Recommended Oil for winter- 4.3L SX Volvo Penta

[carneylake]

I have a 1998 18' Four Winns that I purchased last November which was already winterized. Rather than take it back to the dealer and overpay, I felt I could do the winterizing myself. However, tons of information on which oil to use. I live in Madison, WI and the manual says 30W if the lowest temperature will be 32. However, it gets much colder than that. I called the dealer and he said 25W40 all season, but no where to be found here. I put 40 hours on the engine this summer, and the oil was changed last November '04 right after I bought the boat. I fogged the engine today and will be finishing the winterizing tomorrow. Any suggestions on which oil to use now? Second, should I change it again in the spring to say, a 30W grade? Thanks-

 

[Lou C]

Re: Recommended Oil for winter- 4.3L SX Volvo Penta

You go by the temp for when you are going to be using the boat. I think Volvo specs straight 30W synthetic. If you go on volvo-penta's website they list what the recommended oils are. I have used Chevron Delo 400 straight 30 for the past 4 seasons in my 88 4.3 and it worked out well. I would not use a multi weight in a marine engine, unless you use the Merc 25-40. Conventional multiweights can thin out too much in marine engines.