 Having recently bought a new Yamnar engine I have discovered that if you use any oil or coolant other than that recommended your warranty if void, as is the case if you use any biocide in your fuel. You are, indeed, a "captive" audience regardless of price.
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 | TMS Poloshirt winner |
04/04/08 18:28
 For my interest and further education, please can you tell me what oil grade and specification the latest Yanmar engine manual calls for? I know that about 2-3 years ago the requirement was still for API CD but I have heard that they now recommend API CF-4. I have also read that the specification of oils for some gearboxes, especially some in Australia, is not engine oil, as has always been the case in the past.
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| TMS Poloshirt winner |
04/04/08 21:10
 Well to maintain my Citroen HDi warranty car was supposed to have reccomended synthetic oil change every 20,000 mls and own brand filter.Wheras in between its service warranty it got a good quality multigrade mineral every 6000mls and filters I bought from local motor factors which were those supplied to Citroen/peugot. My point is that warranties apart most people I know whether marine mechanics or car mechanics would agree that regular service is far more important than oil type-and 6000mls equiv.-say 100hrs/annually which ever comes first. Love my OM636 as it has old fashioned cleanable filter which uses a cylinder consisting of numerous waver thin plates thru which the oil filters-and it works as its 30 years old not reconned and turning out a constant 90psi-down a liitle on new specs.but still going strong. Phil
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This is a copy of the answer I got from a well known Yanmar agent: Being Yanmar dealers of over 30 years standing we always used recommended oils and coolants as laid out by Yanmar.We buy all our oils from E. P Barrus ltd . who are the importers of Yanmar engines and equipment into the Uk and Eire.They recommend the following:-Yanmar 3ym30 engine :- Yanmar premium diesel oil 15W/40.Gearbox oil for Model KM2P :- SAE30 oilCoolant for the engine :- Texaco extra long life coolant.Yes you are correct Jeanneau do not put in the correct coolant which has resulted in one or two engines overheating, all the engines we PDC on the East Coast for Clarke & Carter Ltd or Foxs Yacht Sales we do offer to change the coolant to the correct one.We only provide Texaco coolant as the Yanmar Extended Life Coolant is not available in the UK.
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Thanks for all this. In this part of France, the engineers are reporting that there is now a much greater incidence of 'diesel bug'. What is your advice on Biocides? Our engine is a much loved Perkins 4236 of about 30 years vintage.
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| TMS Poloshirt winner |
14/04/08 08:40
A product called Marine 16 +44(0)17466667 info@marine16.co.uk Seems to be the best, there was a very extensive scientific trial by one of the UK Monthly Magazine's last year this won hands down - most of the commercially available and widely promoted products, not only didn't work well, they didn't work at all! The enzyme based technologies were particularly useless - they can work to reduce engine smoking a bit, but seem to be no use against the bug. I had this damned bug , it kept re-appearing year after year, despite changing fuel tanks fuel lines etc etc. Since using this Marine 16 additive, my fuel looks beautifully clean and I have had no further problems!
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| Edited: 14/04/08 08:42 |
Vyv, Would love to andwer your question. However my boat is in Northern Ireland, along with the manual, and I am living in Scotland. I am due to bring the boat over sometime in the next 4 weeks. I will let you know then. Regarding biocides, I have used several different makes, not because I had a problem, but to avoid such a problem. My tank is 30 years old, of mild steel, holds approximately 30 gallons, is regularly half enpty/full and, touch wood, have never had a problem. (Am I tempting fate?) Regards to all Leonard
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I run a Watermota Seapanther in my Nic 32 and am looking for a suitable engine oil cheaper than the Volvo API CG-4 15W40, at about £42 per gallon/5ltrs from the chandlery. The original engine manual specifies SAE HD 20. Can anyone recommend a suitable, cheaper oil from, say, Halfords? If the expensive stuff is best for the engine then I will soldier on with that for the 2 oil changes per year but it is not getting any cheaper!
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| TMS Poloshirt winner |
26/04/08 20:51
SAE 20 is a pretty standard single grade oil-big lorries always used to run on 20 or 30-as for 15W40 thats about £12 at Halfords-most of single grades etc can usually be bought by the 25 litres at about £60 a barrel.Also often the case that firms like Partco(think they have changed name) often have oil offers on.Independant manufacturers like Comma are worth checking out. This is one of those things never to buy from the local Chandlrey-likewise hydraulic oil which I have been caught out by!Vetus sell some wonderful stuff for their hydraulic steering systems-about £40 a gallon-rated as suitable for op. temps between about minus 40 and plus 100-spec is to aviation standard!!! Phil
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Thanks for that Phil. I'm just trying to make sure I am not short changing my engine by using something other than 'marine specific' oils.
