"I bought a 1989 8-metre saili
"I bought a 1989 8-metre sailing yacht with a Yanmar 1GM10 in July 2006. I had the engine serviced a couple of months later - oil and filters changed. I used it quite a lot since then (location Mediterranean) and it always started easily and worked well. I only used to notice a little light grey smoke emitted from the exhaust, with no noticeable loss of engine oil. A few days ago, however, the engine started emitting bluish-white smoke as soon as I switched it on and, upon checking the engine oil after a couple of hours motor-sailing, I noticed that the level was reaching just above the half-way mark on the dipstick. The oil on the dipstick was black, with no sign of water or diesel in it. This emission of bluish-white smoke happened all of a sudden - in the sense that I had not noticed a progressive increase in exhaust smoke before. I have used the engine a couple of times since then - it starts and works perfectly, but the bluish-white smoke has increased further. No bluish-white smoke however, is emitted while idling, although the exhaust water leaves an oily slick on the water. As far as I know, bluish-white smoke indicates engine burning oil, thus the decrease in the oil level, and this could be due to piston/rings problems. Are there any other possible causes for this? Would further use of the engine (with engine oil topped up, of course) cause damage? In other words, is this a question of immediate engine surgery? Thank you and best regards."
"I bought a 1989 8-metre sailing yacht with a Yanmar 1GM10 in July 2006. I had the engine serviced a couple of months later - oil and filters changed. I used it quite a lot since then (location Mediterranean) and it always started easily and worked well. I only used to notice a little light grey smoke emitted from the exhaust, with no noticeable loss of engine oil. A few days ago, however, the engine started emitting bluish-white smoke as soon as I switched it on and, upon checking the engine oil after a couple of hours motor-sailing, I noticed that the level was reaching just above the half-way mark on the dipstick. The oil on the dipstick was black, with no sign of water or diesel in it. This emission of bluish-white smoke happened all of a sudden - in the sense that I had not noticed a progressive increase in exhaust smoke before. I have used the engine a couple of times since then - it starts and works perfectly, but the bluish-white smoke has increased further. No bluish-white smoke however, is emitted while idling, although the exhaust water leaves an oily slick on the water. As far as I know, bluish-white smoke indicates engine burning oil, thus the decrease in the oil level, and this could be due to piston/rings problems. Are there any other possible causes for this? Would further use of the engine (with engine oil topped up, of course) cause damage? In other words, is this a question of immediate engine surgery? Thank you and best regards."