2 stroke oil

[LI Grady]

I know the subject of what oil to run in a 2 stroke motor has been raised before and the general consenous is to use Yamalube. But here is my question.

I had intended to buy Yamalube from the local Yamaha dealer/service yard in my area in bulk (you know bring your container and they fill it from the 55 gallon barrel). Last week I was told by a very reliable friend that his last batch of 2 stroke oil had water in it. Lucky for him he stored it in a transparent (or semi-transparent) container and let it sit for a few days so he noticed it before putting it in his tanks.

The dealer is a straight shooter and immedaiately replaced his oil, but here's my question.

Given the above, would you:

a) buy from the Yamaha dealer and just chalk it up to a rare occurrence

b) buy Mercruiser brand 2 stroke oil from my regular mechanic that I know is stored indoors out of the weather

c) bend over and buy Yamalube from West Marine (sorry couldn't resist the commentary)

My mechanic is of the opinion that the Yamalube may have a slight advantage over the Mercruiser brand, but not much and as long as I don't use a low level/bargin brand (like West Marine's) I should be fine.

The motors are 1990 250hp (carbs) by the way.

I'm leaning to using the Mercrusier brand since I'm scared to death of getting water in the oil and frying motor but I wanted so thoughts/opinions from you guys.

Thanks

 

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

My cousin is also buying in bulk from a 55 gal. drum. When he gets home he stores his oil in 2 litre clear soda bottles. If you do the same you can see if there is water in the oil. For some reason i don't like Mercury oil, don't know why, but in my Ortimax i had, i was using Yamaha oil.

 

[LI Grady]

Thanks.

I did consider that option but I'm not sure I want to deal with having to store oil like that. Its not a bad idea though.

 

[Strikezone]

I also purchase Yamalube by the gallon from a dealer selling in bulk. He sells near his cost and I've never had any problems with water.

I would probably give it another try and check for water before using the oil.

 

[Curmudgeon]

While everyone seems to think Yamalube is some magic oil, your Yamaha will run just fine on West Marine 'low level/bargin brand' oil. Others may disagree, but I've never seen or heard of a Yamaha failure that was attributed to non-use of Yamaha oil. Have you? Not passing any dispersions, just askin ...

 

[richie rich]

its probably a one shot deal on the water....another option is Amsoil HP injector oil......I run it and I love it.....less smoke, runs smooth...not cheap...whats it worth to you? as Curmudgeon said, have you heard of oil related failures from WM TC3 oil??? This becomes a big time matter of opinion...

 

[seasick]

I really don't know what oil is appropriate but what I do know is that not all TW3Cs state that they are suitable for Direct Oil Injection which I have.
I recently bough Quicksilver for direct injection from Wal-Mart. It was $25 for a gallon but I haven't used it yet. I want to run down the older West Marine on sale oil. I have noticed more smoke with the West Marine oil but it could be something else. It was mixed into about 3 quarts of Yamalube. I won't know until I try the Quicksilver if the smoke diminishes.

So I guess my question is: Is there a difference between TW3C and TW3C for direct injection?

 

[LI Grady]

No question that the water in the dealer's oil was a one shot deal. The guy has a sterling reputation. But it did make me wonder since normally I'm that one in a million chance (except with the lottery)

Also I'm new to outboards but no one has ever told me about a catostaphic engine failure due to a specific (or lack of a specific) oil, but instead I hear about slower type deteriation in the powerhead/pistons, valves, etc.

Again I appreciate all of your opinions.

 

[CJBROWN]

AMSOIL HPI

Try it, I think you would be surprised. Them guys are pros on 2-stroke oils, check out their racing heritage.

 

[Capt Bill]

Another vote for Amsoil. I ran 2 strokes for the last 20 years, right up til I bought my 282 Sailfish 2 years ago, and that is all I ever used. I know some people will say that you can run anything, but a synthetic 2 stroke will burn clean, and not leave any carbon deposits in the cyl. Plugs will stay clean, and little or no smoking engines.

You can get an Amsoil direct account for something like $35/yr, and buy it at dealer cost. It's your engine, so you decide. But it was worth it to me.

 

[BobP]

55 gal drums have to be stored properly because of theh bunk hole design. If stored outdoors, must be layed on it's side to avoid water puddling and penetrating seal, and it also keeps teh seal wet with oil pressure behind it.

Dealer may have stored the drums outdoors.

 

[BobP]

That's bung hole -

 

[gw204]

That's bung hole -

I haven't heard that term since Beavis and Butthead went off the air... :lol:

My vote goes to the Amsoil HP Injector Oil as well. Capt Bill turned me on to that stuff and it's awesome. I use it in all my non-weedeater 2-strokes now (200 Yamahas, 115 Merc and two old Yamaha Waverunners).

 

[LI Grady]

Thanks again. I looked at Amsoils website and it does look interesting. I also like that I can buy in bulk. The 16 gallon keg looked good.

I assume you ran the oil in your tanks down as much as safetly possible before filling up with Amsoil. Correct?

 

[richie rich]

Amsoil is great stuff. Its only $20/year to be a preferred customer...I have a 10 year membership for $100 and I use Amsoil in everything.....a gallon of HP injector oil is about $24 and gets cheaper if you buy bulk like 15-30 gallon mini kegs or a 55gallon drum

 

[richie rich]

you can run it down as far as you can, but you can mix synthetics and regular oils without a problem....it will just take a bit longer to get the full benefits of synthetic....they sell semi-synthetic oils everywhere which is just a 50/50 mix of both.

 

[gw204]

Yes.

I would take it a step farther though. Pull the tanks and empty all of the remaining oil. Then wash them out with a 1/4 to 1/2 gallon of diesel. Empty that and then rinse them numerous times w/ near boiling water. Run some diesel through the transfer pumps too. Lastly, replace the filters on the bottom of the tanks.

All that isn't necessary just to change oils. It's more of a preventive maintenance thing that often gets overlooked.

 

[CJBROWN]

Thanks again. I looked at Amsoils website and it does look interesting. I also like that I can buy in bulk. The 16 gallon keg looked good.

I assume you ran the oil in your tanks down as much as safetly possible before filling up with Amsoil. Correct?

Yes, or pump it out if you can. The less dilution the better, but they will mix just fine.

PM sent.

 

[BobP]

I'll convert to another oil when the warranty is over, 2 more years.

Won't matter to Yamaha then, will before.


Bung Hole? That's what it's called!

 

[LI Grady]

Actually GW204 thats a good point/idea. Who knows when or if there was ever any service done to the tanks so I might as well take advantage of the situation, put in a little effort and start off 100%

Sounds like a good end of the year project