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| TMS Poloshirt winner |
27/04/08 09:07
Some on here may disagree with this but my oil philosophy for cars and small boats(cf.big engines that run 24/7)is to regularly change oil and filter-every 6 months sounds about right Phil
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David,
I have just replaced my Watermota Seapanther after 34 years of faithful flawless service, in fact it didn't need replacement but that is another story. I serviced the seapanther regularly and used only " motor car" oils, usually 20-30 grade. I think, for what it is worth, that most oils of this ilk will suffice. The real secret seems to be, as others have pointed out, - regular changing including filters.
Leonard
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I am also wondering what oil to use for the first time servicing our engine. It's an old single-cylinder diesel (Arona). The manual says to use grade 10 for below freezing temperatures and 40 for summer. So I looked in Halfords for a grade 10W40 mineral oil, which they had, but it was designated for petrol (car) engines. The diesel section only had 15W40. I don't know why the oils are different for petrol and diesel. Should I go for 10W40 anyway, or go for the 15W40? Or of course try somewhere other than Halfords? Judy
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For an "older" engine I personally would go for the Diesel 15w40. This is a good standard oil but perhaps others have a different view. Lenny
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| TMS Poloshirt winner |
01/05/08 18:06
With most marine diesels and particularly older engines, you wont do them any favours at all by putting expensive automotive oils in them, synthetic oils in particular should be avoided unless you have a very modern high reving tubo engine that is based on an automotive unit ie VW Golf and Peugot based engines. These modern high performance oils are designed to provide adequate lubrication at extremely high temperatures and to be very thin, so that they lubricate properly on engines with very tight clearances. (FYI Formula 1 engines are actually ceased solid until pre-warmed sufficiently for expansion to enable them to turn over). On older more basic/agricultural engines like most boat engines, you need the thickness in the oil (viscosity) to provide compression and in particular to fill up the gaps in places such as big ends and main bearings, if the oil is too thin you will find that this is a certain recipe for knocking out your ends! Often the cheapest (in spec with manufacturer viscosity) will not only be better for the engine, but considerably less expensive. There is nothing in the specs for marine oils that are special and nothing to provide enhanced corrosion resistance for use with salt water cooling. So save money and prolong the life of your engine by going to Halfords - or probably even cheaper your local agricultural suplies distributor (who also usually have amazing deals on cheap waterproofs, working clothes, fleeces and of course paint, varrnish, sandpaper, bushes, thinners etc etc).
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| TMS Poloshirt winner |
09/05/08 11:54
 Like Diesel - this is a topic that refuses to lie down ! Standard Diesel spec oils are fine for boat engines and particularly for boat engines that spend a lot of life either slow speed or stopped - standard mineral - not synthetic. The problem with marine engines is that generally they run at lower temps than equivalent shore based engines they are often based on. This puts a load on the oil as it's viscosity will reduce it's pumpability around the engine. So you have to a) ensure that engine gets it's oil delivered where most needed and especially in it's start up when oil has drained to sump, b) must cater for the by-products produced by diesel burning in cylinders etc., c) maintain viscosity when engine temp does rise at times higher than average. OK - I note that a company name was mentioned in the cheaper oil ranges. Many "bargain" oils are reconstituted, reconditioned used oils. Not a difficult process ... basically old oil is cleaned, filtered and then various improvers added to regain viscosity, lubrication etc. The acids and moisture content is chemically removed. Bottled and sold on. Personally - I have no problem with reconditioned oils - except IMHO the oil change intervals should be more frequent. It is possible that the life is not as good of these as "virgin" stock. My old 4-107 Perkins recieves 10-40W base oil spec at cheapest I can find. When boat was in UK - oil had not been changed for 5 years ... when we drained it over here on first arrival - we actually had trouble sucking it out ! We had to use the drain plug. I've kept the oil as a Souvenir in clear containers ......... the amount of crud in bottom of container is amazing. I tested the actual oil in the lab and the visco was still good, but acidic / moisture contamination was high. Final point : Oils from different manufacturers may have slightly different additives and this gives rise to slightly different characteristics that an engine manufacturer plays with. There are also R&D / marketing incentives for engine co's to promote specific company's oils.  My labs used to look after Base Oil export from Baltic's to UK / EU for production of various Lub Oil grades .... ie a large Public Transport Company in UK was recipient of such ...
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| TMS Poloshirt winner |
09/05/08 18:23
If you want to help protect your boat engine from some of the damaged caused by cold starting -cold starting is really the killer on all engines - crank the engine on the starter motor with the fuel stop out for 5 seconds or so before letting the engine fire (by pushing in on the fuel stop), this gets the oil nicely round the engine, bearings bores etc before the engine comes under load! This is certainly worth doing if the engine hasn't been used for a week or so, and this method should always be used if an engine has been laid up all winter!
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| Edited: 09/05/08 18:24 |
The bloke who sold us our boat said that for cold starting we should pour in half a capful of oil, then turn the flywheel by hand a couple of turns before starting up. I think this serves the same purpose of distributing the oil round the engine.
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| TMS Poloshirt winner |
09/05/08 20:29
My 4cyl 4-107 Perkins ... love to see someone turn that by hand !
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