Engine Oil Change Frequency

[lamadriver]

Originally Posted by patprice

Slightly off topic and apologies but....

For ever I have done the oil withdrawal with one of those little suction pumps looking a bit like a bike air pump but shorter. Has always been a pain of a job, slow and usually messy despite the best preparation.

Alas, I have purchased a real "oil extractor". One of those units nearly a metre high and 200 mm in diameter. Whips the oil out in no time and no scope for leakage. A joy to do the job. Get one!

Now, how to get the bleeding oil filter off cleanly....

.

if you think the extractor is good wait till you install a valve on the sump with a 12v gear pump, 30 sec oil change...

as for bleeding off oil filter cleanly

FORM-A-FUNNEL | Oil Change Funnel | Auto Repair Oil changing kits

that will change your life and your bilge.....

[patprice]

[QUOTE=lamadriver;2429064]if you think the extractor is good wait till you install a valve on the sump with a 12v gear pump, 30 sec oil change...

as for bleeding off oil filter cleanly

FORM-A-FUNNEL | Oil Change Funnel | Auto Repair Oil changing kits

that will change your life and your bilge.....

Cool!

[wcapman]

Just a few thoughts. I have an older 2GM20F and the owners manual suggest an oil change every 100 hours. However...that was when the engine was built...30 years ago. Back then diesel fuel was high in Sulfur, which would end up in the crankcase and concentrate in the engine oil. This would mix with water (condensate) and form sulfuric acid compounds, which have a much higher boiling point than water alone. Once there you can't get it out. I'm not sure of any reaction that can make acid from the carbon soot that collects in the oil and turns it black. Modern Lo sulfur fuels generate far less sulfur compounds in the oil than when the engine was built. In theory this should greatly extend the run time for oil from the original factory specs. The second issue that mineral oils have is oxidation. Yes, oil "rusts" and the oxidized oil does not lubricate as well as as fresh oil. Oil will oxidize when exposed to air, which it always is. Synthetics do not oxidize as readily, and depending on the additive packages and the formulation of the oil itself, can retain lubricity for much longer.

When water gets in the oil, as it will do, it is very difficult to separate out, since it goes to the bottom of the pan. Running the engine until it is hot can get some of that water emulsified with the oil, and when you suck it out you are more likely to get most of the water out, too.

With all that said, changing oil at anywhere from 100 to 250 hours is probably okay with modern fuels and oils. Changing it more often is more a matter of personal preference than necessity. My rule of operation is when on a long coastal cruise with a lot of engine run time, I'll go 200 hours or so. But when the boat sits up, or the engine is used in short run times of less than an hour I go for a lot less time.

[YARGESOL]

And, what about the saildrive ? Last time,changing the water seals on my SD20 (due to the water sensor buzzer advise...It was a sensore failure on both SD,the seals were OK but, finally changed them) . Mecanos filled them with Quicksilver Gear Lube - the green one. And, this season I was ready to change the oil in saildrive. Mecano told me, with SD20 I can do it only on the hard...
But,reccomended to keep same gear lube as it was clean,green and smells well.
Could I pump the oil well enough sitting in the water ? I have both - 12V electric pump and, small manual. But, prefer manual - no need to handle a battery.

[David B]

Originally Posted by flyingfin

Once a year, but NEVER just before or after layup. Have seen people pull the boat for the winter, drain oil and refill. That empties many chambers that dont get re-filled with oil and oil spray coating until you start her up again in the spring. Come spring they have stuck rings and condensation in the valve guides.

I do change at the end of the season, and that is the interval for me. It may be 50 hours - it may be 150 hours, but I don't like the idea of leaving used oil containing combustion by-products, sitting in the sump over all that time.

However I always (I thought it was standard practice anyway), run the engine after the change for a few minutes to circulate the oil, then let settle, then check the level again.

David

[Kit_L]

Does anyone here know the recommended oil change hours for a Gardner 6L3B? I am assuming 250, but would like other's opinion; this engine powers a boat I am looking at. TIA.

[a64pilot]

I change oil in everything with an hour meter at 100 hours, except airplanes, they are 50 if they have an oil filter and 25 if they don't.
I threw the airplanes in there to try to show that 100 hours is not really that short.
In my opinion you cannot change oil too often and frequent oil changes will extend the life of an engine. The older the engine is, the more frequent the oil changes should be, because old engines have more blow by, and blow by contaminates oil.
Of course usually as an engine get older, it gets less care, not more.

