4 stroke oil

[joewildlife]

Ok, now I'm out of warranty on my 60hp 4 stroke and wonder why I should pay $5-6 a quart for the manufacturer's oil and almost a $twenty for a filter.

Is Quicksilver a quality oil? And what about their filters? Really, I just don't know anything about 4 stroke marine motors and what kind of oil they like or dislike. I sure am uneasy about using an automotive oil. Not sure if Quicksilver is any better though?!

Joe

[slabbandit]

I don't know about their 4 stroke oil but Quicksilver 2 cycle oil is all that I have used in my Mercury since it was new in '88. I'm sure that there are other good oils out there but Quicksilver products have been working well for me.

[Darryl Morris]

I put Castrol 20-50 in my 4-stroke. I do use the manufacturer's filters though because of convenience of purchase. I like the 20-50 because it's suppose to be a high performance oil and no doubt a 4-stroke outboard is high performance. The wife ran (and ran hard) a Galant for over 200k on 20-50 and it continued to run tight as a drum till we traded it. Got nearly 700 hours on my 4-stroke with no troubles.

[geoman15]

Joe,

If you are talking about Quicksilver 2-Stroke Oil, do not use it in a 4-Stroke engine. It is formulated for 2 stroke engines only. If Mercury makes a 4-stroke oil called Quicksilver, that would probably work. But be sure. That would be a mistake that would cost alot if it is 2-Stroke oil.

4 Strokes will use automotive oil. The brand should be any quality manufacturer. Darryl is right about Castrol being a great oil. Check your engine manual and see if they list the weight of oil to use. 10-30, 20-50, etc. The dealer where you had it serviced should be able to tell you the oil weight. Try to match it with the manufacture's oil you choose.

I don't know about the filter, but each manufacturer probably uses a filter type specific to their products, so you may be stuck buying theirs. I may be wrong on this and I hope I am so you can find after-market filters at a cheaper price.

I hope this helps.

[joewildlife]

Geoman, you just spooked me enought so that I just went into the garage and made sure I was using 4 stroke oil!

My yammy uses 10-W-30.

I use Mobil 1 in my vehicles. ought I just use that in the Yammy too? anything, within reason, to extend the life of this motor until, well, forever, or until I die. Whichever comes first.
Joe

On fishing....you know, never in the history of mankind, has sane man on his deathbed, wished that he had done more yardwork.

[BULLFROG-1]

After running castrol 20/50 in a ford 302 engine for just short of 2 years,found heavy varnish build up,when i decided to change to performance heads? I was shock!

[geoman15]

Joe. Didn't mean to spook ya. I would think the Mobil1 would be fine.

I use Castrol full sythetic in my truck and I wouldn't trust it to anything else. I loves my truck.

The synthetic should do a great job over the long haul. With the constant high RPMs of the 4-strokes, the extra protection should be worth the expense.

May want to check with the dealer and double check about synthetic oil. Should be fine, but wouldn't hurt to ask the experts.

[Crappie Xtreme]

Hey Joe, I have a 2003 4 stroke 60 horse Merc. Read your owners manual for the kind of Oil and there should be a number on the oil. You can use a different brand as long as it meets the same standards as the Mercury oil. A buddy of mine went to Wal Mart and bought a filter and all his oil for his 2007 4 stroke Yamaha 115. He just checked his owners manual and confirmed that he could use different brands. He saved a lot of money by using a diferent brand.

CX.

[turkeyfootnc]

I'd like to think when the warranty runs out on my Suzuki 4-stroke I can use Mobil 1 7500 oil. I use it in my vehicles and it is good stuff.

[Darryl Morris]

Been told that synthetic oils and gear lubes are good to use but once you start don't go back to conventional oil. Something about how the synthetic coats the parts and afterward a conventional oil can't lubricate effectively. Reminded me of tethlon coating the way he explained it.