Conventional or Synthetic Oil

[MontereyJak]

I recently purchased a 1996 Monterey Montura boat with a 5.0 Volvo Penta motor. I have no way of knowing what kind of oil is currently in the motor. I want to change the oil. Should I go with regular or Synthetic oil and which weight should I use?

 

[chiefalen]

Re: Conventional or Synthetic Oil

my friend has that motor he uses walmart cheapest oil 5w-30 he has no problems for 12 years i use straight 30 weight walmart cheapest oil .i use walmart cheapest gear oil also.26 years and still no problem with my pos.ps i have riding lawnmower,pressure washer,snowblower 45 years old,2 quads for the kids,2 other boats one 70 hp evinrude 1976 fresh water only generator, all i ever use is walmart cheapest oil. good luck

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Conventional or Synthetic Oil

Synthetic lubricants are simply superior lubricants. If you don't mind spending the extra money, one or two oil changes a year with superior performance should not be an issue. Marine engines operate at high rpm. My thoughts are that if a NASCAR engine can stay together at between 8000 - 9000 rpm+ for 500 miles on sythetic oil, that would be a pretty good choice for my boat. On the other hand, conventional oils have allowed engines to live very long lives so you simply make your choice and pay the money.

 

[180shabah]

Re: Conventional or Synthetic Oil

Use what the manufacturer recomends.

5Wanything should not be used in any boat it is too thin.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Conventional or Synthetic Oil

Ayuh,.......

As Don said the other day,....
Somebody, Somewhere, has used about Every oil known to man, in a boat motor,........
And,......
Every 1 of Them believes They use the Absolute Best motor oil in the world in Their boat.........

That said,......

I run Mobil 1, 15W-50 in my 4.3LX,+ Mobil 1, 75W-90 in my Alpha drive......

 

[buggiedad_67]

Re: Conventional or Synthetic Oil

like bondo says everyone use's what they are comfortable with. most likely what their daddy used. i use castrol in every thing i run. as far as walmart oil, walmart does not make theeir oil they just buy it from a manufacture and its but into bottle with thier name on it, since my wife works there she says that walmart oil id mmade by quaker state for walmart, so just use what you feel is right and it will be.

 

[Robj]

Re: Conventional or Synthetic Oil

Rather than add to what can turn out to be another long drawn out oil thread, I will suggest that you do a search and you will find the many threads on the topic. Don S has also posted the Mercruiser recommendations on what oil they recommend. I know yours is a Volvo, but I believe Mercruiser also use that engine.

Have a great day,

Rob.

 

[BAYLINER185]

Re: Conventional or Synthetic Oil

I know many many oil threads LOL


Make it short and sweet I wanted to run 20W40 in my boat but couldnt find it in synthetic or any 40w in synthetic for that matter so I used Castrol 10W40 in my 7.4 454 and nothing but Quicksilver / MERCRUISR Perforamnce gear lube in the out drive.

Ill change the 10w40 either at the end of this season or the begining of next season. NO winterizing here in Phoenix AZ so it doesnt have to be done before winter here like it does anywhere East of me.

 

[Dakota47]

Re: Conventional or Synthetic Oil

i use penzoil 10w30 in my 4.3 v-6 . any good oil will work fine if changed every once in a while..

 

[180shabah]

Re: Conventional or Synthetic Oil

i use penzoil 10w30 in my 4.3 v-6 . any good oil will work fine if changed every once in a while..

True enough, your money is better spent on a quality filter. Although, with the change interval most boats see, they could probably get by fine with no filter at all.

 

[MontereyJak]

Re: Conventional or Synthetic Oil

I've purchased a good filter from the dealer.
Is there any truth to once synthetic oil is used in an engine, that you should never use conventional oil again in that motor - once synthetic - always synthetic after?
I plan on using good quality conventional oil, but want to make sure that if the engine already has synthetic, that I can go back to using conventional oil.

 

[Lou C]

Re: Conventional or Synthetic Oil

Synthetic vs conventional, hard to say because of the age of that engine, a 96 is now 12 years old and you could get leaks by switching to syn...Volvo's recommendation in that time period was similar to OMC's, straight 30 weight. I have had good results using Chevron Delo 400 straight 30 weight, you could also use Shell Rotella T in the same weight, or the Pennzoil Marine straight 30.
I don't think a conventional multi vis is a good idea in a marine engine, in fact if you go on Volvo's website and look up the recommendations for your engine they recommend not using multi-vis oils and to use the straight 30.
They do recommend multi vis for their newest engines, but being that they syn oils, there is not the same issue with the VI improvers that can cause trouble with conventional oils.