what oil to run in motor
 

new to the boating world and wondering what brand and weight of oil others use to give me a idea of what to.


thanks for your time

Give yourself sometime cause here is a lesson on oil.

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/g...brication.html

Start at the end and read backwards for the cliff notes.

holy cow..... well i guess the question still stands. what to use in a 1992 4.3L that only gets used on a small lake pulling a tuber or just cruzin at 30mph??? this boat never goes out for more than 3 hours at a time... thanks for the information and i am still going through it at this time but would like to hear what others are using.
thanks

NAPA 15w-40 would be fine for your 4.3L

are you serious??? i am new to boating. thats kinda thick isnt it??? not questioning your knowledge about boats because i know nothing about them... y do you have to run such thick oil in the motor? thanks for your time guys on teaching a me a lil about boats

15w-40 is not too thick for your application. A straight grade 70 would.

Use the 15w-50 or a 20w50 your motor will be happy and thank you for it.

Ken

the 15w-40 is ideal becasue when the oil is cold, it will run like a 15w but when it gets hot, it will run like a straight 40. I am a believer in the blends. hope that helps.

If you think that sounds "thick," you should see what Mercury recommends. How's 25w-40 sound? If you go to any Mercury / Mercruiser dealer, that's what we'll sell you. Trust me, it works.

I'm running 15w-40 rotella t in my twin 350 setup. Works great never had any issues.

Go to Walmart pick u p some Mobil 1 synthetic you'll be just fine. 15w40 or something close...20w50 is too heavy of a oil for a 4.3L

i bought a fountain with twin 454's the guy has no clue what he used because he never changes the oil. What does this probably have in it or should have it in it?

15-50 Mobil 1 is popular with the hi perf. crowd. Remember, your boat will never see a below freezing start up but it will see heavy loads continuously.

ok ive heard 15-40 as well. The boat is great and guy always had service done on it, but kind of one those people that has no clue about the mechanics of things, just pays for it to get done.

NAPA 15w-40 for low performance and Kendall 20w-50 for high performance.

Ok were on two different numbers now, not so considered with brand more of less weight. Anybody know what the manufacture reccomends for a 454 MAG

speaking of mobile 1 20w 50 cannot find it around here...been running the 15w 40 anybody know where the 50 can be found ? thanks Rob

Never heard of Mobil 1 20W50 or 15W40. Only 15W50 which is what I run religiously.

As for the 4.3L, Merc 25W40 (which is a blended, not a multi-viscosity oil), Mobil 1 15W50, any good 15W40 or 20W50, straight 40W (if you don't run in temps below 60 degrees). The local marinas here put NAPA or Chevron 30W in every boat they winterize unless the owners specify a different oil.

thank you all so much for your time

20w-50 brad penn. just my 2c.

if 20-50 isnt available what is the next best choice

You wonder why there is so much confusion on oils.

A 25w40 IS A MULTI-VISCOSITY!!!!!!!

Who told you that an XX w XX oil IS NOT MULTI-VISCOSITY?

It has no bearing on the viscosity whether the oil is blended or not.

And the oils you suggested...guess what, ALL MULTI-VISCOSITY.

Ken

15w50, which by the way is a multi-viscosity oil just like the 20w50.

Ken

15w40

I run straight 40w. I remember Bob Teague recommending straight weight oils in a tech column a few years back. IIRC, it had something to do with multi-grades not handling moisture as well as straight grades, and who starts there engines and just takes off with them cold anyway?

And Teague Runs a 15w-50 in his boat now, whats that tell ya?!! Straight weight oils are OLD TECHNOLOGY! It'd be like buying a brand new Vette and putting an AM radio in it.

