Oil may not need to be changed every year....

[jharmon203]

So I was running extremely low on time 2 years ago with winterizing my boat. I only had about 20 hours on the oil and decided to forego it for other more pressing needs. I used fully synthetic 5w-40.

This year I only had about 10 hours on the boat because as of sept 4th, we have two kids under 2. So I wondered how my oil was actually wearing. I sent a sample into blackstone analysis to see how the oil was doing.

They said it was doing just fine after almost 2 years with under 50 hours. In fact, the wear levels even went down with plenty of viscosity left.

I would only attempt this with fully synthetic oils (I would actually only recommend fully synthetic oils anyways).

I know there is always the "cheap insurance" principle as to "why not doing it" but oils have come a long way so figured I would share actual chemical analysis data of 2 year old oil under 50 hours.

[Tookeymonster]

If you can do it yourself It is very cheep insurance and if your boat is under warranty it a must to keep your warranty...

[bturner2]

I've kept the filter but always change the oil. Oil is really pretty cheap at COSTCO to not take the cheep insurance route for me.

[EricB]

jharmon;
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience. As the report showed that wear was not a concern nor was the makeup of the lubricant. You also have documentation now too. Very cool and I undersatnd your thoughts on doing it this way.

[bloup101]

Do they mesure contamination?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RxMC]

Do they mesure contamination?

They measure everything. I've been using them for years.

[CantRepeat]

The issue is letting the contaminates sit on the bearings all winter long no matter the hours on the oil.

It's your boat, do whatever lets you sleep at night, all winter long.

[mike koen]

When in doubt , throw it out .

[Miss Rita]

I read the report; interesting. My impression over the years is that the danger of not changing oil is that combustion by-products, ("acids") in the oil will eat up your engine as it sits all winter. The report mentions nothing about that. Disclaimer: I know just enough about oil to be dangerous.

My mechanic told me last week that he has never seen an internal problem with small block engines when the oil has been changed yearly.

Having said that, when I winterized last weekend 4.5 quarts of Rotella Synthetic 5W-40 and a Motorcraft FL1-a filter put me back less than $25

[CantRepeat]

I read the report, an interesting read. Disclaimer: I know just enough about oil to be dangerous. My impression over the years is that the danger of not changing oil is that combustion by-products, ("acids") in the oil that will eat up your engine as it sits all winter. The report mentions nothing about that.

Having said that, when I winterized last weekend 4.5 quarts of Rotella Synthetic 5W-40 and a Motorcraft FL1-a filter put me back less than $25

And in a pinch, you can do this in an hour. Maybe less depending on your skill set.

[RxMC]

When in doubt , throw it out .

Except in this case the owner is not in doubt!

This thread is nuts. Show me the engine that has failed due to not changing oil with 10 hours on it. Some people talk like these engine internals are made out of sugar. Ha!

[Tookeymonster]

I have worked in Oil and Gas for 16 years. Every Petroleum Engineer I know would say if it has hours on it and its going to set for 5-6 months and it was their boat and money they would change the oil. But what do they know they are the experts....... We deal with lots and lots of equipment when we lay down a rig and have no clue how long for we change all the oil in everything. Fresh is best.

[MIskiboat]

Drain and refill w/o filter change using mityvac was approx 15-20 mins and $20. Filter adds an few more bucks and a few more min.

[mikeg205]

Oil discussion!!!! I can understand your conclusion from the data. I average 20 hours a year running.. skiing hours so 3200-3400 rpms so thats 20 heavy use hours. Still change oil and filter every year. Good fresh oil besides lubricating parts, pull heat, acids, and other contaminants away from engine parts.

I change my trans fluid every as well along with servicing trailer hubs annually.

Both oils are not clean when removed.

But as cant says its your boat...

You lose 100 MCOCD points [emoji1787]



Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[georgea0731]

Only share this for discussion and thoughts.

Years ago, the norm was change the oil in your car every 5K, then somewhere it came down to 3K (manufacturer created for more service $$?), now newer cars seem to require synthetic oil . For example, my last visit to the Land Rover Dealer with a new to us, used 2014, they said every 15K miles since they use synthetic. So I see this as an example that every 50 boat hours may not apply like it use too. Yes, it's cheap, minimum time, like insurance, etc., etc.
Plus they were re-cycling used oil not very long ago, as if it was still good. To each is their own, but it makes one wonder.