Lets Talk 2 Stroke Oil !!!!

[shuckbo]

Hi, Seems a lot off posts on which oil to use , well a friend off mine has a 1988 225hp Johnson which he has run all its life on 2 stoke premix the stuff that you use in your motorbike or lawnmover , he has always just pulled up at the petrol station and got them to do a premix 50:1 for him and filled the tank with premix , he never used the vro, now all my life i have been buying proper marine 2 stroke i have 1000 hours on my 225hp and i have just had to do a rebuild now his 225hp is still going strong with 1500hours , so the main question is whos right on wrong on oils , seems to be when you put two engines together one running on the proper oil and one running on the improper oil, the improper oil one keeps going , so who is right!!! steve

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: Lets Talk 2 Stroke Oil !!!!

Way too many factors to list here. The way he runs his motor might be entirely different than the way you run yours. His boat might be entirely different than yours. It's also possible that his is limping along with problems he doesn't know about yet. You might have had your work done because of a tiny noise. His might be banging away waiting to breakdown anytime, but he's just ignoring it. Who knows? If he's not using outboard oil, he's running on borrowed time.<br /><br />Frankly I can't imagine any reputable fueler that would risk trashing an expensive outboard with chainsaw oil. For that matter I can't imagine a marina that would carry it in the first place (unless they sell chainsaws). He's using outboard oil, isn't he? It doesn't matter whether it's injected or premixed, the motor still gets oil. The VRO is a convenience that was desired for years. Now that Joe Customer has it, he can't wait to eliminate it. Go Figure!

 

[OBJ]

Re: Lets Talk 2 Stroke Oil !!!!

OH boy Willie....I see that large can a' worms being re-0pened in the very near future....

 

[prolinews]

Re: Lets Talk 2 Stroke Oil !!!!

I've often wondered the same thing on oil quality? For years I ran the supercenter brand oil with the same ratings as the oem brand oil.The price was 1/3 of the good stuff. I hardly ever run the engine over 2000 due to the fact I mainly troll offshore and fuel consumption is a major factor . I have to go idle speed for up to 5 miles in manatee zones. with the cheap oil I was fouling out plugs like crazy. The carbs were sticking with blue gue. The up keep was a pain.. Last year I swapped over to 2stroke synthetic I ran the same set of plugs all season. The power pack went bad in November and like most do it yourselfers when it started running funny the first thing I pulled were the carbs they were spotless you never could have guessed that close to a thousand gallons of fuel had passed through them. I won't run that cheap stuff in my weed eater now.

 

[Barnacle_Bill]

Re: Lets Talk 2 Stroke Oil !!!!

A lot of gas stations carry outboard oil. So hopefully that is what he has been getting. Personally, I wouldn't even dream of taking that chance again. (Another cheap oil/fouled plug story).

 

[Qld_Kev]

Re: Lets Talk 2 Stroke Oil !!!!

I always run the perfect mix with a decent oil in my outboard. 6 years on, touch wood, internalls are still fine. My lawn mower on the other hand often ends up with Valvoline 20/50w engine oil for its 2-stroke mix cause I'm too slack to goto the boat to get the correct stuff. (Even if it did get it, it would be water cooled 2stroke mix, not the air cooled 2stroke you are supposed to use in a lawn mower) And the mix ratio is 1 cap from my 5L container to the fuel tank; wouldn't have a clue true ratios. Its run for many years; its a 1976 model, never rebuilt. Start first pull every time. <br /><br />I think its a bit like smoking. The people who say my dad has smoked for 60 years and is still healthy. It only increases your chances of something going wrong.<br /><br />So relating this all back to the above topic, maybe your 225hp was just from a bad batch, and his was a good run. And all you are doing in playing the old chances game or Russian Roulet.<br /><br />(sorry for those who have fallen asleep)

 

[MadeCoolCom]

Re: Lets Talk 2 Stroke Oil !!!!

If you get a new engine you should use the type of oil it says to use in the owner manual for that engine.

 

[artherm]

Re: Lets Talk 2 Stroke Oil !!!!

I am a long time boater. Johnson and Evinrudes. I have always used the OMC/Bombardier 2 stroke brand oils with good results. Our area Dealers would boast that all warranties would be void if other oils would be used, with a mechanical failure. Our dealers tell us they buy their oil from Bombardier in 55 gal drums and sells it in milk type jugs to the consumer for about $10.00-12.00 a gallon. They sell a lot of oil. They also offer the Bombardier gallon containers at about twice the cost. If you bring in your own container, they knock off a buck...what a deal.

 

[Walker]

Re: Lets Talk 2 Stroke Oil !!!!

