"Dan Olstad" wrote in message link.net...
As the season draws to a close I am thinking about fluid changes in my new
to me boat. I have 1987 Mercruiser 260s and the manual recommends straight
30W oil. Why not a 20-40W or a 20-50W? The manual says that's ok if
straight weight is not available but it is not recommended. Can anyone shed
any light on this for me? Thanks.-DanO

I would stick with straight weights unless you plan to operate in cold
weather.

20-40 and 20-50 are 20 weight oils. They have additives in them to
limit how thin get at normal operating temperatures. Consider that 40
weight oil will be pretty thin at 160-170F. But fairly thick at 60F.

20-40 will lubricate like 20 weight oil when its cold - it's thinner
and flows easier at lower temps. But 20 weight would be too thin at
normal operating temps. 20-40 flows like 20 weight at low temps
(because it is 20 weight) but is modified to get no thinner than a 40
weight at normal operating temps.

Drawback in boats: Do you run your boat everyday? I don't - I only
get out every couple of weeks. That thinner 20 weight oil will not
coat the internal parts of your engine as well during periods of
non-use. Thicker straight weights will stick to your moving parts
better and protect against corrosion, etc better.

You do want to exercise care when starting engines with straight
weight oil. Compare to 10-40, a 30 weight will be noticalbly thicker
and you want to make sure it's flowing before putting loads on the
engine. When I start my boat, I idle at about 1000 RPM until the temp
gauges start moving. At 1000 RPM, the initial oil pressure runs about
60psi. When it starts to drop to 50-55, I figure that it's starting
to flow easier and I am ready to idle out of the marina (depending on
which direction I go, I have at least a half mile of no-wake zone from
my slip). I'm running 283s. Those of you with bigger engines may
have different initial idle speeds - so don't assume I am doing
anything wrong because you run your 350 or 454 (or whatever)
differently.

Engines sitting for extended periods of non use are also why I won't
run synthetics. Too slippery - don't coat parts well for extended
periods. Synthetics do a poor job of hold contaminants in suspension.
The contaminants settle out easier leading to the increased
likelyhood of forming sludge.

First, you missed spelled Billy. And you will never get up to speed.

"JAXAshby" wrote in message
...
billie, you were told to stay out of any and all discussions re oil until
you
bring yourself up to speed, and that will be at least a year of seriously
hard
work for you.


Date: 9/20/2004 1:32 AM Eastern Daylight Time
Message-id: et

Well jaxass, how come cars have successfully run for years with straight
weight? My Ford 351W in the boat calls for straight 30 weight. You
again
show you are even dumber than asslicker and that is hard to accomplish.

"JAXAshby" wrote in message
...
bill, knock it off. straight weight oil takes many, many, many seconds
longer
to flow to all pressure oil bearings in a just started, ambient temp
engine
than does multi-weight oil.

straight weight oils are proper only for engines that are started with
proper
care to prelube and brought up to temperature before putting a load on
it
and
are run for extended periods of time before shutdown.

bill, you don't have a clew what the paragraphs above mean, so just
knock
it
off and don't post again on oils.

"Calif Bill"
Date: 9/18/2004 10:04 PM Eastern Daylight Time
Message-id: . net

You do not have the huge temperature differentials that cars have.
Most
of
the time you are in the 40-75 degree ambient temperature range.
Bill

"Dan Olstad" wrote in message
link.net...
As the season draws to a close I am thinking about fluid changes in
my
new
to me boat. I have 1987 Mercruiser 260s and the manual recommends
straight
30W oil. Why not a 20-40W or a 20-50W? The manual says that's ok
if
straight weight is not available but it is not recommended. Can
anyone
shed
any light on this for me? Thanks.-DanO

Subject: Mulitgrade Oil
From: (JAXAshby)

bennie, I own a mid-80's Fiero

OTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!

Capt. Bill

genie, knock it off. kriste on a crutch.

