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Engine oil

keithkz

keithkz

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I have a 2005 Bennington with the 5.7L Volvo Penta engine in it. I see in my manual it recommends straight 30W oil and of course recommends full synthetic Volvo Penta brand oil. I have no issues with the fully synthetic part of this but can I just go to my local Walmart and pick up some Mobil 1 30W and be just fine? I'm sure that will be WAY cheaper than buying Volvo Penta brand oil at my dealer.
 
SOME oils may be MARINE grade rated, there may be differences in the chemical compounds. As long as it matches the "Standards" of Volvo brand, there should be no issues.
 
I don't know the definitive answer to your question (I would think yes), but whenever this has come up for my cars, gas or diesel, I go to this guy.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/

It's a great resource for anything you ever wanted to know about oil.
 
You could even do the Wally Mart brand sythetic and be ok. That is made by Citgo.
 
Padre said:
You could even do the Wally Mart brand sythetic and be ok. That is made by Citgo.
Click to expand...
It could be made by Sunoco, Castrol, Pennzoil, or whoever. I'd just be too embarrassed to tell people I used Wally brand in my Bennington ....... :)
 
HAHAHA. But you can laugh all the way to the bank. :) Just like their marine batteries: as far as I know there are only 3 different manufacturers of batteries in this country, and they all make the major brands.
 
On a side note: when I owned my Alumacraft with the 150 Evinrude ETEC, the dealer told me I absolutely HAD to run Evinrude oil in the engine. If it failed, they would demand a sample of the oil, an if it proved to be non-Evinrude, and it was an oil-related problem.....no warranty. I called Evinrude on this and they said "yup, that's true."
 
I thought it was illegal for a manufacturer to require only "their" brand products be used if others meet the specs, I know car manufacturers can't do that anymore. If I remember correctly, it's a Federal law .....
 
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So if anyone ever tries to pull this on you, now you know. Not that they won't fight you that the part you used caused the issue, then it's between you and the part manufacturer if so, but it does show THEY CAN NOT MAKE YOU use their parts, unless provided free of charge.
 
That being said.....my Volvo manual recommends SAE 30W full synthetic oil. I am going assume that if I put Mobil 1 30W in my engine I will be just fine. I just wanted to make sure.
 
Just make sure the pecs meet same. This is from Volvo Syn Oil page GRADE spec must match, if so, yes, you should be fine.

A fully synthetic oil for use all year round. Specially developed for high performance engines. Provides excellent protection against wear under severe running conditions at both high and low extremes of temperatures.

Viscosity: SAE 15W-50/SAE 30

Grade: API SJ, ACEA A3/B3
 
Well my manual for my engine says use API service rating CF/SH. It also recommends full synthetic and SAE 30. I don't see that Mobil 1 even makes an SAE 30 (straight weight) oil so I guess I'll just pay the piper at my local Bennington dealer for the Volvo Penta oil.
 
I just looked on Volvo Penta's web site and the only gasoline engine oil they make is full synthetic 10W-40.

http://www.volvopentastore.com/Synthetic-gasoline-engine-oil/dm/cart_id.808190739--session_id.885406685--store_id.366--view_id.345107

I'm going to assume then that I can buy any synthetic 10W-40 for my engine???? Things must have changed since my boat / owner's manual came out.

Also, has anyone heard about how synthetic oils are not as good to use on boats (engines that sit for periods of time....especially during winter months) because they lack the coating that petroleum based oils have and therefor internal engine components can rust during the winter months?
 
I contacted Bennington directly today and they stated they recommended the Volvo Penta 10W-40 oil Grade API SJ ACEA A3/B3.
 
After MANY years working with race cars, road cars and some boats, oil is oil. If you are running the recommended weight, it will be just fine.

In more than one instance, we have used non synthetic with synthetic oils (even different weight) and the car ran flawlessly for over 500 miles in race conditions (comparable to WOT on a boat or several hours).

Boats do have a different operating environment than cars. They usually operate at constant RPMs vs up and down like cars. This is actually easier on a lubricant because the forces are much more controlled.

A 5W-30 synthetic oil will do EVERYTHING the 'recommended' Volvo oil will do. What is critically important is that you keep the oil clean. Change at regualar intervals. Use a magnetic drain plug to keep an eye on shavings. Every so often, I will cut my oil filters open to inspect the paper for shavings.

"Special" blends are a hoax.

Oh, and if you are concerned about 'water evaporating' properties of the oil, again, it's a hoax. If you get water in your oil, you have much bigger problems.
 
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I just called my local Bennington dealer and they don't even have any of that Volvo oil in stock. I'm going to go buy Mobil 1 10W-40....my local dealer said that would be just fine to use in it.
 
Well, don't I feel like someone who was lied to! Thanks for the info Semp. Although I should never run into it again since I'm now a 4 stroke guy! As far as engines go that is.
 
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