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Synthetic Oil?
On 1 Sep 2003 20:49:29 -0700, (Bob) wrote:
Doobie wrote in message . 95.104...
Im due for an oil change for my boat and im wondering what the concensus
is on Synthetic oil vs. Mercruiser brand for a 7.4 liter (454ci) 1988
engine.
Is it worth the extra $$$?
RK
27' Sunrunner
Lake Simcoe
Ontario,Canada
Very Interesting question! I installed twin Mercruiser 350s (and Bravo
III outdrives) in May 2000. When oil change time came around, I bought
Mobil One oil. A yachting buddy recommended it and I was "going to do
it right." I just happened to read the Operation and Maintenance
Manual one last time before beginning. In the 2000 manual, page 77, it
says, in big bold type, "IMPORTANT: The use of non-detergent oils,
multi-viscosity oils (other than Quicksilver 25W-40 or a good quality
20W-40 or 20W-50), synthetic oils, low quiality oils or oils that
contain solid additives are specifically not recommended."
I called another buddy, who has an 1986 Mercruiser 350 (and manual).
His manual is identical except that the phrase "synethetic oils" is
not there. I interpret this to mean that Mercury has, somewhere
between 1986 and 2000, specifically added a recommendation against
synthetic oils.
Probably because, while synthetic oil like Mobile One was around in
1986, not many people were using it so there was no need to warn against
it. By 2000, synthetics became very popular and for some reason, they
don't want you to use them.
The reason is probably because they have no control over what synthetic
you use, and they are all different. With dino oil, they are all very
similar and the only main difference (other than things like sulfur
content) is the additives. So they can do testing with a high quality
dino oil and be reasonably assured that the results are reproducable
with other high quality dino oils. But with synthetics, the base
formulas and properties can be very different. Just look at the
evolution of Mobile One and you'll see that it's formula changed
drastically several times from when it was introduced in 1973; 1992,
1996, 1999, and 2002.
www.mobil1.com/why/synth/history.jsp
Steve
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