What oil to use??.....'05 VP

[Drum101]

So bought a new(to me) boat. 2005 Regal w/ VP 5.0 GXI-E..... excited to give her a fresh oil change...Simple, right? Engine says 30 weight pure synthetic. No problem. Figured I might go with VP oil-just because. of course not in any stores, hmm not available on VP site either. Now what?...little research. VP no longer makes it. Pretty much unavailable from all manufactures anywhere in straight 30 wt. VP manual says use 20w-50- well that's not an easy find either. I would like to not have to order it every year..

So my Q's... what should I use??? I will stick w full Syn. Is a 15-40 sufficient? What if it is a diesel oil?
Is a 'marine' oil really required? ( not many of those out there) Amsoil has one...
What brands/weights are you guys running?. Will use it through the summer months, hoping for 50 hours.

Thanks for the input!! Jeff

 

[greenbm]

I use Shell Rotella 15w40 Diesel oil. 4 quarts plus 1 quart Lucas Heavy Duty Oil stabilizer. That?s what the previous owner used and since the engine still runs great after 20 years, I saw no reason to change his ?recipe?. With that being said, I did do a fair amount prior to changing the oil the first time and I found that while there are a lot of different opinions, the 15-40 diesel oil seems to be about the most popular.

Have you looked at your access to the oil drain plug. Mine is not hard to get to but its hard to drain it without making a mess. I use a vaccum pump with a hose snaked into the oil pan.

 

[Drum101]

Thanks greenbm... I use that oil in my Powerstroke too...As far as I have seen I only have the dipstick with the hose end to suck it from. I need to get a pump first also.

 

[bruceb58]

Do not use the pump where you stick the hose into the dipstick. Use a pump that threads onto the top of the dipstick. The dipstick actually threads into the bottom of the pan where the drain plug would normally be.

greenbm you should use a pump that threads onto the dipstick tube as well as your engine has the same configuration where the dipstick tube goes to a fitting that screws into the drain plug.

I use a full synthetic 15W50 Mobil 1. Many oils to choose from.

 

[BRICH1260]

Mobil 1 15-50. It`s superior to the original 30W recommendation. Heck they make oil now that is rated for 20K miles

 

[Scott Danforth]

I get about 4 gallons of Rotella 15w-40 for the oil changes in everything except the VW

Boat, truck, daily driver, kids cars, lawn equipment, etc

 

[greenbm]

bruceb58 thanks for the tip. Can you explain the benefits of one method over the other. I have a transfer pump with a threaded hose end to screw into the engine tube but I've never been able to get it to pull oil out. Maybe the pump isn't strong enough. However with a pump like the one at the link below I've been able to snake the long skinny hose into that threaded tube and into the pan. It's slow but I let it go overnight and by morning she's empty

http://www.northerntool.com/images/product/2000x2000/332/33226_2000x2000.jpg

 

[bruceb58]

The dipstick tube itself is so much wider than the inside of the skinny tube that you place inside that it makes it way easier for the pump to suck it out.

As always, very important to have the engine completely warmed up before you use either method.

Also, with the skinny tube, you will likely never get it into the pan. If you run your hand down the dipstick tube to see how it goes into the pan, you will see why.

 

[greenbm]

thanks again for the tips. I'll check it out this weekend.

 

[Jeepster04]

Ive been using 5w-30 valvoline synthetic in ours for several years. I imagine the engine will never fail due to the type of oil Im using.... Service the boat as you should and I imagine any quality oil that you use will work great...

 

[Drum101]

Thanks again for the replies everyone...

bruceb58 I was wondering what kind of pump you use to pull your oil out?? I'm inclined to try a $10 hand pump first...TIA

 

[bruceb58]

I just have a pump that screws into the 1 gallon jug and reaches down to the bottom.

Mine is a duoprop so I have a length of hose from the pump that connects to an adapter that screws into the drive.

 

[Lou C]

As far as pumping out the oil, I do it the same way Bruce said, use the garden hose adapter. I fabbed up this for my vaccum pump and it takes much less time than that little plastic tube.
​Motor oil, I'd use one of these:
Merc 25/40
​Chevron, Rotella, in 15/40 vis
​Lucas 20/50 with extra zinc if you have a flat tappet engine.

​When I took off the top end of my old '88 4.3 pre-vortec to replace the head gaskets and head, I found that it has a roller cam, so the lowered zinc levels are not such a concern if you have a roller cam. Our old '98 Jeep 4.0 is the only vehicle we have with flat tappets.