Oil Issues

[carsondoc]

I took my boat in to the dealer for it's 20 hr oil change recently. When I got it back I noted two things:

1) There was some oil spilled in the bilge area (about 1/4 of a quart). As this area communicates with my ice chest via a drain hole, I need this cleaned up. Any advice on the best way to clean up this mess?

2) My engine is overfilled with oil. I ran the engine to operating temp and then checked the oil. It's about a centimeter above the full mark on the dipstick. Will this hurt my engine?

[waterboy]

Try some paper towels to get most of it, and then some degreaser product to eliminate any leftover oil residue. You could finish off with a non-toxic but strong soap like Simple Green.

I'm not a mechanic, but I don't believe that a relatively small amount of extra oil would be harmful. Of course, Brian Raymond would be the expert on this one.

Brian

[Brian Raymond]

Waterboy has a perfect remedy for a clean bilge. The overfilling of the oil does not sound bad, it is frequently overfilled oil changes and running high rpms, that cause a rear main seal to leak, have no worries. The procedure I use when changing oil, is to let the oil drain hose out into a bucket for 24hrs. after my last run(oil is warm). When installing the new filter, I fill it up to the top with new oil and install, then fill the motor w/4qts. of 15W40 Penzoil. Start and run the motor for several minutes(on a hose on level ground, or on the water(off trailer)). Shut the motor down and check oil, add if necessary, it is always easier to add than to take away. When doing oil or tranny fluid changes, you may not always get all of it out. No matter what, no more than 5 qts. of oil in the motor, better to run in the safe zone, transmissions will vary from 1-2qts of DexronIII trans fluid. Brian Raymond

[wdf]

When one drains the oil thru the drain hose on a V-Drive, do you put the hose thru the plug hole in the hull?

[carsondoc]

Gentlemen, thanks for your help and input. I cleaned the ice chest and bilge last night. I'll send the bill to my dealer today.

I'm doing my first oil drain tonight (10 hours) with my new mobius LSV, I stuck the drain hose out the back drain hole, and it only came out 3" or so. Draining onto the wake plate seems hokey (dealer suggestion) so I extended the 3/8” hose into a 1 gal container. The over night suggestion is from Brian is a good one….it’s coming out slow. I would have taken mine to the dealer too but he is 100mi away. Maybe I wont have any oil to clean out of my hulll ;)

How important is the “marine” part of “Pennzoil 10W40 marine”? I can’t find it, or the PZ3 filter.
My local GM dealer is going to order it for me and I’ll stock it. Is this worth the cost and effort or should I just use regular 10w40 Pennzoil API SJ/CG4?

[madmax]

I'm doing my first oil drain tonight (10 hours) with my new mobius LSV, I stuck the drain hose out the back drain hole, and it only came out 3" or so. Draining onto the wake plate seems hokey (dealer suggestion) so I extended the 3/8” hose into a 1 gal container. The over night suggestion is from Brian is a good one….it’s coming out slow. I would have taken mine to the dealer too but he is 100mi away. Maybe I wont have any oil to clean out of my hulll

How important is the “marine” part of “Pennzoil 10W40 marine”? I can’t find it, or the PZ3 filter.
My local GM dealer is going to order it for me and I’ll stock it. Is this worth the cost and effort or should I just use regular 10w40 Pennzoil API SJ/CG4?

[waterboy]

Max,
If you can't find the Pennzoil filter, you can cross reference to other brands. The Purolator equivelant is PER12, the AC replacement is AC25.
I have to drive a good distance myself to get the oil from my dealer. I'm going to try one of our local auto supply stores like NAPA or Discount Auto Parts and see if they'll order a case of the marine oil for me. I've had good luck with NAPA, so we'll see....I'll post if they come through.

Brian

[Catdog1]

Guys, unless your boats are stored on the water all the time, the non-marine version of Penzoil, Longlife in the 15 W 40 designation, should be fine. I think I saw it on the indmar website.

[waterboy]

Thanks for the tip, Catdog. Here's what Indmar has to say about it:

QUESTION: What type of oil should I use? Can I use synthetic oil?

ANSWER: Indmar recommends (and uses at our factory) Pennzoil Marine 15W40 Motor Oil. If Pennzoil 15W40 Marine Oil is not available in your area, we suggest using 20W40 or 20W50 oil meeting the API specification of SJ/CG4 or better. Synthetic oil that meets our requirement of 15W40and API rating of SJ/CJ4 is acceptable to use after 100 hours or operation with the recommended (not synthetic) oil. The use of synthetic oil does not alter the requirement for oil changes at 50-hour intervals. Older operator’s manuals, and other publications that are not regularly updated will not be revised to show this latest engine oil recommendation. Current operator’s manuals, and other service publications that receive regular updates will receive this revised recommendation the next time they are updated.

Hope that makes things easier for everyone scouring the stores (me included!) for marine oil.

Brian