Boats And Your Engine Oil By Capt. Douglas Malat

By Gardner M Wilkinson

Now that the summer boating season is in full swing, what have you done to protect your boat engine(s)?

When you winterize your boat or yacht engine(s) for the winter, you usually change the oil and filter before fogging out your marine engine for the winter. That is great and one way to get those contaminants out and also off of the interior of your engine. But did you really?

Before winterizing your engine for the winter, you did change the oil and filter by warming the engine with the old oil and contaminants. The contaminants are spread throughout the engine as you warm-up the engine and then you shut off the engine, replacing the filter and oil. Most restart their boat engine(s) and get that new oil spread around again. Now all those contaminants are in the new oil sitting the whole winter season till spring waiting for you to start and spread it all around again. Can you ever get all the contaminants out? Well actually no, but you can get it down to a minimum.

Since the engine oil and filter change at the end of the boating season, the winter might have also added moisture to the internal parts from the changes in warm and cold through the winter season. Now you have those contaminants from the old summer season along with the moisture collecting during the winter season.

The best way to protect your boat or yacht engine(s) is to warm-up your engine again at spring time and change just the oil again. With this additional changebefore you do your summer boating, allows the moisture and contaminants internally are brought down to a minimum and your marine engine(s) will be much happier.

On most boat and yacht engine(s) you can see how the oil is doing during the season, by really looking at the color and feel of the engine oil when checking the level. First look at the color, is it a light color or dark tan to black? While you were looking at this, did the oil start dripping off the dipstick? Did you touch the engine oil and squeeze it around your two fingers?

The color represents several things. One, a darker color means that the oil is cleaning up the interior of the engine that has been neglected. Two, there is excess fuel not being burnt in the cylinders and is mixing with the oil. Three, if the engine has been worked hard, or it is overdue on an engine oil change. Of course you are looking for a light color, letting you know things are good and working well internally in the engine.

If the oil was dripping off the dipstick, it could mean the oil is breaking down because of high heat, not a good oil to begin with, or not the right oil grade. Change the oil right away with a good brand oil and a good viscosity.

Also check the oil by squeezing a bit of it between two fingers. Does it feel smooth and thick between your fingers...that´s good. Or do you feel some slight grit in it? Change your oil and filter and check more often. If you feel this again, it may be time to get a proffessional to take a look before it gets more serious.

Changing your engine oil often, helps keep your internal parts at a minimum wear. The reason for good oil is to have the oil film between moving parts. The moving parts really never get to touch that much, only the oil film.

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