www.iFourWinns.com

Just bought my first Four Winns, a 1999 328 Vista with 300 hrs. on raw water cooled 5.7 Volvo Pentas. The oil was changed, but I'm taking it out for my first cruise and want to have a couple qts. with me. What should I buy?

Volvo specifies a straight 30 synthetic....if you can't find that I'd just use straight 30 HD oil such as Chevron Delo 400....Shell Rotella....Pennzoil Marine...anyone of the three would be fine...

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

The odd thing is that Volvo Penta in Europe do not even list a straight 30 oil for petrol engines! I tried to find a straight 30W oil, the closest I found was in an agricultural machinery place, they said they'd never seen it specified for engines since the 1950''s !!

I've used top grade synthetic multigrade since 2001 .

Graham

I agree with you Graham - I cannot find a straight 30W synth oil here at all - last time I saw a straight 30W oil was 30+ years ago (Castrol XL). I was going to use a 5W30, but found the Mercruiser oil is 20W40 synth which I think will be better suited to an old tech motor like the Vortec. Volvo oil is off the planet price-wise so not an option.

Also of interest - recently bought filters, impeller, anodes etc. from Marine Parts Express - saved around 50% off Volvo's local prices overall. Delivery was OK - took 3 weeks all up. Shipped via the US Postal Service - very cost-effective. May be worth a look for you.

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Alec

2006 Horizon 190
VP 4.3GL/SX, Sunsport

Well that is interesting guys...I wonder if VP feels that the multi vis oils here in the US are not of good enough quality for marine use so they specifiy the straight syn 30...
What I have found in some of my research is that the problem with multi vis oil in heavy duty use is that the VI improvers over time break down and the oil thins down to a lower viscosity...syn oils do not have to use VI improvers to the same extent and single wt oils do not use them at all...so if the single weight oil matchs your climate then you will have less of a risk of viscosity breakdown....
And some of this may be based on the fact that unlike a modern 4 stroke outboard or even 2 strokes...an old school pushrod Chevy small block was not meant to run at 4000 all day long...

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

So a good quality marine 30W seems the way to go. All I'm looking for now is what to carry in case an engine needs oil. Later in the season I'll change and maybe go with the synthetic then

Thanks to all

Royal Purple still makes a good quality full synthetic 30w. The refining process is so much better on full synthetic, I would stick with it. I wouldn't use any multi-grade, the low cold viscosity could cause damage at start up. If the motor was built with loose enough tolerances in bearings etc. to require str8 30w, it is even looser now, and you'll want the cushion of the extra oil thickness to keep from bearing/ring damage etc. All IMO of course.

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2003 Funship 264
Volvo 8.1Gi DP
2007 Lincoln Navigator tow vehicle
Weekends on Lake Norman

Just to add to the mix..!!!

Had an interesting discussion with an aviation mechanic on the weekend regarding mineral versus synthetic oils. Was told that synthetic oils actually break down just sitting on the shelf whereas mineral oils are much more stable and don't deteriorate until used. He suggested that synthetic oils may not be a good choice for a boat that sits for long periods without use.

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Alec

2006 Horizon 190
VP 4.3GL/SX, Sunsport