synthetic gear lube

BoaterDan278 · **Posted:** Sat Apr 14, 2012 12:28 pm

Got screwed on synthetic gear lube today. I have 1994 Volvo Sx drives. $65.00 a gallon. Gotta be an alternative. Will be two years before I need it again. Dan

planealternative · **Posted:** Sat Apr 14, 2012 12:37 pm

At least you get 2 years out of an oil change.

BoaterDan278 · **Posted:** Sat Apr 14, 2012 6:20 pm

Rockhound,
Do you change your lube in your drives every year? I change mine and grease my u-joints every two years. Dan

LouC · **Posted:** Sat Apr 14, 2012 6:40 pm

I use the Merc hi performance stuff in my Cobra, I don't know for sure if its a synthetic, but it's about $10 a qt. I change it every year at the end of the season...

ric · **Posted:** Sat Apr 14, 2012 7:54 pm

mobil1 synthetic is $12 a quart at most auto parts stores.

planealternative · **Posted:** Sun Apr 15, 2012 8:00 am

maryannII wrote:

Rockhound,
Do you change your lube in your drives every year? I change mine and grease my u-joints every two years. Dan

I do mine every year.

Paul I. · **Posted:** Sun Apr 15, 2012 6:48 pm

Me too, it's cheap insurance!

LouC · **Posted:** Sun Apr 15, 2012 7:00 pm

It's a good idea to change it each year because if a seal leaks you will know it because of the milky oil. Same thing with pulling the drive to grease the u-joints, if there is a water leak into the bellows you will see it then, maybe before you ruin the gimble bearing and u-joints.

Borchik · **Posted:** Mon Apr 16, 2012 6:18 am

All SX drives use the Mobil 1 Synthetic, the stuff VP sells with their name on it is Mobil 1. On the older SX Cobras the Merc Hi-Performance works ok but on all the newer ones and the later 90's the Mobil 1 is the way to go only because it seems to last longer.

BoaterDan278 · **Posted:** Mon Apr 16, 2012 7:55 am

Thanks all.

It appears I should expect to pay $50.00 a gallon, so I guess I didn't get screwed that bad. I am curious, at the end of the seasons when I don't change gear lube, I pull the bottom plug and check for water. I would think that after a couple of days the water would settle to the bottom. Maybe I have been lucky. I grease the u-joints every other, maybe I'm lucky with that too. I changed both drive bellows four years ago. Dan

Borchik · **Posted:** Mon Apr 16, 2012 8:41 am

If you have water it will settle rather quickly to the bottom so if you dont see it you should be good.

SeriousRob · **Posted:** Mon Apr 16, 2012 11:48 am

I use Mobil 1 75-90 at about $12 a quart at the local auto store.
I changed last year and only ran the boat about 20 hours, mostly during 4 weeks in Maine.
I checked the dipstick and it all looks noce and yellow still. So I will skip the change this year.

Cap'n Morgan · **Posted:** Mon Apr 16, 2012 12:00 pm

Dan,
With our 6 month season here in Michigan, I have always changed my drive lube every other year without any issues.
It can't hurt to change it every year, but I don't think it is necessary for us. I always used the Volvo lube when we had our
268 Vista, and Mercruiser lube on our other two boats. The new boat will also get Mercruiser lube, and will be changed every
year for at least the first two years, to keep the warranty in place. After that, it will get changed every other year.

ric · **Posted:** Mon Apr 16, 2012 12:18 pm

I use my boat daily, so drive change is every 6 months with Mobil1 synthetic when I pull the boat to acid wash the hull. Cheap insurance.

Alan_G_298Vista · **Posted:** Mon Apr 16, 2012 2:05 pm

Cap'n Morgan wrote:

Dan,
With our 6 month season here in Michigan, I have always changed my drive lube every other year without any issues.
It can't hurt to change it every year, but I don't think it is necessary for us. I always used the Volvo lube when we had our
268 Vista, and Mercruiser lube on our other two boats. The new boat will also get Mercruiser lube, and will be changed every
year for at least the first two years, to keep the warranty in place. After that, it will get changed every other year.

I do the exact same thing. Remember, synthtic oil is great stuff, and every other year when you are only logging 50-60 hours a season is not a problem in my opinion. Never had an issue, and when changing it, it's barely dirty.

www.iFourWinns.com

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