oil change in winter or spring??

[randyr12]

I have heard arguments on changing oil along with winterization in the fall and have heard some people say it is better to change oil in Spring. Which is better?????

[docdrs]

Always change your oil during winterization or close to it. You do not want old oil with its acids and water contamination to sit on your metal parts all lay up long causing harmful corrosion. Oh and don't just change it, make sure you run it for a few mins to distribute that fresh oil over all your internals

[randyr12]

Always change your oil during winterization or close to it. You do not want old oil with its acids and water contamination to sit on your metal parts all lay up long causing harmful corrosion. Oh and don't just change it, make sure you run it for a few mins to distribute that fresh oil over all your internals

Thats what Ive done in the past, but I sware when i bought my boat this spring the Supra dealer told me to do it in the spring.

[docdrs]

Thats what Ive done in the past, but I sware when i bought my boat this spring the Supra dealer told me to do it in the spring.

Who ever said that is wrong or you misunderstood them. BTW fresh oil does not go bad sitting in an oil pan over the winter.

[OUI]

I change mine in the spring. Oil does not go bad it just gets dirty. If you clean dirty oil, it's as good as it was before it was dirty. The environment that we boat is almost dirt free. Just look at the color of your oil when you change it, it's almost like new. And any moisture in the oil is burned off immediately after the motor is running. Anyway, my two cents. Oh, I also store my boat with an empty tank. I like to but fresh gas in my tank in the spring, rather than run through a tank of old gas. I read that today's gas has about a 3 -5 week shelf life. And, don't use gas with ethanol, it's bad stuff Manaird. Pay the extra money and get premium no ethanol, that ethanol stuff should be outlawed.

[tg0824SSVGG]

I agree on the ethanol, but here in Colorado, you cannot buy gas without ethanol. It sucks.


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[TitanTn]

I agree with the doc. You need to change it when your season is over. Run it a little to spread the new, clean oil. You'll be good to go in the spring.

[OUI]

New oil in the spring or old oil, to me it makes no difference. I live in MN and I wait to the last minute to pull my boat. Sometimes it's too cold to be working on stuff. That's why I wait till spring. However, whether you change in the fall or spring, oil will drain from all moving parts over the winter. Everything will be dry the first time you turn it over. I recommend Lucas Oil Treatment, it really sticks to parts, so there is no metal on metal when you start it in the spring or after not running it for a couple of weeks. If you have to burn ethanol use a Sta-Bil type product for ethanol. Untreated ethanol gasoline is really bad for your boat.

[92SupraComp]

it is very bad to leave a fuel tank empty over winter! when doing this it allows air to get inside the tank and then water condenses in the tank. so every spring you mix fuel and water. not so good for an engine. if think about the physics of air it makes perfect sense.

[docdrs]

Around this time of the year i start adding a stabilizer to the fuel and make sure the tank is full when I winterize with lots of stabil. the more you add the longer the fuel will stay fresh. In the spring I try to run the tank close to empty before adding new fuel. Heavily used oil will be contaminated with acids....a known fact....so why would you leave this sitting on your rings, seals, bearings etc.... just plain common sense to have everything lubricated with clean fresh, non acidic, water contaminated oil. But I suppose if you don't care or plan on keeping the boat long, why would you ever change your oil n filter.

[OUI]

Condensation in the tank is so minuscule that it's not worth talking about. A fresh tank of gas (45 gallons) and some Sea Foam will quickly take care of the 1/2 oz that may accumulate. My main boat is 23 years old and never a motor issue, compression is perfect,does not burn any oil, and runs like a top. And, I change the oil every spring. My other boat has been in the family for 80 years, compression is perfect, doesn't burn any oil and runs like a top. Changed the oil every spring. Keep in mind that most oil manufactures state that you should change your oil if you have stored you motor for over 3 months. So, then if you change it in the fall, you should change it in the spring. I guess, I like to do it just once a year, and it hasn't caused any ill affects. My two cents, your choice.

[92SupraComp]

have fun rebuilding your engine since you use seafoam. that stuff is very evil to engines. worse than ethanol. only the really good mechanics know what it truly does to an engine. especially a carbed one. its not pretty to see inside an engine that has seen a couple treatments of that retched stuff. change oil frequently AND DONT USE SEAFOAM and your engine will last a long time. but if you use say Mobile 1 Synthetic you could easily leave it in for a 2 or 3 years and just change the filter. as full synthetic out lives the oil filters easily

[CornRickey]

Ok, I'll bite. What specifically did Seafoam do to your engine. I'm assuming your talking about first hand knowledge with the absolutes your using....

[OUI]

CornRicky, I'm with you I'd like to learn how and why SeaFoam is such bad stuff. 92SupraComp -- Melges or Johnson?

[92SupraComp]

it takes any dirt from the carb and intake and deposits it into the cylinders. it also dries out the rings causing them to score the cylinder walls. while the temporary gains are nice but it causes long term damage to any engine that its put in. its far worse if you follow the directions and you put it in the oil. then you just spelled certain death to your engine. just putting it in your gas is bad enough but you put it in with your oil. just forget it. you might as well just rebuild your engine instead of waiting for it to sh!t its self while your using it.

[HIFLYR]

You know they routinely use a de-carboning cleaner that you connect to the injector rail at the dealership how can Seafoam hurt your engine when it's doing the same thing? I am talking about adding to the gas only. I have used Seafoam about once every 3 months in several cars that are all over 100,000 miles and one at 190,000 and never had a problem. Both do not burn any oil and have not required any maintenance other than regular services. Been a motor head for years on cars, boats and airplanes and never heard of problems related to putting seafoam in your fuel but I guess anything is possible if used every tank or in excessive amounts.

[CornRickey]

Dry out your rings? We are talking about as a additive to the gas and running it right? Not pouring it into each cylinder and letting it sit? Even then I'm having a hard time visualizing piston rings drying out. Anyway its amazing anyone you talk to has heard or used seafoam, that's a lot if engine rebuilding. I used it once on my SN. Had to be about 5 yeas ago when I was having issues with it. It didn't fix my problem but I'm glad I didn't tear it right down then. I got a good 200 extra hours on it. Guess I'm on borrowed time.

[SquamInboards]

it takes any dirt from the carb and intake and deposits it into the cylinders. it also dries out the rings causing them to score the cylinder walls. while the temporary gains are nice but it causes long term damage to any engine that its put in. its far worse if you follow the directions and you put it in the oil. then you just spelled certain death to your engine. just putting it in your gas is bad enough but you put it in with your oil. just forget it. you might as well just rebuild your engine instead of waiting for it to sh!t its self while your using it.

Let's see a documented case of scored cylinder walls caused by putting a reasonable amount of seafoam in the fuel once a year, which is what was recommended by OUI. And for good measure, lets' see a case of a complete engine failure caused by adding some to the oil. How would that be worse than 'pickling' an engine that had been submerged, which is a common practice to help remove moisture?

In any case, the question was about oil change timing. There are arguments to be made for changing oil in the fall, or the spring, and I think they've been outlined pretty well here, enough for people to make an educated choice either way. I change mine @50 hrs, regardless. That's my 2 cents.