Synthetic oil use?

[rocky100]

My marina services my mercruiser 3.0-i never asked what kind of oil they use-it is a mercury shop, however. What exactly is synthetic oil, and what are the advantages, if any, over regular oil?
Is this something i should be aware of? I want my engine to last forever, of course!

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Synthetic oil use?

Alright boys, grab the popcorn, this will get good.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Synthetic oil use?

Polyalphaolephin and some additives engines require. Plug it into a search engine and read to your heart's content.

Good stuff. We used the non-additive type for electronic equipment protection against heat, cold, dielectric breakdown, self decomposition resistance, and thermal transfer. Worked great.

Mark

 

[mickjetblue]

Re: Synthetic oil use?

A purchase of synthetic oil is similar to buying an insurance policy
in case your engine should be subjected to extreme usage.

If any number of circumstances were to subject your engine to a
heavier work load, it will work harder, and create more heat in the
process. Assuming your cooling system has anti-freeze and will not
break down, the other consideration is keeping your engine lubrication
system working. Synthetic oil will hold up under higher temperatures,
where regular oil is more likely to break down under higher temperatures.

I used synthetic oil for pulling a trailer across the mountains with a
6 cylinder pick-up truck, and it saved my engine. I would not repeat
that experience of watching the temp gauge at high and wondering
when the engine would go. It made it through that trip, and several
more years. I have not used synthetic oil in my boats, and have no
intentions of doing that. Extreme use on a boat would be trying to
pull a bigger boat at too fast of a speed, and I won't do that. I do
use 20w-50 oil, changed each year.

It's your call!

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: Synthetic oil use?

I dont know much about it at all really but you say that synthetic dosent burn at higher temps. Is that not bad in a s stroke. I thought you wanted the oil to burn at some point. Like i said i know hardly anything about it. And I got my popcorn ready it seems like posts like mine where i know little about it cause the thread to explode!

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Synthetic oil use?

@ drewmitch

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: Synthetic oil use?

MMMM butter! I got to go to work at 12 i cant wait to see what happens. This is like the "outboard or I/O" threads. Gotta love those too! I heard though that the oil is better if you pour it into a bag then tie the bag closed, then you find the tallest tree and tie the bag at the top of the tallest tree and leave it there for 3 months. After that you pour the oil back into the bottle and bury it 3' 7" into the ground. Keep it buried for 27 days. After you dig it up you MUST then pour it through a coffee filter and collect it all back into the bottle. What is left in the coffee filter should be used to lube the tilt tube and steering linkage. Then you are ready to use the oil after you put the full bottle in warm water for about 20 min. This loosens the oil up and helps mix the additaves. That is the fail safe method of knowing that you are using the propper oil.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Synthetic oil use?

I think the advantage of using it in a 2 cycle engine is reduction of engine deposits caused by heat: ring sticking, caked oil deposits on pistons and crudded up exhaust ports.

I think part of the increased smoke you get when using parafin based oil compared to syn, is that the extra smoke is your oil overheating, breaking down, and "going up in smoke". Since the syn tolerates much higher temps, it retains it's composition in the high combustion temps and doesn't burn up.

So now on your cylinder walls and piston skirts you have residual lubrication, not residual cake and crud from decomposed, burned up oil.

I run 4 cycle riding lawn mowers and mow parts of a 20 acre farm; both around the house and areas of the farm that the larger mowers can't access.

I have been using full syn in the multiviscosities for the past 10 years and only change the oil at the end of the season; once per year. It is still honey colored on the dipstick. With paraffin oils had to change 2 to 3 times per year.

On one mower I used for 7 years (Scotts with the 15 hp Kohler Command single cylinder engine), I had the sparkplug out one day and looking through the hole onto the cylinder wall with a flashlight, I could still see the crosshatch pattern where the cylinder was honed when the tractor was built. Not bad!

Mark

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: Synthetic oil use?

Not bad but i think that with lawn mower engines you are not getting a good comparison. I have a push mower that is about 15 years old and it runs great. The oil has not been changed in at least 7 years, same for the spark plug. It sits out in the rain and snow all year around with nothing covering it. I dont really see how a lawn mower engine can be a good test of weather certain types of oil break down faster than others. Im not kidding when im telling you that its been 7 years! LOL i guess thats pretty bad but when it blows up ill just get another one. The oil that is in it now is the briggs+stratton name just the regular SAE 30. Now that i think about it i might change the oil in the spring since its been a whyle. I will try to keep up on it after that. I will most likely change it at least every 5 years or so. I figure its about 2 years overdue now. The last time i changed oil in it was fall 1999.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Synthetic oil use?

You change oil in push mowers???
Where or how do you drain them?
I got one of them self propelled ones when they first come out and I ain't never changed it. Still gots what came in it.

 

[mudmagnet63]

Re: Synthetic oil use?

drewmitch if you change that oil now you'll be buying a new mower within a week.

 

[j442w30]

Re: Synthetic oil use?

Just my opinion but I think that synthetic oil is superior in places like gearboxes, differentials, outdrives, transfer cases, etc. They are also good in high performance engines where the tolerances are much higher. Also better than regular oil in 2 stroke applications because they smoke less and some are even biodegradable.

I remember reading somewhere that synthetic oils were almost too slippery in regular engines and caused some roller lifters to slide on the cam instead of rolling. I think that was from a Bob Teague article in Powerboat Magazine, don't quote me on that though.

