"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.

jamesgangnc wrote:

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.

James,

Please accept my sincere apologies for not following what is now normal
decorum in this NG. I do my best to participate when I think I can add
meaningful insight to those who seek it, and I bow out when it's clear
people want to draw me into something else.

As an aside, BRP is quite specific in their Sea-Doo manuals about TCW-3
oils NOT be used as alternatives, but since I am not a PWC dealer I
shall step aside to let you have the floor on this matter if you wish.

A quick thank you is in order as well. I took a quick trip down memory
lane by googling my name in reference to this Newsgroup and found some
stuff from the 90's.


--
Regards,
Dave Brown
Brown's Marina Ltd
http://brownsmarina.com/

"jamesgangnc" wrote in message
...
"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.


I don't know. I think different "blenders" may have better quality control,
etc.
There is (or used to be) a law that required manufacturers to supply
consumables like oil for free, *if* the manufacturer specified a specific
brand name as being the only type that could be used. That may be the
reason for the blurb in your Yamaha manual.

I had an '06 BMW M5 that BMW *required* a special Mobil 1 synthetic blend
designed for racing engines. The 500 hp M5 engine drank oil like it drank
gas and required frequent oil replacement. I thought the BMW dealer was
being nice by giving me oil free whenever I needed any, but it turns out
they were required by law to do so.

Eisboch