I have a 2001 Mercury 496 HO Mag. After I run the boat for a few hours and recheck the oil I find it to be down a half quart. Is this normal, as I have been told that big blocks burn oil? What is a good weight and type oil to use especially in Az temps? Jeff

I can tell you the HP500 burn oil. I hear the factory says up to 1 qt in 5 hours of hard running.

I've got 170 hours on my HO and I don't think I've had to add oil at all. I would keep a close eye on it and see if it continues to use oil. I'd be interested to hear what other HO owners are experiencing.

My '04 496HO doesn't use any oil. My old 454 Mag used a qt about every 10 hours.

real hard running i have noticed that i burn about a half a quart, but thats real hard running for a long time :
does not do it when running normal.

I burn about a gallon of oil evry 5 hours

One does, one doesn't. The one that does burns about a quart every 10 hours...

i hav an02. ive put 30 hours this year and havent lost a drop. i got 230 total and never noticed anything different.

ditto. pair of HO's never down at all between changes. nearing 200 hours.