sorry for the oil thread!

[nola mike]

Decided to go with Rotella. I've seen the merc recs, and my manual calls for straight SAE 40. Can't find either straight 40 or 25w-40. Am I better off with SAE 30 or 15w-40? Seems like the 30 may be too thin when warm, but the 15w is too thin cold, and is multi-visc.

 

[Bifflefan]

Re: sorry for the oil thread!

Id use and do us, a multi weight oil. I also use full synthetic.

 

[Bondo]

Re: sorry for the oil thread!

Ayuh,... I'll git in early on this 1,....

I run Mobil 1, in 15W-50 in My motors, 'n Mobil 1, 75W-90 in My drives...
The herd I manage get's Rotella 15W-40 diesel oil in their motors, 'n Mobil 1, 75W-90 in their drives...

In All Truth,.... Any oil you can buy off the shelf of Wally World, will run Just Fine in any of the boats We talk about here at iboats,...
Any of 'em....
And Our drives wouldn't care if they were fed plain 'ole 80W-90 ep gear oil from granpa's oil cabinet either...

I Love how anal most Boaters git about Oil,.....

 

[sethjon]

Re: sorry for the oil thread!

Decided to go with Rotella. I've seen the merc recs, and my manual calls for straight SAE 40. Can't find either straight 40 or 25w-40. Am I better off with SAE 30 or 15w-40? Seems like the 30 may be too thin when warm, but the 15w is too thin cold, and is multi-visc.

15/40 is the way to go. The 15 part of the oil really for very cold temps and is not too thin for start up. In any motor I have I only use 10/40 whether it is my truck, car, or boat and never had an oil related problem.

 

[guyaverage]

Re: sorry for the oil thread!

Bondo, carefull with the "any oil from Walmart" statement. They sell Accel brand oil that is non-detergent and SA rated. Why it is even on the shelf I have no idea. I'd feel guilty for lubricating my worst enemy's screen door hinges with it.

Everything else was dead on.

 

[fat fanny]

Re: sorry for the oil thread!

I have to whole heartedly agre with Bondo's comment "annal on oil" man! the difference from boat to car isn't going to change how the engine reacts to it's lubricant. But I do preffer Casteol and or valvoline

 

[arks]

Re: sorry for the oil thread!

I've used Shell Rotella in my inboard boats for 20+ years.
Good stuff and way le$$ than any of the OEM oils.

 

[dccordell]

Re: sorry for the oil thread!

Does all of this apply to the older motors too? Such as a 1978 470 model?

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: sorry for the oil thread!

Does all of this apply to the older motors too? Such as a 1978 470 model?

Absolutely!


The oil I use is in my signature below!


Cheers,


Rick

 

[Lyle29464]

Re: sorry for the oil thread!

I don't think the oil matters. BUT The person that takes the time to research and will spend extra money for "GREAT OlL" Is also the person that will spend hours doing cleaning and service work on the same boat. They will also operate it like it is their baby and can be broken. Then guess what happends? They do get better mileage less breakdowns and the boat lasts for years. So it has to be the oil. Right?

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: sorry for the oil thread!

and the boat lasts for years. So it has to be the oil. Right?

Hard to say....

My last boat went 39 years getting a different (whatever-was-cheapest) oil every year or every other year...........


39 years is a long time isn't it? How long do you want the boat engine to last?

 

[proshadetree]

Re: sorry for the oil thread!

Just one question. out drive oil has a moisture displacer in it right? I know marine grease will not absorb water like chassis lube will

 

[Lou C]

Re: sorry for the oil thread!

Well Merc did recommend straight 40 for temps above 50 if you were not using their 25/40 stuff. You can get Chevron Delo 400 or Pennzoil Marine in straight 40 at most marine supply stores. I use the straight 40 Chevron in mine...

 

[Aloysius]

Re: sorry for the oil thread!

Ayuh,... I'll git in early on this 1,....

I run Mobil 1, in 15W-50 in My motors, 'n Mobil 1, 75W-90 in My drives...
The herd I manage get's Rotella 15W-40 diesel oil in their motors, 'n Mobil 1, 75W-90 in their drives...

In All Truth,.... Any oil you can buy off the shelf of Wally World, will run Just Fine in any of the boats We talk about here at iboats,...
Any of 'em....
And Our drives wouldn't care if they were fed plain 'ole 80W-90 ep gear oil from granpa's oil cabinet either...

I Love how anal most Boaters git about Oil,.....

THANK YOU Bondo!

 

[45Auto]

Re: sorry for the oil thread!

And Our drives wouldn't care if they were fed plain 'ole 80W-90 ep gear oil from granpa's oil cabinet either...

So you believe that all those big warnings in the Mercruiser literature on Bravo drives that say ONLY USE HP DRIVE LUBE - DO NOT USE PREMIUM DRIVE LUBE - DO NOT MIX HP AND PREMIUM LUBE are all BS and have nothing to do with the fact that the PREMIUM lube will not adequately lubricate the cone clutches in the Bravo drive?

Do you also ignore the warnings on positraction differentials about which types of oils to use to prevent the clutches from grabbing and chattering?

When the GL-5 oils came out a lot of older British car owners (60's - 70's Triumphs, MG's, Jag's, etc) destroyed their transmissions when they switched from GL-4 to GL-5 and the GL-5 took out their synchros. When I was playing around restoring TR6's about 10 years ago, it was easy to make an extra $1,000/week after work by rebuilding/reselling trashed transmissions off Ebay.

