Wayne.B wrote in message . ..
It's about time for an oil and filter change on my 24 ft I/O with a
350 cid Mercruiser (salt water cooled).

Does anyone have opinions on who makes the best oil filters or are
they basically just a commodity item with all more or less equal?

Nest question: This is an old block with lots of hours but it still
runs well. I've always used straight 40 wt oil. Would it make any
sense at all to switch to a synthetic oil at this point, and if so,
which one?

Any of the real name brand oil filters will probably work just fine,
but I would stick with a marine oil filter, the metal is a little
thicker and stronger, and the price differance isn't that bad. I like
Fram filters.

On synthetic oil, I love the stuff, but don't put it into an older
engine. I had heard all the warnings about increased oil leakage if
put into an older engine that had been using standard oil all along. I
had a left over case of synthetic that was the wrong weight for my new
car. My brother had his old "station car" (for going back and forth to
the train station) and it needed some oil, so I gave it to him. Well,
after not too many miles it started leaking bad, and going back to
standard oil didn't correct it. All the old gunk in the engine that
was holding the oil in was removed by the synthetic, causing it to
leak. Finally, he got rid of the car, I never beleaved the stories
about old engines and synthetic oil, I do now.