Either way it's your decision but like Don S has said in previous oil threads usually the brand or type of oil is not the cause of engine failure. As long as you change it and the filters at reasonable intervals you'll be fine.

 

[oops!]

Re: Synthetic oil use?

you guys are a hoot!

ok... here my two pennies....
i use syn in everything i own. the oil...gears...everything.
(I can only speak of 4 stroke)
once the engine is broken in the syn is slipperyer. you get improved milage more torqure and longer life. ive heard of taxicab motors goin a million miles on syn. (some syns brag a small hp increase)

I use syn in my boat motor. and drive

the only thing i dont use syn motor oil in is my semi. (cost. in a semi you change the oil a lot!) but i do run it in the trans/diffs
but i do use syn in my diesel p/u. thats a hard workin gal. it gets amazing milage.

the only time i was warned NOT to use syn in a gasoline motor was when i hi perfed the 350 in my cube van. my rebuild guy (extreamly reccomended as THE top pro here) said syn was too slippery for a new engine. he said it wouldnt break in properly. run it a few thousand miles then switch to syn.

ok...
theres one for the synthetic gallery.


NEXT!!!!

oops

 

[oops!]

Re: Synthetic oil use?

oh ...btw
dont know what my lawnmower uses.
but the guy behind it uses 12-24 corona per lawn!

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Synthetic oil use?

I have an '07 Dodge P/U with a Hemi. The Hemi I have is a production engine with rollers on the lifters that ride on the cam; good to 6000 rpm's. Checked with Dodge, and they said what everyone else says and that's after the 1st oil change you can use syn.

I have heard about (read in a service manual or something like that) lubes being too slick for ball applications also, but that was grease and I think molylibiumum (spelling) was the ingredient that had the potential for causing the problem.

On lawnmowers, down here we use them several times a week and if you don't change your oil, it doesn't last very long. Course back when I was subjected to that, before I had control over oil changes and all, engine mfgrs didn't use cast iron cylinder liners which help a lot in preventing oil burning. Guess the alum cylinders wore out and not necessarily the cast iron rings.

Most all small engine mfgrs have a drain plug, either under the engine, or on the lower side of the block where it bolts onto the lawnmower. In push mowers, I just put a pan on the ground and tilt them over it upside down. Just takes a minute to drain it and no hassle.

Mark

 

[LubeDude]

Re: Synthetic oil use?

C&P!

Is Synthetic oil more "slippery" than conventional oil?

Absolutely not; that is a false statement. Synthetic oil is no more ?slippery? than petroleum oil. The tractive coefficient, which is a measure of the case by which a lubricant facilitates sliding, is essentially the same for both mineral oils and synthetics. Synthetic oil is more uniform in molecular structure, which reduces frictional resistance but it is not more ?slippery? than petroleum oil.

 

[JRJ]

Re: Synthetic oil use?

C&P!

Is Synthetic oil more "slippery" than conventional oil?

Absolutely not; that is a false statement. Synthetic oil is no more ?slippery? than petroleum oil. The tractive coefficient, which is a measure of the case by which a lubricant facilitates sliding, is essentially the same for both mineral oils and synthetics. Synthetic oil is more uniform in molecular structure, which reduces frictional resistance but it is not more ?slippery? than petroleum oil.

lol, that is what I was thinken. Good to see you LubeDude.

 

[oops!]

Re: Synthetic oil use?

slippery is a non technical term, used to explain a simple comcept.
kinda like sitting across from a doctor or lawyer when they go into a legal/medical jargin. you wish they would just lay it out for you.

however, sorry if the analagy wasnt quite correct....

but lubedude. you didnt give us your thoughts of the pros and cons!

have atter!

cheers
oops

 

[Nandy]

Re: Synthetic oil use?

I think we are a little confused here. The 3.0 motor the op is talking is an i/o motor. It uses oil like a car does. It does not goes in the gas. Hence, the synthetic oil they are mentioning is different that the 2 stroke motors synthetic oil that is meant to lubricate the internal parts of the motor to later be burnt with the gas.

 

[SuperNova]

Re: Synthetic oil use?

I have said it before and I will say it again---there is no such thing as fully synthetic motor oil. The base oil is natural petroleum oil. It's only the additive package that is either synthetic or parafin based. Yes the synthetic additives hold up better and longer, but they are not more slippery that the parafin based additives. We ran a test a few years ago with an electric motor and a pair of steel rods. One rod was attached to the shaft of the motor and was spun; the other rod had an attachment for a torque wrench and was hinged. What you did was spray your oil of choice on the rods and then see how much torque it took to stop the motor from spinning by levering the hinged rod against the spinning one. We tested all available oils and additives at the time. There was only one additive we used that you couldn't stop the motor at all---ALL the other oils and additives showed the exact same torque to stop the motor.

That being said--I have been a mechanic for over 20 years at this point, and I have built many motors and trans' and diffs for many different purposes. I have over the years used many different brands and types of oils and additives. I just did oil changes on my wifes car and my 8.1L Suburban that I use for towing and I am due to change the oil in my 5.0 Mustang--they will all get the cheapest oil I can find that meets current SAE SM standards--same as the boats and both lawn mower and tractor--same as the snowblower and the 10.5 hp pressure washer--same as my 383 powered, nitrous injected Camaro. Why? you may ask--because after all these years, the one thing I have discovered is regular maintance is all that is really going to preserve any internal combustion engine over the long term. And wasting money on B.S. marketing hype and name brand is just that--waste of money. Just my opinion--but a well researched one.
--
Stan