I wish I had a Gardner, if you get it, take care of it, my understanding is it will outlast you.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

. . . I wish I had a Gardner, if you get it, take care of it, my understanding is it will outlast you.

They are works of art!

https://www.gardnermarine.com/wp-con.../05/6lxb-1.pdf

But they weigh almost a ton. Not really something for a sailboat.

[Kit_L]

But they weigh almost a ton. Not really something for a sailboat.

But perfect for a 38 ton, solid wood hull (jarrah), ex cray boat converted to a passagemaker... the records of the vessel I am looking at show 1 litre/kn, at a cruise speed of 7.5kn. And no need for ballast.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Roniszoro

When I lived in the North and the boat was hauled each fall I'd change the oil, both engine and gear box. I'd generally have run 50-60 hours each season. But now I'm in the South and in the water all year. I only put 35-40 hours on the engine per year. Should I still change annually or wait until I get to some hour mark, e.g 75 hours, before doing so? Also, if I use synthetic oil can I hold off longer on time before an oil change?

Thank you for your thoughts.

You're going to get 10 contradictory opinions, so you'll have to choose yourself. I personally would change TWICE a year and ignore the hours. You won't be wearing out the oil at all, but soot and acid will be accumulating in it, and you don't want the engine sitting in dirty oil.

Synthetic oil gets dirty just as fast as dino juice. So at best using synthetic oil is a waste of money, and at worst it can actually be harmful, leading to bore glazing and possibly other issues.

That's my opinion and you will get others; read up on it and make up your own mind.

[Snore]

I have a 37 year old Universal 5424 in my personal boat and change the oil every 50-60 hours. Many will say that is too often. Diesels need good cooling, clean fuel and good lube to last a long time.

I would rather do an extra oil change than replace an engine.

[MarkSF]

[QUOTE=patprice;2429071]

Originally Posted by lamadriver

if you think the extractor is good wait till you install a valve on the sump with a 12v gear pump, 30 sec oil change...

as for bleeding off oil filter cleanly

FORM-A-FUNNEL | Oil Change Funnel | Auto Repair Oil changing kits

that will change your life and your bilge.....

Cool!

After years of struggling with the oil filter on my 5424, which has fairly horrible access on my boat, I installed a remote filter kit. Parts made by Wix. So easy now. Plus the filter hangs down so I can pre-fill it with oil, and you can use a larger filter which boosts the oil capacity.

[David M]

Synthetic oil does reduce wear. But you also have to change because of the acids and the additives wear out. So I still use pure synthetic because of the reduced wear characteristics. Both matter.

[a64pilot]

I ran only Rotella T6 in my Duramax, it was a real hot rod for a Diesel. Boost turned up to 32 lbs and fuel too of course, made over 400 HP I'm sure.
However for a NA Marine Diesel like my little 4JHE and the Gardner, neither of which is highly loaded, especially the Gardner, it's just not needed. Better to spend the same amount of money and change the oil more frequently in my opinion.
A powerboat making passages, I can see how it could easily put 1000 hours a year on an engine, so maybe hours and calendar time.

The Gardner lasts so long I'm sure in part to the low RPM and low power per cubic inch, it's just loafing along. It likely never gets its oil very hot and I'm sure never really stresses it much, so you change oil in it as you do in most of our Diesels to get the soot and acid out, not because the oil is broken down.
Hot Rod Sportfisherman are a different thing of course.

[Kit_L]

I am looking at the boat with the Gardner at the moment; the broker actually live on her for 18 months, and cruised between Australia and New Caledonia. When I was growing up on Massey Fergusons and the like, we were not strict on changing oil according to hours; more on what kind of work the tractors had been doing, and what the oil looked like. My father used to say that as soon as the tractors started using oil (even slightly faster than usual), that meant an immediate change was necessary.

Hardly scientific, I know, but if you are away from land for a long time and using the engine constantly (at a zippy 750 r.p.m.), and thinking about where to store used oil, all these old ideas return. My thinking is that if the use is more-or-less constant, then the oil change times can be reduced; if less (like when the boat is moored for months) then one needs to change more regularly, based on time the oil has been in the engine, rather than hours.

Does anyone know the Gardner recommendations are and what the capacity of the Gardner 6L3B is?