Black gold in the oil bath hubs??

[Darter]

I went to Autozone to pick up some 50w oil to drain and fill the oil bath hubs. They only carried up to 40w. Around the corner, O'Reilly had lots of 50w "Racing" oil. I think it was Valvoline. At $5 a quart, I figured it was a good price, but it came in a regular quart oil bottle with the large spout.

So then I called the nearest marine dealer across town and they said they had just what I needed. I got there and they handed me this clear half-quart bottle with a computer printed label taped to the side. NINETEEN DOLLARS!! For a PINT!

Well I needed to get the trailer on the road for a long trip, and suspect the previous owner never changed the oil, so I caved.

So I saved the bottles from the black gold. Can I just refill them with the $5/qt stuff at the auto parts store? Is there something magical about the juice from the dealer?

Oh, and I had a couple qts of synth 75-90 on hand that I would have loved to use up, but would that be too heavy?

[gregski]

Oh, and I had a couple qts of synth 75-90 on hand that I would have loved to use up, but would that be too heavy?

I wouldn't do that, but not because of it's heavier weight. Oils use additives to "stretch" multiple weights, i.e. 75-90. The problem is that those additives are no good when used as gear oils, where you want "straight weight" (meaning "additive free")

[Darter]

That's good to know. So would any old straight 50 work? Regular motor oil, or is this a special lube?

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[gregski]

That's good to know. So would any old straight 50 work? Regular motor oil, or is this a special lube?

I think that Boatmate has 2 varieties of the oil bath hub: the "GOLD" and the "Vault". The manual for the "GOLD" says 50 weight motor oil, so yeah, this would be any 50W motor oil (sometimes called "racing", "straight weight", "detergent free", etc). The manual for the "Vault" says it uses "specially formulated “Hybrid Oil™” lubricant" and don't give any instructions for service. I believe that my '07 has the "Vault". I'm not sure what the '04 used but if it's the "GOLD" than yeah any ol' 50W motor oil.