Wärtsilä Sweden AB
Box 8006
SE-402 77 Göteborg, Sweden
Telephone: +46-31 744 46 00
Fax: +46-31 744 46 70
Engine Group Engine Type Ref. Date Issue
8 Lubricating system Nohab, W25, W25SG, hl, wlo, onp, kb, vsl, mth 981116 9 91 939 118 00E 1(2)
Selection of lubricating oils
1. General
Carefully tested high-quality oils should be used for
the lubrication of Wärtsilä engines. Products from well-
known companies who can assure a continuous supply
of quality oils, and provide analysis of oil from engines
in operation, should be selected.
The selected oil must have enough heat resistance not to
form hard carbon and ash deposits at the temperature to
which it is exposed. It must also maintain a satisfactory
oil film between moving parts.
In addition to these requirements, the oil must contain
adequate detergent and dispersant additives to prevent
soot, acids etc from being deposited on internal engine
parts.
The final selection of a specific oil should be governed
by the operating conditions and the type of fuel to be
used.
2. Crankcase oils
There are hundreds of commercial oils available on the
market. Not all of them are suitable for the differing
conditions under which the engines operate. A relatively
low grade of lubricant may do an excellent job in engines
operating under favourable conditions on consistently
good fuel qualities. The same lubricant can be inadequate
for engines operating under severe conditions with poor
fuel qualities/different gas qualities.
2.1 Listed lubricants
A list of lubricants especially developed for use in engine
crankcases is shown in documents 91 939 119 00 and
91 939 219 00 for diesel engines and 91 939 144 00
for gas engines.
DATA &
SPECIFICATIONS
Document No. Page
The lists should be used as a guideline when selecting oil
for Wärtsilä engines. Note, however, that lubricating oils
should have particularly good waterseparation properties
and capacity for neutralizing corrosive acids.
For diesel engines:
Medium alkaline lube oils with high ash content should
not be used when running on distillate fuels. If low sulphur
distillate fuels are used with this type of lubricant, the
alkaline additives in the lube oils can form hard deposits of
calcium carbonate in the engine combustion chambers.
The deposits may cause damage, particularly on the
exhaust valve seats, which may be exposed to pitting
and channeling, resulting in short valve life. Me-dium
alkaline lube oils can, however, be used when running
on low grade fuel oils (heavy fuels) or other fuels with
high sulphur content. These oils are marked with an
asterisk in the list of lubricating oils.
For gas engines:
The crankcase oil has to meet the gas quality which is
varying very much in physical properties from place to
place. Natural gas from the commersial trade contains
low or none sulfer acid. This means that a crankcase oil
with low TBN is suitable. Sour gas and some other gas
types contain sulphor components and needs therefore
a somewhat higher TBN value in the oil.
2.2 MIL and API lubricants
If none of the listed lubricants is available, it is recom-
mended that lube oils meeting MIL or API specifications
should be used.
Note! Not all of the oils meeting MIL and API specific-
ations are necessarily suitable for use in the engine
crankcase. The choice of a suitable oil should be
made in consultation with Wärtsilä Sweden AB and
the oil manufacturer.
 (2) 8. Data & Specifications – 91 939 118 00E (Issue 9) Wärtsilä Sweden AB
3. Change of engine oils
The engines are installed with either dry or wet sumps.
The wet sump can be normal or extended. The normal
wet sump is an oil pan built into the engine and the
vertically extended sump is built into the base frame
of the engine.
The dry sump system has extra oil tanks in which the
circulated oil is collected. The total amount of oil in the
dry and extended systems is far larger than in the nor-
mal wet sump system. Consequently, fixed oil change
intervals cannot be specified for the dry and extended oil
sump systems. The condition of the oil in these systems
should be checked by regular sample analysis.
The normal wet sump system contains a smaller amount
of oil. Therefore the oil in the normal wet sump system will
deteriorate more rapidly and regular oil change intervals
should be adopted. For new engines with normal wet
sump it is recommended that the lube oil and the filter
elements in the main filter housings be changed after
the first 250 hours of operation. Normal intervals are
then 1 000 - 2 500 hours.
Oil change in the extended wet sump should be made
after the first 500 hours of operation and then according
to analysis. If separator is used the first oil change can
be excluded.
The oil change intervals may be gradually increased or
decreased until experience shows that the most prac-
tical time has been established. The periodicity must,
however, depend on the oil supplier´s recommendations
and oil analysis. A serie of oil analysis after short time in
service for the gas engines are recommended in order
to fit the necessary oil change intervals to the variations
in gas quality and site conditions.
When changing from one type of oil to another, the in-
ternal parts of the engine and the lubricating oil system
must be well cleaned. Any flushing oil used should be
of SAE 30 grade. Changes from one oil to another in
large oil systems can sometimes be made gradually by
using make-up oil. But this can be done only if the oil
company states that the oils are compatible.
4. Treatment of oil
For necessary requirements on filtering, centrifuging etc,
see the Instruction Manual and also special information
from the manufacturer and oil companies.
5. Nomenclature
The brand name of an oil does not always indicate one
and the same product. The composition of the oil may
depend on where, and for which market, it has been
produced.
6. Turbocharger oils
Use only pure turbine, compressor or hydraulic oils for
lubrication of the turbochargers. Viscosity grade ac-
cording to ISO-VG68 with viscosity index between 80
and 150 is generally acceptable. The viscosity increase
must never exceed 20% and the increase in neutralization
factor must not exceed 2 mg KOH/g of oil.
The following lubricating oils are recommended for use
with ABB turbochargers
Maximum change interval 5 000 hours
Agip Dicrea SX 68
BP Enersyn TC-S 68
Castrol Aircol CT 68
Castrol Aircol SN 68
Chevron Synthetic Compressor Oil Tegra 68
Elf Barelf CH 68
Elf Barelf SM 68
Exxon/Esso Synesstic 68
Kuwait Schumann 68
Mobil Rarus SHC 1026
Nyco Nycolube 3060
Shell Corena AS 68
Texaco Cetus PAO 68
Maximum change interval 3 000 hours
Shell Corena AP 68
Depending on the operating temperature level the
maximum change interval may be reduced. Under no
circumstances should the above maximum intervals
be exceeded.
A synthetic oil may darken without loosing its good
lubricating ability. The discoloration is ranging from red,
dark purple and dark brown to nearly black. In case of
a quick darkening to black within 12 hours, this could
be a sign of a mechanical defect and the cause should
be investigated immediately.
Note! Use only extra high quality and heat resistant
lubricants for turbochargers on gas engines pro-du-
cing power and district heating, where the cooling
water outlet temperature from the turbochargers
can be as high as 95°C.
7. Hydraulic governor oils
(Gas engines excluded)
SAE20 or SAE30 oils can be used for the governors
as well as hydraulic or turbine oils provided that they
have the specified viscosity. Viscosity at normal running
temperature (approx. 60°C) must be between 20.5 and
43 cSt. Use only new and pure oils. If the governor is
working under extreme temperature conditions, oils with
somewhat higher or lower viscosity may be used.
Under normal conditions the oil can be used up to
4000 hours without changing. If the oil becomes dark
and starts breaking down earlier it must be changed
immediately. For further information see the governor
instruction manual.