We've all heard that if you give a diesel good clean fuel, keep it cool, and stay on top of the oil changes, its life span in a boat can be as much as 10,000 hours.
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Potassium is not used in all or even most coolants. You would have to test the coolant to make a connection. Coolant analysis is another, related topic. Exhaust-to-coolant leakage problems can often be detected more easily that way as well, due to changes in the coolant.
Another source of coolant contamination is leaking cylinder sleeve O-rings or sleeve perforation. Was a nitrited coolant used through the life of the engine? Google diesel coolant cavitation liner.
But the lack of glycol makes a coolant leak seem less likely.
A good summary. I ran an oil and coolant lab in a former life.
The test appears to be reasonably priced. More questions arise as to what you do with this information and the expertise of the individual telling you what it all means. I’m not sure your neighborhood mechanic would qualify and surely charge many times the cost of this test to act upon the results. I see it somewhat like medical tests I have taken where even my doctor depends on a specialist to interpret the data.
This article is good for bringing a non-professional up to speed about this important data.