Oil Recommendation

[Hoffer345]

I am new to the Nautique world and planning on doing the routine maintenance on our 2009 SAN 343 PCM GMC engine. I plan on doing our first oil change here soon and had a question on the oil. I know book says 15w-40 but is there any harm in the Mobil 1 15w-50? The book says you can use fully synthetic as well. I know people talked about that oil on this site just wanted to get thoughts on it. Any help is appreciated!


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[MikeC]

Hoffer, this is a can of worms you may not want to unleash - this topic has been hashed and rehashed both here and on correctcraftfan for years. Here's a link to one of the discussions.
https://www.planetnautique.com/vb5/forum/nautique-topics/maintenance-technical-discussion/489724-which-oil-filter-for-450hp-engine

Over the years the engine design has changed but PCM hasn't kept their oil requirements in their manuals current (the 2016 manual still calls for a spec that's obsolete), you'll see an example of that in the link above. My recommendation would be a good quality oil that is close to 15w-40. Any good quality oil will do.
What's funny is I know an oil distributor that deals in every type of oil in bulk, I asked him what oil he uses - his answer: I use whatever is the easiest to get - they're all the same.

Oil specs: http://www.api.org/products-and-serv...oil-categories
You'll notice on that page that it states - the latest engine oil service category includes the performance properties of each earlier category. If an automotive owner's manual calls for an API SJ or SL oil, an API SM oil will provide full protection.

You'll find people that have run XYZ for 20 years and others that run ABC for 20 years, both without problems. The older Nautiques did require an additive for the valve tappets, so that gets into another argument altogether.
Good luck with your new Nautique and welcome to the family.

If you order your parts from NautiqueParts don't forget to use the discount code PND

[Hoffer345]

Mike, thanks for the reply back the oil 15w-40 oil I have found says it's for Diesel engines does that matter? That is why I was going to go with the 15w-50.

I have already put the discount code to work! Here is a picture of the new addition!






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[MikeC]

Nice ride!
You'll find varying ideas on the 15/40 vs 15/50. it all comes down to personal preference. Check and make sure it's API S certified (C certification is for diesel, S is for gas engines) before you use any oil diesel or gasoline oil.

I believe some of the Rotella products are S certified (it's on the back). Here's what little I know, and I'm sure someone with more knowledge will chime in, diesel oil contains zinc (ZDDP) which is an anti wear additive (it's what the older engines required), which in high quantities may damage the catalytic converter (your 343 shouldn't have one) of gasoline cars and trucks. They say the zinc is greatly reduced in the newer formulations (Rotella just reformulated theirs in December of last year). The only drawback to diesel oil would be if you have a catalytic converter, otherwise it will be fine (I've run Rotella in my boats and they've never burned a drop). The key is changing it regularly, if you do that I think whatever oil you use will be fine.

[JD ski]

Beautiful Boat! All of the information listed above is correct. I will give you another way to think about it. Think of the different oil grades as sand paper. All oil will leave wear patterns on the bearings. The lower the number on the oil the finer the wear pattern. The higher the number on the oil the larger the wear pattern. Now this is at the microscopic level and I am giving a very generic description. So, motors have designed clearances and are designed to work with those specific tolerances such as oil viscosity. A little change is not going to make a noticeable difference. Where you will see a difference is if your motor is designed to run on 40 or 50 wt.( as in bearing clearances tolerance) and you have been running it this way, then you change from running 40 or 50 wt to a 0 or 5-10-20 wt., You will see a drop in oil pressure. The oil is not thick enough to keep the pressure up in the spaces that were designed (and worn) for the 40-50 wt.

My 1999 Air calls for straight 40wt with zink additive. My local parts store stocks Valvoline Racing VR-1 20-50 wt, 30 wt, and 50 wt.. They do not stock 40 wt. so I asked if they would order me the VR-1 in 40 wt.. They were happy to do so and it arrived the next day. I ordered enough for two oil changes. Hope my generic description helps.

[swatguy]

Shell Rotella 15W40 . It will say heavy duty , diesel engine oil . Probably the most widely used oil in marine engines of that era. Just keep up on the intervals.

[max 1.6]

Amsoil marine 10w40
http://www.amsoil.com/shop/by-equipm...ke-marine-oil/

Designed for continuous RPM application and for marine environements.

[Fgroce]

Another vote for Amsoil, 10,000 to 150,000 for a boat I would recommend people to look at the specifications and pick the proper oil. Good luck, Just like it has been said this is a huge can of worms.

[scottb7]

Shell Rotella 15W40...or just get the cheapest 15w40 you can find and change at specified intervals...you will be fine...but why even ask about different weight? I don't understand...just use the weight what they say to use.

[Fgroce]

Me personal I would not use the cheapest of any oil in my boat. Think about it, we let them sit for days, months or sometimes years. Then put them in the water an run them at high rpms for extended periods of time. I recommended Amsoil because the 15-40 marine oil is actually meets a mil spec. for rust when you store it. I know most people are harder on their boat than cars. When is the last time you ran your boat as hard as your car? Also as much as these boats cost and as valuable as family time at the lake is what is 100 for an oil change. Most people put more than that in the gas tank going to the lake. But it is your boat, go by the local corner store and just buy the cheapest low grade no name virgin oil and put it in your boat. I will go buy what I like and put it in mine. Have a great summer at the lake, hopefully not at the dealer getting a new engine due to oil failure.

[Hoffer345]

So I have done a lot of research and decided on going with Amsoil but have question on what version to use. I have done a search on the form and saw that PCM recommended one of them.

http://www.amsoil.com/shop/by-produc...?code=WCFQT-EA

https://www.amsoil.com/shop/by-produ...A#ReviewHeader (this is the version that I saw PCM recommend)





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[Fgroce]

Hoffer 345 you will not go wrong with either oil, The Diesel Marine oil has been around longer than the other one. A lot of times OEM's do not update their recommendations very often to the new product offerings on the market. I also highly recommend using a Amsoil oil filter with their oil. The oil filters are the highest rated one's I have seen on the market.

[Hoffer345]

Hoffer 345 you will not go wrong with either oil, The Diesel Marine oil has been around longer than the other one. A lot of times OEM's do not update their recommendations very often to the new product offerings on the market. I also highly recommend using a Amsoil oil filter with their oil. The oil filters are the highest rated one's I have seen on the market.

What oil filter do you use of Amsoil?


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[Hoffer345]

EAO15?


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[Fgroce]

Let me know the part number of your filter you are currently using and I will cross check it. If it is the same filter as a 09 Chevy truck with a 5.3 it should be a EAO15K50. But I would like to double check.