borrowed out my boat

[minneman]

all, I borrowed my 16' lund and '2000 40 hp oil injected merc to some of my family members over the past week,(mainly tubing) it left here with instructions and a once over the boat for the driver/s for safety and the like, and a writen note as to which oil to get to add if it were to get low, since I didnt have any to send with.
So, I get there after a week, and see a new jug of merc oil at the dock, and its label says "synthetic blend" for DFI/optimax 2 cycle outboards. and on the back of the jug says not intended for use with all motors requiring TCW3. the res. on the motor is near full now.
should I get rid of the oil in the res. or am I OK? it seemed to run fine... Id have called a dealer but its Sunday

[1966]

i would have to say get it out and put in the right stuff.it might not hurt it but do you want to take the chance....

[Guest]

I think you should be allright. If anything it will burn much cleaner and you will notice less smoke at start ups and idle. Do you usually run Quicksilver? If so that is a non-synthetic and now I think you have a blended synth. in the res. Ask you Mech just to check.

[Ufatz]

You should be alright. And, at the risk of being an annoying busy-body, might I suggest that in the future when somebody wants to BORROW your boat that you do not LOAN it to them. You can find a good reason. They BORROW. You LOAN.
Forgive me.....I couldn't help it!

[joshb]

it is NOT a good idea to mix any differing types of oil excessively, meaning if you do mix keep it as minimal as possible. if it were mine i would drain the best i could and run it so the mix doesn't sit in the line together for too long, because the longer they sit together the higher the chance of them becoming coagulated.

[This message has been edited by joshb (edited 08-02-2004).]

[Lost]

I've never heard of mixing conventional oil and synthetic coagulating. Then again, what do I know? I'm no mechanic. But I once was told, by an auto-mechanic, with any automobile engine, one quart of synthetic mixed with conventional is suggested. They even sell mixed oil. Then again, it's not outboard oil. So, what do I know?

[joshb]

lost, i'm sure your right about that but this is injector oil, not a 4 stroke motor oil.

[Biggestfish]

I know that Polaris states that all of their different kinds of injector oil can be mixed. Since this was Mercury oil that was used, it also maybe that Mercury would say the same thing... Is there any way to check this out???

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Just Having Fun!
Love to Fish.

[Surface Tension]

"on the back of the jug says not intended for use with all motors requiring TCW3."

I'm assuming this statement is meant for snowmobiles.

Use all the oil up. Maybe you'll like it better then what you've been using and will switch. If not, when its time to switch brands just run the res down low then refill.

[BUSHWAC]

The oil they added is a synthetic blend. it's already a mix of synthetic and petroleum based oil. I've mixed these oils for 7 years with my Johnson 60 oil injected and have never had a problem. it fact it runs better than any other mechanical piece of equipment I have ever owned!!

[joshb]

right on, i've always been told never to mix sled oil. rather than tell the guy...oh don't worry about it, i opted to stay on the cautious side of things.......if i know one thing it is that outboards troll better when they aint in the shop.

[This message has been edited by joshb (edited 08-03-2004).]

[hitthebricks]

I've ran everything from Shipwreck to Merc. premium in my Optimax and never new I should have a problem or have had one. Most oils are produced by only a few different companys under similar specs. Good luck HTB

[Biggestfish]

Josh, I should add that I do agree with you. To be safe without a doubt it would be best to drain the tank... but I don't believe that running a mix of the 2 Merc oils in one tank will hurt the motor. Also on the sled oil, It either says on the Polaris oil jug or in the owners manual that the oils can be mixed... Maybe the other sled brands do not say this. It was just my thinking that it would be something to check out, since even though 1 is a boat motor and the other is a sled they are both 2 cycle motors. Hitthebricks made the point I should have added, that there are only a hand full of companies that make oil and most of it is the same stuff, with a different sticker on the jug... Also I am sure that everyone knows that Merc can not void your warrenty if use Yamaha oil in it, if the oil meets the same requirements... Yes, Yes I know that it was said in this post that the oil used in his motor was not recomended for the motor. How about just calling the dealer and getting their opinion?? Good Luck.

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Just Having Fun!
Love to Fish.