"Dave Brown" wrote in message
...
SteveB wrote:

Can someone give me the short answer on if this TC-WII Johnson oil is
good to use in my '89 Merc 4 cyl TWO STROKE motor?
Is there a discernable difference between TC-WII and TC-W3 oil?

Very Quickly then...

TCW = Two cycle water cooled. That means it's an 'ashless' oil and should
NEVER be run in PWC type engines. It also means you NEVER run a lawnmower
or chain saw oil in your outboard. I am NOT going to entertain debate
about what's hype what's crap etc. I will simply state the following:

I have been inside engines for all of my adult life (and all my teens too
I guess) and can tell you there IS a difference. Just because an oil meets
the spec, doesn't mean it's the best oil you can buy. OEM oils have more
beneficial additives in them than straight spec non-OEM stuff. Do they
make their own oil? No, but they require the oil companies to make their
oil to their spec, and further prevent them from selling that spec oil as
aftermarket. Does it cost that much extra to make? Nope, but there is no
middle ground. You want their special additive packages that costs an
extra nickel, you get to pay through the nose - no argument there.

In final answer to your question, if you have TCW-2 oil, it's VERY old and
worth 50 cents less than you paid for it. ;-)

Now stop being so damn cheap and go enjoy your boat will ya? ;-)

--
Total tripe. Straight from the yamaha pwc manual "if yamalube is not
available, any twc3 oil may be used.". You're right, nothing to debate,
you're just plain wrong. Hell, we were running ashless oil in our dirt
bikes 30 years ago. And there's nothing different about the manufacturer
brand oil except the price, you pay through the nose for it.