Engine Oil Recommendation - 2 part question

First a little background.......

I have a 1993 Evinrude 50 hsp that I bought last fall. The previous owners had a problem with the oil injection and blew the motor. They had it repaired at Cabelas in 2006 and said they have not used it since. They installed 2 new pistons. (one of them was .030 over sized) The instructions on the repair invoice said to use double oil the first 3 tanks. (18 gallons) At the time I bought the boat, the compression was either 128/130 or 148/150. (I don't recall which...although at the time a mechanic friend of mine told me that was good.)

After finding out the motor had been repaired, I lowered my offering price considerably. (The negotiations are a story in itself so I will spare you that part.) The worst case scenario is that if the motor doesn't hold up, I can sell the boat and trailer and easily get what I paid back out of it.

Question 1.

Now... for the 1st 18 gallons while running double oil for break in, I will keep the oil injection hooked up because I will also be running 50:1 in the tanks. The question...based upon the above scenario would you keep using the oil injection system or bypass it and just mix oil after the break in period? (The pump was replaced when the motor work was done in 06)


Question 2.

I've read that many people on this site use Pennzoil 2 cycle oil with no problems. On my previous boats, I used nothing but the OEM oils for the motors I had. After checking my local marine dealer and finding a 28.00 price tag on a gallon, I decided that Pennzoil would probably suit me fine. .

At Bass Pro and Wallyworld I've seen 3 types of Pennzoil

1. Pennzoil Marine XLF Extended Life
2. Premium Plus
3. Full Synthetic

The first 2 are synthetic blends. I'm kind of confused as to what the real difference is between those 2. The XLF says it is for seasoned motors but then again it says it is also good for new high hsp engines. Here is a link to their web page. (Scroll up and down to see all 3 types)

"http://www.pennzoil.com/products/marine/index.html#PremiumPlus"

Does it really matter which one I use in my case? Wallyworld doesn't have the full synthetic but they have the other 2. Bass Pro has all 3. The XLF is on sale right now for 9.88 a gallon at BP so I bought 2 gallons last weekend. (The XLF and Premium Plus are normally priced the same.) Can anyone shed any light on the 2 types of synthetic blends and what your recommendation is for my motor situation?

Thanks

Re: Engine Oil Recommendation - 2 part question

If they did not do any break-in, you should make an effort to find the rebuilder and get specific instructions for the break in. Failing that, I would treat the engine as though brand new and follow the factory break in guidelines.

Run 50 to 1 in the tank, and the VRO/OMS if functioning properly, should provide the other half of the oil to give you fully 25:1 or better.

Don't forget to retorque the cylinder heads.

I've used both the Pennzoil synthetic blend and the full synthetic. Both were better than any standard non-synthetic TCW-3 oil that I have used. Plugs were cleaner and I have not had as much fouling, plus the engine ran cleaner and had less smoke. A very large number of the 100% synthetic TCW-3 oils like the Pennzoil, Nautilus and others are biodegradable, a plus for the environment.

On the other hand, I still think that the BRP/Evinrude XD-50 blend has the edge for operation, especially with the built in CarbX.

Re: Engine Oil Recommendation - 2 part question

ezeke... the instructions for break-in are to just run double oil for the first 18 gallons. That is all that was on the invoice. I may try to call them but chances are I won't get the same guy since it is a Cabelas.

At what points would I want to re-torque the heads? Do you know what the specs are for this motor? (93 Evinrude 50 hsp)

Any thoughts on question 1?

Re: Engine Oil Recommendation - 2 part question

My motor is in the shop right now to attempt to correct a surging problem. I just don't have the time to tinker with it and my knowledge of motors is weak. Anyway, I just thought I would add that the mechanic said he thought the Pennzoil was bad oil. He said just last year, they had 3 motors blow up due using that oil. I did not quiz him on how he related the oil to the engine failures. ??

Re: Engine Oil Recommendation - 2 part question

The Pennzoil synthetic blend has run fine in my engine.

Re: Engine Oil Recommendation - 2 part question

Most good shops have not seen three blow-ups in a year on engines that they were responsible for, but I suppose if you can't blame it on the oiling system, you could blame it on the oil.

Worldwide a lot of people use Shell marine products which of course includes all of the Pennzoil brands, Nautilus, and the store brands that they provide.

I've been on this forum for a long time and I have never read a comment like yours before about Pennzoil.

I do not recommend fuels or oils. You asked about the brand and I responded because I have used the TCW-3 products with good results.

Re: Engine Oil Recommendation - 2 part question

Re-torque your head bolts at 20 hours. Look it up, but I believe to 18-20 ft/lbs.