15/40 is fine and I don't remember correctly but that' could be what's recommended. Mercury oil is a 15/40. Boat engines need a higher viscosity rating than car engines for a few different reasons. I'd run a 15/40 or even a straight 40W if you boat in warm weather. I run straight 50W in my 800's. :)

Easy, Killer. Merc states (stated?) that even though they mark their oil as a 25W40 it is actually a blend of 25W and 40W oils. Therefore, not a multi-viscosity oil. If you look back through the old Hydrocruiser oil thread I believe someone did a lab analysis on Merc's oil and it stated what straight weight it actually equates out to (30 something). I did not just make this stuff up. I know what a multi-viscosity oil is. That is why I stated the caveat about the Merc oil. Unless something has changed, they claim it is a straight weight oil even though it is marked as a multi-viscosity oil. If someone knows more about the Merc oil, please chime in. I know I read it somewhere at some point (maybe the bottle?). If I misunderstood Merc's description of the oil then I apologize for the misinformation.

Edit: here is the latest description of the oil. Different than what I remember from the past. Merc states it is a multi-viscosity. I will look through the old oil thread to see if I can find information to back what I believe Merc used to market the oil as.

http://www.mercurymarine.com/parts-a...ercruiser-oil/

Mobil 1 is treated as a multi-visc but in reality it's not blended as a multi-visc oil like most other brands. It's classified with that rating because it has the ability to flow in cold weather like a 15W but also has the ability to protect at high temp/load like a 50W.

That's my understanding at least. :)

I was just stating what I run and one of the reasons why I do what I do. My 454 mag has been running on straight wt oil for 21 years, and I highly doubt that multi-grade oil would make it last any longer. Multi-grade oils are for people that start their engines and are too busy to warm them up before running them. Yes, multi-grade oils are newer technology, but not necessarily better technology, they are for different applications. Brad Penn and Royal Purple make and sell SYNTHETIC STRAIGHT WT oils.

Here is what I was referring to from the old oil thread. As you can see, Hydro provides info that backs what I remember reading on the back of the Merc 25W40 bottles a few years back. It was a blend of straight weight oils, not a multi-viscosity (though labled as such). Confusing to the consumer. Obviously from the info on their site they have since changed the oil to be a true multi-viscosity. Sorry for any confusion I caused for not staying up to date with Merc's oil. I have not used it since early 2005 (to break the motor in). See the first couple posts.

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/g...cation-72.html

If an oil's flow rate meets or performs "like" a 20w oil and when elevated to the proper test temp, meets or performs "like" an SAE 50 that particular is a multi-viscosity oil period.

It does not make any difference if the oil was blended with straight cut base stocks or with a polymer.

If thereis a "w" in the descriptor of the viscosity, I am sorry to say, it is a multi viscosity.

Knot 4 me sorry for jumping in your S***, but just because Mercury says something doesn't mean it is correct, espically with something they don't even manufacture.

Ken

No problem. Good info and I stand corrected.

The difference is if an additive was put into the oil to make it a multi-weight. Most synthetics naturally flow better at cold temps but also perform well under high temp/load because they are synthetic.

That's the key differentiator in my mind. :)

Here's an informative article here for the others concerned about using a multi-visc. vs. straight weight; http://www.blackstone-labs.com/oil-viscosity.php

20W50 Mobil ONE

My favorite brand that seems to work best is........FRESH OIL.

Everbody gets their panties in a bunch over what brand is better than the next, 25w40 vs straight 40, and so on.

you can have brad penn, amsoil, royal purple, or whatever you spend 10 bucks a quart on, and if you dont change it often, its as good as junk once it get contaminated with fuel, carbon, moisture, etc.

My advice is use a good name brand 20w50 and use a wix filter, change it often, and keep tune up in top running order. The engines will live a long time. Your 4.3 will be fine with some castrol or pennzoil from wally world.

Big rig engines go a million plus miles, mostly using fleet oils. Diesels or not, bearings are bearings, lubrication is lubrication. Key is maintance intervals.

Teague would likely run dinosaur piss in the race boat if his sponsor requested :drink:

20W50 Brad Penn :eek: there is no other :party-smiley-004:

+1, with the cavet for flat tappets of choosing one with 1000 ppm zinc / phosphorus (good choices in all brands for that).

All the other claims are snake oil. A good brand name oil changed at regular intervals is the key.

yup. Kendall 20w50 titanium is what im using. Zinc is important for those flat tappets.