I'm not willing to experiment with the cheaper organic oils in my Bravo 3 to save $5/year, but as it has been said many times before, it's your money, feel free to ignore any manufacturer's advice that you don't like - someone on the internet will agree with you!

From Redline FAQ:

Gear Oil

Gear oil viscosity is measured at 150 F vs. 210 F for motor oil. Therefore, 40 W motor oil is the same as 95 W gear oil.
Gear oil is acidic, motor oil is alkiline. Gear oil needs very high wear protection - Extreme Pressure (marked as EP). Therefore, it has a very high sulfer and phospor content. Sulfur and Phosphate reactions start at a lower temperature, and Gear Oil has much more additive than motor oil. This additive is corrosive to copper bearings and bronze synchro rings.
Positraction additives are Friction modifiers - make the base oil much more slippery. They coat the metal surfaces, and prevent the stick/slip mode of operation, preventing shudder, and causes smoother take-up. Friction Modifiers may detract from EP characteristics.
Friction modifiers cause smooth take-up of Limited slip units. For track racing, FM is probably undesireable, and immediate take-up is more important. For Street, FM is usually reccomended for more comfortable operation.
Gear oils decompose at lower temperature, usually 250 F.
Gear Lubrication Ratings

GL-1 No Additives
GL-2
GL-3
GL-4 Suitable for light duty hypoid sets
GL-5 Has lots of sulfer - Heavy duty hypoids
GL-6

Hypoid type gear sets have a sliding rather than rolling action, and therefore require much greater wear protection.
GL-5 Should be used in rear differentials.
GL-6 is a heavier weight GL-5. Used for heavy trucks and Tow Vehicles.

Red Line 75 - 90 NS has No Slip, i.e., no Friction Modifiers.
Red Line 75 - 90 has Friction Modifiers.

Gear mesh in Gears literally chops up and cuts apart the long polymer chains of Viscosity Index improvers.
Smell of gear oil is from high sulfur content.

 

[Lou C]

Re: sorry for the oil thread!

I know that most are really tired of these threads, but once in a while it's good to put some real world data in there....
I have a 98 Jeep Grand Cherokee, these models came with relatively small Dana 30 front and Dana 35 axles. They are know for noise and bearing issues. I was told by a Chrysler tech on one of the Jeep boards I frequent about 10 years ago that they got very good results with the syn Mopar 75W-140 gear oil. Its also required (well any synthetic of that viscosity) if you tow. I looked high and low all over auto parts stores in Long Island and could never find Mobil 1 in that viscosity, or any of the other major brands. I use the Mopar stuff, changed every 30K miles or so, and never had a bearing problem or even a leaky seal which was also common. So using the specified stuff does pay off in some cases, the Merc example above is another one. The diffs in the old Jeep are quiet and I am of course using that stuff in the newer 2007 as well....

 

[GLENN M]

Re: sorry for the oil thread!

as a kid growing up dad had a old sangster with a 4cyl 65 hp merc,his best friend had alittle newer boat with a 3 cyl 65 merc.dad used the merc 2 stroke oil religously,his friend ,who was well off used as dad put it any crap.my old man was waiting to say i told you so.aftar waiting about ten years his buddy showed up at the lake with a brand new 90 hp merc,dad was glum that year and i never saw merc oil again.if it works for you use it.

 

[carolynrose]

Re: sorry for the oil thread!

Just to throw my 2 cents in, I am a certified master mechanic with ASE, GM, ISUZU, AMC, Jeep and Renault. I have been working on vehicles for 43 years and been to dozens of schools. I will tell you this, every major manufacturer school I've been to says not to use 10w40 oils in any of their engines. GM is very adamant about this. I don't understand completely the science of it but I have always adhered to this on my own and customers engines. Like I said just my 2 cents. I always use the 25w40 Quicksilver oil. In my opinion I just don't need to save a few bucks considering the few times a year that I need to change my oil in my boat engine.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: sorry for the oil thread!

every major manufacturer school I've been to says not to use 10w40 oils in any of their engines.

Very true.

Even Fomoco said in my previous 86 F250 owners manual "Do not use 10W-40 as it may cause engine damage"

In the 90's Consumer Reports did an extensive exhaustive test of motor oils and drain intervals.

A LOT has been published on the level of VI-improvers required to produce a wide-spread (non-synthetic) oil like 10W40, 5W30, etc.

Most have suggested NOT using it in high load (HD) applications.

(Synthetics get extreme low temp flow characteristics by design. not by using a 0W, 5w or 10w oil + huge amounts of VI improvers....)

Almost no one uses a marine engine like we use a car or truck. It's never started and used in -20F temp. (are you out there ice-fishing or "water" skiing on ice in your Volvo Penta powered Ice breaker????)

We also NEVER see 300F oil temps. most marine engines either are raw water cooled or closed cooled both of which use either a 140F or 160F t-stat.

The oil temps operate in a VERY narrow range of temps. This is why Mercruiser for example wants us to use 30 or 40W oil.

Most of us use them in "nice" weather. we just do not need most of the characteristics of synthetics. (even with synthetics most manufacturers recommend changing the oil at least once per year at the end of the season......which sort of short circuits the ability to take advantage of longer drain intervals.)

If you MUST use a multi-grade, use a heavy duty rated synthetic oil. Otherwise just use what your engine supplier suggests.....

AND GO BOATING!!


ymmv.


Rick

 

[bowler]

Re: sorry for the oil thread!

THANK YOU Bondo!

I put cheap stuff in this year. Feel way better about it now. Cheers indeed!

P.S Not to save, couldn't get the merc stuff.