New oil..

[Wickedcummins]

I've long thought about having oil analysis done, and you've pushed me over the edge. Kit ordered, thanks!

=) its the only way to really know whats going on inside with out tear down

[shawndoggy]

Can someone please point me to a documented case of an oil-based engine failure related to an inboard application?

[JreisRZR]

I don't know what you consider "isn't exactly cheap"

well oil runs 30 bones and then a filter so around $45 + disposal, or 13+ gallons that should go in my tank . again I've heard not to worry about it but like i said the boat is my baby. id be curious to see how peoples oil results come back, or maybe i'll run a magnet through my drained oil... hmm.

[IDBoating]

=) its the only way to really know whats going on inside with out tear down

Well, I do have a borescope so at least I can see into the cylinders without removing the heads. Lower end, though, you're correct.

[dom w. forte]

Dom, which Kendall 15W-40 are you using?
Guardol ECT or Kendall Super-D XA?

Super - D

[boatwakes]

Classic. There's always room for oil discussion on any of these boards. Zinc additives are being removed from oil (Thanks EPA, idiots) which in turn is killing motor oil quality. There's some mis-information in this thread but nothing really worth worrying about just please, everyone, DO NOT USE PENNZOIL. As for oil seals on your engines, none of them see any pressure, they are just like a gasket for the crank ends nothing more. THe pressure is built between the oil pump output and the bearing faces, lifters and crank journals where small interconnecting orifices (the oil galleries) pass the pressurized oil through the system. Some say when they switched to synthetic their seals leaked but I've never seen it. Some will always this and others will never that so like Wicked stated earlier, get educated from many sources and choose whats best for you.

[NICKYPOO]

The more I read, the more I think I'm gonna stick with Mobil 1 5w-30 pure synthetic. At least for this year. The thing has always run like top and never leaked or burnt a drop. I am seriously considering about switching to 0w though. I think I'll get myself a good baseline set of numbers with what I have been running for the last decade+ and see where I end up.

This always seem to go against the grain but, I'm not sure why; I always change my oil at the beginning of the season, not the end. I have fresh as can be oil that hasn't sat through the winter. Thoughts?

This has been a good thread with lots of good info. Thanks Wicked.

[What she said]

Looks like i have changed my mind! Mobil 1 here i come.

[NICKYPOO]

Looks like i have changed my mind! Mobil 1 here i come.

Autozone had some really good sales last weekend. Basically 1/2 off. Certainly worth checking into.

[IDBoating]

This always seem to go against the grain but, I'm not sure why; I always change my oil at the beginning of the season, not the end. I have fresh as can be oil that hasn't sat through the winter. Thoughts?

The general reasoning is that oil collects contaminants, including some water, during engine operation. Why let those contaminants sit in your engine for 6-8 months? By replacing with fresh oil at winterization and then running the engine for a short time, everything has nice fresh oil with minimal contaminants. And oil doesn't "go bad" sitting in the engine, so it will be just as fresh in the Spring.

By the way, I treat my fuel system the same as my oil system: I replace the inline fuel filter, AND the fuel cell's internal filter, at winterization. I then fill the tank with fresh non-ethanol fuel mixed with SeaFoam and StaBil and run the engine for a bit to be sure that the entire fuel system has fresh, treated fuel for the winter. Again, cheap insurance.

[Dan and Christy]

.....worth worrying about just please, everyone, DO NOT USE PENNZOIL......

BW - I'll bite, do you say this due to the lack of Zinc in Penzoil, test results, or first hand experience with oil failure? Just wondering

[c_hotshot]

BoatWakes - why the Pennzoil comment? What did you experience that has formed this opinion?

This thread is very interesting to me b/c Pennzoil is #1 in Market Share for Passenger Cars and and Rotella is #1 in Market Share for Heavy Duty.

Personally - I've always used Pennzoil in my cars, light duty trucks, and in my old 2 stroke outboard (my first boat) and have never had any failures.

[Wickedcummins]

I also would never Run Pennzoil.. Even if I was stranded

[TeamAllen]

I guess you could install an oil accumulator for "Manual Cold start valve releases oil into cold engine for reduced wear"

http://www.jegs.com/i/Moroso/710/23900/10002/-1
http://www.moroso.com/articles/artic...&catcode=13600

[boatwakes]

Sorry about the late response everyone. Pennzoil is garbage, high parafin wax base is their base stock oil, and in the marine environment the wax shows up visually after limited usage. Had a customer lose an engine due to incorrect maintenance (he did himself) and when the oil heated up the wax base was visually amazing. I actually thought it was emulsified water at first but realized when water emulsifies, it's everywhere in the oil, this stuff was just globs of goo roaming around the engine when we pulled the intake. Very odd.
Expect ring failure in 2 stroke marine engines from their TC-W3 rated petroleum based oil and just for good measure, if you still have a 2 stroke anything RUN SYNTHETIC OIL IN IT from now on.
For those asking about Pennzoil for our engines specifically, after watching what the EPA has done to petroleum base stock oil over the years, Pennzoil has tried to re-engineer their formulas to make up for lack of zinc, sulphur and other lubrication modifiers in their additives package. I'm surprised to hear they're at the head of market share in the car sector and wonder if it has anything to do with pricing... I constantly ask the question, "How much did you pay for the boat?" "And how much do you think your engine is worth?" "What about quality lubrication and filtration? Do you think that would be important too?" I want customers to be educated as best they can and if they choose to use what we recommend, cool and good for them. But if they don't, I don't have to feel bad when we're rebuilding their power plant.
I'm going to post some photos of a motor that we started 2 days ago that had Amsoil in it that blew a head gasket as well as an intake manifold gasket. Customer promised me he checked the oil regularly but when we got there it was 8" up the dipstick and milkshake. At this point there were two options: 1) Pull the heads, pickle the motor, clean every lifter and oil gallery until all the sludge was gone, flush with Amsoil 5w-20 3 times, change filter 3 times and replace everything putting new heads and gaskets on next day (total cost $3500) or 2) replace the engine (total cost $15000, includes haul out of boat etc etc...). The motor was running yesterday and they just called from Catalina and said thank you.
I can't say enough about the Amsoil product but any synthetic will be better than not in today's oil market. Get educated about filtration too. So many people want to believe Fram filters are good when in reality, they don't filter for crap. I can sit here and type for hours but I don't want to, the information is available from many reputable sources on the web and it's also 90* right now. I'm gonna go get the big boat ready for Catalina!