Our area Dealers would boast that all warranties would be void if other oils would be used, with a mechanical failure.

There was a court ruling on this several years ago. The ruling was that for this requirement to be valid, the manufacturer/dealer must supply the required oil at no cost to the comsumer.

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Lets Talk 2 Stroke Oil !!!!

yep<br /> that is why its a reccomendation not a requirement. however with any direct ingection motor use the manufactures reccomendation.

 

[Fl_Richard]

Re: Lets Talk 2 Stroke Oil !!!!

When you say recommended do you mean their specific brand? Isn't all TCW-3 rated oil the same? My motor says Use only TCW-3 rated oil (Not Johnson TCW-3)<br /><br />If I buy BoatUS TCW-3 should I be concerned? Is this the cheap stuff?

 

[BillP]

Re: Lets Talk 2 Stroke Oil !!!!

The "law" basically says the mfg can't spec a brand NAME of oil unless they provide the oil. However, mfgs can spec certifications (TCW-3), grades, etc and deny warranty work if those specs aren't used. It's very difficult to argue that cheap certified TCW oils don't give long life...there are too many motors that say it does.

 

[Stumpknocker]

Re: Lets Talk 2 Stroke Oil !!!!

Oil in the gasoline? U people must be crazy.

 

[jamminmaz]

Re: Lets Talk 2 Stroke Oil !!!!

Is it O.K. to switch over to a synthetic at any time? I know in cars alot of folks say if you switch to a synthetic, the motor will start to leak oil (older motor used to regular). Not trying to hijack your thread, just talking 2 stroke oil....thanks.

 

[Ol Yank]

Re: Lets Talk 2 Stroke Oil !!!!

I had a marina operator highly recommend Blue Marble oil for my 1985 Evinrude VRO 90 horse. <br />It does tend to load up at low RPM (trolling) and I thought a high-tech oil might burn cleaner.<br />Does anyone have a comment either way?

 

[LubeDude]

Re: Lets Talk 2 Stroke Oil !!!!

Nope, other than using a 100% Synthetic oil, I wouldnt say anything. <br /><br />Changing in an older engine will be fine, no problems, if ya dont like it you can change back, no problem. You will like it though.

 

[v12mac]

Re: Lets Talk 2 Stroke Oil !!!!

Ok, so all the hype got to me after a very cold Smokey startup sent my neighbor back in to her house coughing and giving me dirty looks. I wanted to try anything to cut down the smoke and try not to draw too much attention to my old 225 running on pre-mix. I went to the store to try out a gallon of the Synthetic 2 stroke oil that everyone keeps ranting about in these posts. At the fist store the clerk said I was nuts and synthetic oils were only for 4 stroke motors and if I switched to synthetic I couldn’t go back. I think he’s full of crap and I am not going back to his shop. So I went to West Marine and the closest thing I could find was a synthetic blend but the bottle didn’t say what the blend was! 10% synthetic 1% 90% nothing? Has anyone used the West Marine brand Synthetic blend? So far I have seen some improvement in start up smoke levels but nothing amazing. I am not sure if it is due to the old stuff in the tank or if the “Blend” isn’t much better than the stuff I have been running.<br /><br />Ideas?<br />Mac

 

[Mark42]

Re: Lets Talk 2 Stroke Oil !!!!

V12mac,<br /><br />Regarding the smokey start up issue, I have noticed that my o/b makes hardly any smoke at all during startup. (Especially since I learned not to pump the primer bulb with the motor tilted full up and got the fast idle lever adjusted properly on the control box). It does make a little smoke, but nothing objectionable. Compared to other motors warming up at the launch (they belch clouds of smoke) mine is clean running.<br /><br />I am currently running Walmart TCW3 in the VRO. I wonder if the VRO runs cleaner just because I don't pre-mix, and can't have a pre-mix overly rich oil condition?

 

[rwise]

Re: Lets Talk 2 Stroke Oil !!!!

jamminmaz<br />I put synth oil in my engine (truck) and it did leak more that before. I was useing/leaking a qt between 5000 mile changes, went to a qt a week or two.<br /><br />As far as 2 stroke oil I run the wally world st with no problems at all. I have it in a 58 rude 50 hp and a 58 johny 35 hp. changed the plugs in the johny this winter, just because. I always run stabil also.

 

[BillP]

Re: Lets Talk 2 Stroke Oil !!!!

I recently tried a gal of the Penzoil synthetic blend in my ob and it smoked on the first cold start just like dino oil. I used to run 100% synthetic in my 2-stroke dirt bikes and they smoked on first starts too. After warm there was no smoke.