What oil do you use in your engine?

[chpthril]

I took your advice and looked it up on the West Marine website. There it was, just as you said. So was a Pennzoil 15W-40 marine product. So I called my local West Marine and had them go grab a bottle off the shelf and read the label to me on the phone. Guess what - it's C* rated oil, meant for diesel applications. It is not SM rated oil. Same problem as all the others.

I looked up the Pennzoil product on Pennzoil's website and it, too, is a diesel rated oil with a C* rating. It's a marine oil, yes, but marine diesel.

I'm waiting for the call back from Deborah at PCM.

What came after the C? there may have been another leter and then a -#

[IDBoating]

What came after the C? there may have been another leter and then a -#

There's a whole series of C classifications, which is why I'm referring to them as C* (where * is a wildcard). The most common is CJ-4, but there are lots of others.

[IDBoating]

Hard to find? I can drive a mile up the road and buy it at a local mom'n pop marina and 20 minutes down the road @ West Marine.

OK, I now have six quarts of the proper oil. It comes with a story.

After calling every auto shop around, and West Marine, to no avail I started calling boat shops. Several said they just use diesel rated 15W-40 oils.

However, the MasterCraft dealer - one of only two PCM certified shops in the entire region - had more to tell. He said they are not satisfied using diesel oil in a gasoline application. They've only had their PCM certification for a very short time (they got it because they are also the Centurion dealer) and they are careful to toe the line when it comes to PCM's requirements. They could not find the proper oil anywhere, so "I'm not surprised you can't find it either."

To remain in compliance with PCM's specs, they contract directly with Mobil and have the proper 15W-40 GF-4/SM oil delivered in 55 gallon drums. The shop manager drained six quarts into a couple of containers and sold them to me for $30.

[dom w. forte]

Synthetic or blend?

[IDBoating]

Synthetic or blend?

I didn't see the sticker on the drum. I'm hoping it's liquid dinos since the engine is still technically in its break-in period (less than 20 hours so far). I'll switch to synthetic or a blend on the next oil change.

Thanks!

[Timmy!]

Bringing this back from the dead...O'Reilly auto parts (or maybe another name in your area) has the 1 gallon of Shell Rotella T for $10.99 until 4/26.

[ajholt7]

I have always ran Amsoil but with the price going up and up I am thinking of switching to Shell Rotella T6 5W40. I run it in my diesel and it seems like a very high quality oil.
http://www.shell.com/home/Framework?...t6_detail.html

[IDBoating]

Bringing this back from the dead...O'Reilly auto parts (or maybe another name in your area) has the 1 gallon of Shell Rotella T for $10.99 until 4/26.

That's the correct stuff. The "T" version is GF-4/SM rated (the other versions of Rotella aren't necessarily).

[IDBoating]

I have always ran Amsoil but with the price going up and up I am thinking of switching to Shell Rotella T6 5W40. I run it in my diesel and it seems like a very high quality oil.

Warning: T6 is a full synthetic. Search here for Dom's opinions on full synthetic oils. Short answer: He doesn't like them.

[dom w. forte]

Warning: T6 is a full synthetic. Search here for Dom's opinions on full synthetic oils. Short answer: He doesn't like them.

I didnt say I dont like them, I said it doesnt work well with limited used engines, such as performance cars and boats that sit for weeks or months at a time.

[IDBoating]

I didnt say I dont like them, I said it doesnt work well with limited used engines, such as performance cars and boats that sit for weeks or months at a time.

"Doesn't work well" is close enough for me!

[skippabcool]

If it was bad the manual would probably say to not use it. It says right in the manual that you can use synthetics but they do not prolong the interavals at which the oil should be changed.

If you are not using your boat for weeks (notice the plural) or months at a time them you probably wasted your money and should have rented.

There are tons of posts on here about oil and many many opinions to go right along with them. Unfortunately, in the end the user has to decide what is best from them and their situation. There are some users that have suggested not using dino or blends and have facts to back that up as well.

[skippabcool]

To make this even more confusing, every user having an opinion, you would think that the dealer, Tige, and engine manufacturer would all be on the same page as to which oil to use. They are not, which one of them is correct?

[IDBoating]

To make this even more confusing, every user having an opinion, you would think that the dealer, Tige, and engine manufacturer would all be on the same page as to which oil to use. They are not, which one of them is correct?

I went through this nightmare last fall after purchasing my 24Ve. The CJ-4/SM rating is the critical factor, and I could not find a 15W-40 oil with that rating on retail shelves. I checked every automotive outlet I could find. I believe Rotella T did not bear those ratings at the time because I would have checked it (I use Rotella for my Case backhoe, so I'm familiar with it) but I could be wrong about that. I ended up finding 15W-40 oil with the proper CJ-4/SM rating at the local Mastercraft dealer, who buys it in 55 gallon drums. I took my own containers there and they sold me six quarts.

Now, Rotella T does have the proper rating. Perhaps it always did and I (and NAPA, and O'Rielly's, and everyone else) just misread it. Or perhaps they upgraded the rating in the meantime. Not sure, but today it has the proper rating so it is now an easy way to buy the proper oil.

I just got back from O'Rielly's and it is, indeed, on sale. I bought their last two gallons. Thanks for mentioning the sale!

[TeamAllen]

Does it look like this?