First of
all, 5 weight oil doesn't "lube better" than 40 weight oil.

it most certainly does, during the seconds it takes for pressure oil of a just
started cold (meaning not at operating temp) engine to reach all the bearings
needing pressure oil. 5w oil flows more easier at starting temp than does 40w
(ob vee us frickin' lee). that clatter you hear (well, a qualified mechanic
hears) on a just started engine is the bearings grinding and rubbing and
clashing with no pressue oil present. even a 14 year old can hear the
difference in the sound of a just started engine with heavy oil in it and the
same engine run 30 or 40 seconds.

genei, go stand in the corner.

How does all of this translate to outboards that run 120f thermostats?
If the oil is formulated for 210 degree operating temps (most cars) does it
still work at 120-150?
I notice my merc 4 stroke has pretty low oil pressure 20-30 hours into an oil
change when I run Merc 10-30. If I use an auto brand it acts the same way. It
does better with merc 25-40

Anybody using multi-weight oil *must* be very religious about changing it when
due.

That 5w-50 oil?

The basic oil in that jug is 5w. A group of "viscosity enhancers" allows the
oil to provide the same protection as 50w when the engine heats up.

Caution: The viscosity enhancers will break down after a while and the oil you
think is 5w-50 is then really only 5w.

I use Delo 400, 30 weight, in my engine.
Got about 4000 hours out of the first engine, and when it failed it wasn't due
to a lube or fuel problem.

( I have used Delo 100 for the first couple of oil changes on the new engine).

How does all of this translate to outboards that run 120f thermostats?
If the oil is formulated for 210 degree operating temps (most cars) does it
still work at 120-150?
I notice my merc 4 stroke has pretty low oil pressure 20-30 hours into an oil
change when I run Merc 10-30. If I use an auto brand it acts the same way. It
does better with merc 25-40

10w-30 at 150* will give less oil pressure than 30W at 150*

The advantage of multi oil is engine lube at ambient temp start up.

anybody who isn't religious about changing the oil -- no matter what oil --
ain't long on desire to keep his engine running.

Anybody using multi-weight oil *must* be very religious about changing it
when
due.

That 5w-50 oil?

The basic oil in that jug is 5w. A group of "viscosity enhancers" allows the
oil to provide the same protection as 50w when the engine heats up.

Caution: The viscosity enhancers will break down after a while and the oil
you
think is 5w-50 is then really only 5w.

I use Delo 400, 30 weight, in my engine.
Got about 4000 hours out of the first engine, and when it failed it wasn't
due
to a lube or fuel problem.

( I have used Delo 100 for the first couple of oil changes on the new
engine).

(JAXAshby) wrote in message ...
How does all of this translate to outboards that run 120f thermostats?
If the oil is formulated for 210 degree operating temps (most cars) does it
still work at 120-150?
I notice my merc 4 stroke has pretty low oil pressure 20-30 hours into an oil
change when I run Merc 10-30. If I use an auto brand it acts the same way. It
does better with merc 25-40

10w-30 at 150* will give less oil pressure than 30W at 150*

The advantage of multi oil is engine lube at ambient temp start up.









im fairly sure i can just ignore your childish posts jax as its fairly
obvious you have no clue what you are talking about.

http://www.autoeducation.com/autoshop101/oil-change.htm

read and learn. have a nice day.

I don't want to get in the "less filling" "tastes great" battle about whether
multi grade oils thicken or stay the same over the 0 - 210f range but I do know
that 10-30 starts out holding about 40 PSI right after a change in my boat and
in about 15-20 hours it is more like 35. Something is going on.
That is using Merc oil or a good auto oil. If I bump it up to 25-40 it is
better. Straight 30 acts about the same as the 25-40.
Since I am never going to be in my boat if it is much below 70 degrees (air). I
am not sure why I am not just running 30HD. Cooling water will range from 67f
to 88f (5 year min/max) based on the water samples I do for the state.