Survey is reporting problems

[argus1]

I had a survey done on 2012 Sundancer that I put a deposit on. Oil analysis is reporting a major problem on one of the drives. Here is a summary of the oil analysis.

"This sample looks pretty rough. Note that water as well as potassium and sodium was present -- this likely shows some sea water contamination Insolubles were excessive at 10.0%, so the oil was heavily oxidized, and the viscosity was quite a bit higher than the port side, reading in the low 80W/140 range or so (again, we only measure the second number, so it's hard to pinpoint the viscosity exactly). Wear is quite high, with iron showing a lot of steel wear. Aluminum is maybe from the case/housing. Chrome and nickel are probably alloy metals. Silicon might be dirt/sealers."

Ml/HR on Oil	2	UNIT/LOCATION AVERAGES	UNIVERSAL AVERAGES
MI/HR on Unit	180
ALUMINUM	20	12	9
CHROMIUM	8	5	2
IRON	752	424	153
COPPER	15	10	2
LEAD	1	1	8
TIN	1	1	2
MOLYBDENUM	76	71	16
NICKEL	6	4	2
MANGANESE	10	6	3
SILVER	0	0	1
TITANIUM	1	1	0
POTASSIUM	18	10	1
BORON	19	11	108
SILICON	22	13	3
SODIUM	221	113	13
CALCIUM	30	19	13
MAGNESIUM	17	10	3
PHOSPHORUS	679	543	883
ZINC	34	35	32
BARIUM	9	5	0

Values Should Be*

	SUS Viscosity @210*F	105.3
	cSt Viscosity @ 100°C	21.60
	Flashpoint in °F	BOIL
	Fuel %	-
	Antifreeze %	-
	Water,	POS	0.0
	Insolubles %	10.0	<0.6
	TBN
	TAN
ISO Code

Any thoughts? I am thinking that this is too much to deal with; there were other problems but this is the major one.

 

[FootballFan]

Looking at the top - MI/HR on oil - is that saying that the test determined the oil tested was almost new?

I cant help much on the individual numbers - any more than what the explanations are on the internet.

Have you asked the owner if they have previous oil samples in their records? Might be helpful to compare over time.

Side note - I test all fluids regularly. When I get ready to sell I have a packet of test results for each fluid that have been accumulated since I bought the boat. Also have some of them from the previous owner.

 

[argus1]

The high iron the oil has to becoming from somewhere, correct? I am thinking that this is indication of abnormal wear. It is reporting that it has been 2 - hours since the oil was changed.

 

[fwebster]

I think the answer here is in your location and the sodium levels in the drive lube. sodium at 15 times normal pretty much has to come from salt water. When this first started, the fix would have been a few hundred $$ for a drive service and resealing. Now you have high iron (gear wear) and high metals used in making the alloys used in the housing and other cast parts.

What to do? If you love the boat, you can refuse it based on the survey results and ask the seller to replace both outdrives or at least rebuild them. If you are luke warm about this particular boat, then refuse it, get your deposit back and move on to the next one on your list…….there are a lot of boats for sale in Florida.

 

[dpmulvey]

I think the answer here is in your location and the sodium levels in the drive lube. sodium at 15 times normal pretty much has to come from salt water. When this first started, the fix would have been a few hundred $$ for a drive service and resealing. Now you have high iron (gear wear) and high metals used in making the alloys used in the housing and other cast parts.

What to do? If you love the boat, you can refuse it based on the survey results and ask the seller to replace both outdrives or at least rebuild them. If you are luke warm about this particular boat, then refuse it, get your deposit back and move on to the next one on your list…….there are a lot of boats for sale in Florida.

+1 HUGE W/ a caveat. For this issue only. Look at the total cost of replacement with all OEM. Reduce the price by that much as a negotiation start point.

If if you do as Frank recommends, the seller is going to take the path of lea$t re$i$tance.

Nothing personal Frank. I've been burnt once to often.....once by MM. I trust nothing anymore. It sucks, but it is what it is.