Opinions on oil change

[Scaaty]

Re: Opinions on oil change

Yeah man...these puppy's were parked late September, did a few good Harley rides as thats the great mountain riding season (RV tourists gone), and now their parked too, and all those leaves are GONE (and raked, thank you). What little snow we had just melted, and springs a coming! Looking at my notes, I changed all the oils, and will do the repeat as needed, NOT what some Ad Exec in New York says that lives in a million dollar 1 bedroom condo, and takes a cab everywhere and has probably never turned a wrench.. 8)

 

[enn858]

Re: Opinions on oil change

To change absolutely fresh oil in the spring is IMHO totaly waste of money and good oil.

I work on large diesel engines every day (and have been duing that for 20+ years) we have engines (in eg Ice Breakers and emergency power plants) that have the same oil in them for 10+ years - i have newer seen any Acid damage on any of our engines - we take oil samples to analyse from time to time - the oil is perfectly good eaven after an engine beeing stored for years.

The very few times where we have had to change the oil it is due to severe engine troubles - eg cylinder scuffing - or other serious engine troubles - and only if the engine for some reason have been runing many hours with the damage.

The Icebreakers that we have here in the baltic sea are sometimes stored for 3-5 years betwean ice winters - all we do is starting the pre lube oil pump once every 2-3 month and turning the engine a few rew. Once a year the engines are started and a short sea trial is made - the oil is newer changed. These engines are very well maintained - they may be our lifeline duing an ice winter - thay have to be ready at once and start first time if needed - so it is not a question of saving a few bucks that the oil is not changed - it is simply because it is waste of money

So save your money - it is waste of good oil and money. Use the money to buy some other stuff for you boat.

 

[DHPMARINE]

Re: Opinions on oil change

Old school was to change oil before and after layup. But with today's oils and cleaner running engines,my opinion is it's not neccesary.

Years ago we used to remove batteries for storage,and charge them once a month.(and you couldn't leave them on a cement floor) Now I leave them in the boat disconnected,and they will fire up unassisted in the spring.(customer batteries do get charged to lessen chances of problems)

We have better quality products these days so some precautions are not needed.

DHP (in New England @ 8 degrees)

 

[crazy charlie]

Re: Opinions on oil change

Thanks to most of you.Some very good points especially DHPMARINE.My REAL question went unanswered though.What do you guys think about storing w/o oil???? As far as the internals of the motor is concerned, that is.

 

[bjcsc]

Re: Opinions on oil change

Charlie:
Your question was answered in a roundabout way. To store the engine without oil would be a waste of good oil. If you simply drained it and left it empty until spring, you would be making mistake in my opinion. When you change your oil in the fall before storage, two things happen: 1) You remove the season's oil and any harmful acids or what not with the old oil 2) The new oil you add circulates and washes any trace residual harmful acids or what not down into the pan, leaving the surfaces you really care about (cam and crank) clean. Thus, you would have to change your oil twice before storing to leave it empty and thus you would waste a round of oil. This boards opinion on doing this is pretty clear. Maybe you're just looking for someone to tell you what you want to hear.

You're getting all bent out of shape over Don S's sarcasm (which I enjoy BTW) and missing the point of it. The point is that even if there is a microscopic amount of benefit to storing without oil, and that's a big IF, it is heavily outweighed by wasting the oil.

All this said, the bottom line is it's your engine. You can store it filled with water if you want to...but what's so wrong with following the recommended procedures?