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Avoid long-term operation at idle or at low load, since this can lead to increased oil consumption and even- tually to oil leakage from the exhaust manifold, since oil will seep past the turbocharger seals and accom- pany the induction air into the inlet manifold at low turbo pressure.
One consequence of this is carbon build-up on valves, piston crowns, exhaust ports and the exhaust turbine.
At low loads, the combustion temperature may become so low that complete combustion cannot be ensured, resulting in possible fuel dilution of lubricating oil and eventually leakage from the exhaust manifold.
If the following points are done as a complement to normal maintenance, there will be no risk of malfunc- tions caused by operation at low load.
• Reduce operation at low load to a minimum. If the engine is regularly test-run without load once a week, the duration of this operation should be lim- ited to 5 minutes.
• Run the engine at full load for about 4 hours once a year. In this way carbon deposits in the engine and exhaust system are given the chance to burn up.