drain the oil when it is time for a change.

Keeping an expensive marine engine well-lubricated can be trickier than you might expect, according to the experts from Caterpillar.

CAT has begun to recommend a single-grade motor oil for engines with a closed crankcase-ventilation system.

Lots of folks believe that using multi-trade motor oil including "viscosity-index improvers" is just the right thing to solve those coldstart problems. Improved viscosity is good, except for the unexpected consequences.

CAT engineers invented their closed crankcase-ventilation systems to recirculate and consume blow-by gases. These gases can be drawn into the inlet air because the crankcase breather vents them near the air cleaner and turbocharger inlet. The gases that are recirculated along with the inlet air may have some remaining particles of oil suspended in them.

That sounds good. But it isn't. When the blow-by gases flow through the turbocharger and after-cooler, the viscosity-index improvers in the oil vapor adhere to the turbocharger compressor and after-cooler core. This creates fouling that results in reduced air flow, loss of power, and increased black smoke, according to the CAT engineers.

The Caterpillar engineers recommend, at the minimum, a single-grade oil containing a CF-4 or CG-4 additive that meets CF-4 requirements but without viscosity-index improvers. If all of this sounds a bit complex, ask your mechanic before you change your oil the next time.

SOUTHERN BOATING/January 1999