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Oil Viscosity and Fuel Filter Question

kcman

kcman

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I will soon be doing my 20 hour maintenance and have two questions:

(Note: I plan to do this maintenance myself since it looks very easy and I have been doing fluid changes etc. on my autos for years).

* Motor Oil: My owners manual says to use 5W-30, 10W-30 or 10W-40 oil.  My question is which would be best?  I live in Tennessee and plan on using the boat with temps from the mid 50's on up.  The highest temps we usually get in my area is the low to mid 90's.  I am leaning to use 10W-30 but would appreciate input from others.

* Fuel Filter (not the fuel water separator).  I plan on changing out the fuel water separator at the 20 hour point and yearly there after.  What about the fuel filter?  Should this also be changed out and if so, how easy is this to get to and change? 

I asked my dealer these questions via email but they have not responded and do not appear to be good at responding once the boat is sold.  I got a great deal on the boat but follow-up from the dealership is certainly not their strong point.  Another reason I plan on doing the minor maintenance myself. 

This forum is great -- I am glad I found it and thus far we are very happy with our new Bennington Pontoon. 
 
I use 5w/30 synthetic in our Honda. I switched to synthetic after the first two oil changes. I have never changed the fuel filter and I do not have a fuel/water sepatator. The motor runs fine.
 
10/30 should be fine for your temp ranges, just use a good brand oil.

On my 50hp Yamaha, there is a fuel bowl under the engine cowl, it has a cleanable synthetic screen inside it. I drain and clean that every year, but it has never really needed cleaning. Just peace of mind.
 
For those temps I would normally run 10w/30 but in a new engine with tight tolerances I'd run 5w/30 for a couple of seasons. Don't switch to synthetic too soon, you want to be sure the internal mating surfaces have achieved full break-in before you go synthetic.
 
Geoffrey & Brenda said:
On my 50hp Yamaha, there is a fuel bowl under the engine cowl, it has a cleanable synthetic screen inside it. I drain and clean that every year, but it has never really needed cleaning. Just peace of mind.
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Thanks to all.  On the fuel bowl under the engine cowl -- does it just twist off or do I need a special tool?  Also, do you have to fill it back with fuel when you replace it (like the fuel/water separator)?  Thanks again.
 
Thanks.
 
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