Outboard Warranty declines

Maybe you have heard the phrase "I don't want to void the warranty by using non original parts/fluids or what have you"

Such as....using Sierra parts vs. Yamaha (just for instance purposes)
Or using Royal Purple lubricants instead of lets say...Honda labeled oil.

Are there any real and actual warranty denials from members on here, from using non major outboard branded and labeled products?

I am not considering using these parts but would like to find out if anyone has actually been denied a warranty claim as a direct result of using non outboard manufacturers products.

Re: Outboard Warranty declines

You are probably aware of the Magnuson-Moss Act:
http://www.impalaclub.com/naisso/magmoss.htm

No doubt shady places do try to deny claims regardless of that, and relent only if you are persistent...much like health insurance companies.

Re: Outboard Warranty declines

The MM act totally blew by me...

Thanks for rattling my cage.

Re: Outboard Warranty declines

So many people love to quote the Magnuson-Moss Act but cannot answer or cite any legal action against Mercury Outboards or Evinrude Outboards for specifying that lower unit oils can ONLY be their own brand.

There are no equivalent substitutes allowed by either factory in direct defiance to the Magnuson-Moss Act.

Any comments?

Re: Outboard Warranty declines

Interesting SeaHorse......

Are you aware of any cases where Merc, or any engine manufacturer, be it outboard or I/O, have denied a warranty claim because the skipper used, let's say, Royal Purple synthetic 75W-90 gear oil instead of Merc labeled gear oil?

The reason I am asking is because I am about ready to bolt on a new Yamaha 4 stroke and have lots of RP 75W-90 GL-5 gear lube on hand.
Yamaha "recommends" using 90W hypoid gear oil.

A "recommendation" is, in my neck of the woods anyway.....is a "recommendation" and not the law of the land.

Re: Outboard Warranty declines

The Merc HP gear oil is the best stuff out there... why wouldn't you use it?

Re: Outboard Warranty declines

JustJason said:

The Merc HP gear oil is the best stuff out there... why wouldn't you use it?

Click to expand...

I am sure Merc lower unit lube is great and would be fine for a Yamaha OB.

Just happen to have on hand the Royal Purple stuff.

Re: Outboard Warranty declines

marcortez said:

Interesting SeaHorse......

Are you aware of any cases where Merc, or any engine manufacturer, be it outboard or I/O, have denied a warranty claim because the skipper used, let's say, Royal Purple synthetic 75W-90 gear oil instead of Merc labeled gear oil?

The reason I am asking is because I am about ready to bolt on a new Yamaha 4 stroke and have lots of RP 75W-90 GL-5 gear lube on hand.
Yamaha "recommends" using 90W hypoid gear oil.

A "recommendation" is, in my neck of the woods anyway.....is a "recommendation" and not the law of the land.

Click to expand...

The 90W hypoid gear oil that Yamaha recommends is probably their Yamalube brand which is a GL-4. Unlike motor oils API rating such as SJ SL SM, where you can use SM in place of SJ because that is the latest rating, the same is not true with the GL ratings for gear oil. GL 1 through 6 are designed for specific gear types and applications.

So in your case if you used the GL-5 and had a lower unit problem, then yes, your warranty could be denied. Although, if they do not specify the GL rating in the owners manual they can't say you used the wrong one.

Re: Outboard Warranty declines

Thanks for that info Kid.....

I yanked the following paragraphs off http://www.lubrizol.com/DrivelineAdditives/AutomotiveGearOil/GL5.html
that explains the differences between GL-4 and GL-5.

From what I can gather, the GL-5 might even be an upgrade for hypoid gearing, vs GL-4.


?API Category GL-4 designates the type of service characteristic of spiral-bevel and hypoid gears in automotive axles operated under moderate speeds and loads. These oils may be used in selected manual transmission and transaxle applications.
?API Category GL-5 designates the type of service characteristic of gears, particularly hypoids in automotive axles under high-speed and/or low-speed, high-torque conditions. Lubricants qualified under U.S. Military specification MIL-L-2105D (formerly MIL-L-2015C), MIL-PRF-2105E and SAE J2360 satisfy the requirements of the API GL-5 service designation

Re: Outboard Warranty declines

why not simply use the correct grade for the specified application?
right now yamaha has 2 lower unit lubricants avalible, the standard 75w 90 and the HD.
the marine tech guide specifically says DO NOT USE the HD in anything but the V8 gearcases as its not been tested on the V 4 and v6 cases.
would yamaha deny a claim? most likly not.
however if the oil used is not the correct specification they could.
its NOT an atomotive case and the upper bearing is lubricated by an inertia style pump.
it means the oil crawls up the shaft via a labyrinth and lubes the upper driveshaft bearings.
use of an incorrect grade lubricant could lead to an upper bearing failure.

Re: Outboard Warranty declines

As I mentioned before, I have plenty of Royal Purple 75W-90 GL-5 on hand.

The Yamaha F75 manual "recommends" using a 90W GL-4 hypoid gear lube.
The GL-5 designation appears to be a cut above the GL-4, which is rated for "moderate" use, whereas the GL-5 is rated for high speed, higher pressure applications. (see post above explaining the differences)

Max-Gear(Royal Purple gear oil) is recommended for use in truck, motor home / RV, and automotive front or rear differentials, manual transmissions and lower gear units of marine engines that specify use of an API GL-5 or GL-4 fluid.
This passage is taken off the RP webpage.

This link points to the current Yamaha warranty document for reference.
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/warranty/YamahaWarranty4C.pdf

The only mention of lubricants is in the "general exclusions from warranty" is that the lubricants be suitable for outboard use.
Which....GL-4 and GL-5 are.

By all accounts that I can determine, the GL-5 in 75W-90 would be the prefered lube for lower units.

If I did not have any Royal Purple on hand, there is no doubt I would be using Yamalube 90W GL-4 gear lube.

Re: Outboard Warranty declines

myself, if it was mine I would use the GL5.
I use the GL5 volvo synthetic in several commerciall applications with no issues.
however I am just telling you what the yamaha marine tech guide says.
if you had an oil related gearcase failure its doubtful any claim would be denied as long as you keep a maint log.

Re: Outboard Warranty declines

one thing to keep in mind about the moss-mag act is that it takes a lawsuit to enforce it. You can wave it around all you want, until you lawyer up and go toe to toe with merc, it is meaningless.