Vapour/steam from tamd41 crankcase breather - should I be worried?

[gery w]

Managed to get a run out on the boat at the weekend and set off on a round trip of about 40 miles or so.
Whilst underway I decided to have a quick peer into the engine bay to make sure that everything was ok and noticed some steam/vapour being emitted from the crankcase breather I also unscrewed the oil filler cap and put my hand over the opening but didn't feel much in the way of pressure.
I checked the other engine and it was doing the same is this normal behaviour for a tamd41b or should I be worried?
Regards Gerry

 

[Colin K]

Hello,
Mine does not do this at tickover or fast tickover however I have not hired Pickfords to move the fittings for me to lift the engine hatch whilst under way. I might be able to see the starboard engine breather through the stair hatch whilst under way and so will have a peek when I am on board in a week or so. Have you changed the canister recently. (He asks wondering if this makes any difference). Mine are new but ASAP copies!!!

All the best, Col.

 

[gery w]

Only really visable when the engines are up to temp and under load definitely a lot less noticeable whilst in neutral as the engine cool down quite quickly

 

[Colin K]

Aw I may be wrong but on my old TAMD 41b tub the breather is pretty close to the greedy old air intake and so I would have thought hatches down anything leaked out of the breather will get sucked back in and reburnt and so as long as its not severe enough to cause any over running shenanigans then engine room should be clean?

I may of course be wrong , no excessive crankcase pressure is reassuring.

Cheers, Col.

 

[gery w]

Yep I had ad31's before that used to make a mess of the air filters through the crankcase breathers however on my current 41's both air filters are still pretty clean after about 100 hours use.
Looking at the engine whilst underway is not something I normally do as I'm always at the helm so I've never noticed this before
Cheers Gerry

 

[oldgit]

My old 40A engines used to emit a few oily fumes from the crankcase filters when working hard.However the lumps had done 4000 hours .
My replacement crankcase filters were made by a USA company and were a great deal cheaper than the Volvo Penta nightmare priced items.
Curiously there appeared to be no UK/European knock offs available.Maybe simply not enough volume. ?

 

[gery w]

The crankcase filters I have on at the moment are aftermarket from keypart. I haven't noticed any oil being discharged from here only the steam/vapour
Regards gerry

 

[Momac]

If both engines are doing the same thing I would say its a sign all is well.