Volvo AD31 intercooler discharge

[windermere]

hI

I am looking at buying a sealine boat on the river Thames that has Ad31 Volvo diesels in they have only done 230 hrs always on the river ,but i notice they are discharging a small amount of oil from a tube below the intercoolers. The dealer says this is normal on engines that continually run slow and it is a automatic valve to drain any discharges in the intercooler. Is this correct or is there another reason . Any info would be great thanks

 

[volvopaul]

The discharge is oil and water, water from condensation as hot air is passing over a cooled matrix thats where water appears from and will be no problem.

If oil is draining from the tiny hole then maybe the turbo seals are leaking oil past the shaft and being pushed with the combustion air into the engine via turbo.

As these engines are designed for performance but have spent there life runing slow on the Thames then the bores may be by now starting to glaze up, which eventually mens a costly rebuild, but there are thousands of boats on rivers in the UK that are performance boat designed for faster sea use, that are perfectly ok.

As with all purchases, you need a survey on the hull and engines as defects in either dept cost ££££.

Good luck with your purchase.