Re: Engine Oil Recommendation - 2 part question

I have used Pennzoil Premium Plus exclusively for about 8 years with no problems what-so-ever. I have even run it at 50:1 mix extensively in two motors (1958 Evinrude Bigtwins) that were originally designed for a 24:1 mix of natural oil. If your mechanic carries the BRP brand, you can pretty much guess why he is telling you that a competing brand isn't any good.

That said, I just found out that many (maybe even most) OMC/BRP dealers carry the BRP synthetic blend and full synthetic in bulk. And the pricing when purchased that way, is slightly less than buying 2.5 gallon jugs of the Pennzoil at other places. The next time I need 2-stroke oil, I will be showing up at my dealer with a brand new 3 gallon gas can, which I will fill with the BRP synthetic blend.

Re: Engine Oil Recommendation - 2 part question

Your engine is not going to fail because of what oil you use, so long as it is NMMA certified TC-W3. People who tell you that such and such oil caused a failure have no idea what caused it and need to sound knowledgable.

You will get mixed opinions on whether to use or disconnect the VRO/OMS. It is very convenient when topping off a tank that wasn't empty, but if it fails (by '93 the problems that gave the early VRO such a bad reputation were fixed) you have a dead engine. Make your choice and take your risk.

I have used Wal Mart's Super Tech outboard oil exclusively for about 15 years in OMC outboards and have gotten good results. Synthetic blends and full synthetics burn cleaner and smoke less. It depends on what you are willing to pay for those benefits. Were I going to change from Super Tech I would go to full synthetic.

Re: Engine Oil Recommendation - 2 part question

JB is right on that a TC-W3 oil will not cause an engine failure due to not lubricating.

An engine or boat plumbing problem can restrict, contaminate, or block the oil flowand that will cause problems.

What can happen, though, is that TC-W3 oils are not the same in the carbon cleaning department and if the rings get stuck with carbon buildup, the cylinders will score, rings may break, and the motor will need expensive repairs. An engine not tuned correctly or thermostats not warming the motor like they should also contributes to carbon formation which leads to engine problems.

As a rule of thumb, you will not go wrong using any outboard manufacture's oil in your motor. They blend their products to work the best for their engines and Yamaha oil in a Merc, or Evinrude XD-50 in a Yamaha is fine.

Unlike some off-brands that are made for a low selling price and just barely meet the TC-W3 requirements, factory oils have better and more additives in them.

Re: Engine Oil Recommendation - 2 part question

There's no way to know if oils "barely meet" the NMMA certification standards, or exceed. The labs that do the testing do not score the oil's performance, it's just pass/fail. There's an implied assumption that OEM oils are better. That may or may not be the case.

BTW, Evinrude oils are not on the NMMA certification list as having passed their TC-W3 tests.

Re: Engine Oil Recommendation - 2 part question

What was not discussed here is whether Cabela's actually determined what the cause of the failure was. If all they did was rebuild the engine and did not verify proper injection system function or rebuild the carbs, regardless what oil you use or what break-in procedure you use you could end up with another blown motor. Oil injection systems and brand of oil are blamed all too often for engine failure when lean mixture caused by dirtry carbs, clogged filters, misadjustment, wrong plugs, bad link & sync, are all suspect. Ethanol blended fuel is the new excuse for many shops. If only one cylinder failed it was not likely the injection system since that system is not "cylinder specific". Use any TCW3 labeled oil and stop worrying.

Re: Engine Oil Recommendation - 2 part question

Well I guess my last post livened up this old thread.

To clarify, both pistons and rings were replaced but only one of them was over sized. (.030) They did not rebuild the carbs so my only assumption is that the previous owner said just told Cabelas to get it back together because they were going to sell it....or just didn't want to invest any more. (1,500.00 !) From everything I've read, the carbs should be rebuilt any time a tear down is done. Since they did replace the VRO pump, one would assume that they did determine this was at least partly the cause of the failure. I have nothing to go by other than what was written on the invoice.

I do think I'll use the Pennzoil regardless of what the mechanic said. (At least the 2 gallons I bought recently....that will take me quite a ways with a 50 hsp.) Years ago, I worked for a marine dealer primarily in the sporting goods side and I've run into more than one mechanic that is stubborn about using nothing but OEM everything. (Perhaps because they got a percentage of the parts sales as commission and OEM parts cost more.....hmmm... maybe there is a conneciton here ........??)

I think I am going to keep the VRO hooked up at least for a while since it was replaced in 2006 at the time of the rebuild. I also plan to use sea foam at least every few tanks.

By the way...the mechanic (actually service manager) that said he thought Pennzoil was junk also sells the oil in the store. (He is obviously not in charge of buying.)