Ford Marine Lima 2.3 Liter, Shell T4 15W-40 63 Hrs

[A310]

Third season report on the little Ford 2.3 liter. This was a salvaged boat and the engine had sat outside for 20 years. I fixed the fuel issue, but still making metal, I'll take another sample at the end of this season.

 

[fantastic]

Could you try a 20w-50 to perhaps extend the life? You have some bearing wear going on. Might buy you some more time before teardown.

 

[Panda87]

I like @fantastic ‘s thinking on this one. Perhaps reduce the interval to flush contaminants regularly until the oil hopefully baselines?

Perhaps try a more shear stable oil as well? It sheared down some and I’ve heard that Rotella has a tendency to do that. Folks seem to favor Delo for that case; I haven’t used any myself though. I’m using T6 5w-40 in my OPE and haven’t ever sampled it, but seeing reports of how much it sheers, I might.

 

[A310]

Could you try a 20w-50 to perhaps extend the life? You have some bearing wear going on. Might buy you some more time before teardown.

Good point, I did run Amsoil 20W50 when I started have fuel dilution but never sampled that. I'll run this season out with the fresh 15W40 and resample. 20W50 might be a good option in the coming seasons. Engine was a sludge king and is slowly cleaning up, a fair amount of broken up carbo/sludge in the filter. Oil pressure, compression are good and isn't burning oil, so I'm not too concerned at this time.

 

[BrendanC]

M1 0w-40 or 15w-50 would be my recommendations for a hard working motor.

 

[A310]

I like @fantastic ‘s thinking on this one. Perhaps reduce the interval to flush contaminants regularly until the oil hopefully baselines?

Perhaps try a more shear stable oil as well? It sheared down some and I’ve heard that Rotella has a tendency to do that. Folks seem to favor Delo for that case; I haven’t used any myself though. I’m using T6 5w-40 in my OPE and haven’t ever sampled it, but seeing reports of how much it sheers, I might.

True it sheared down to a 30W, so a 20W50 might be the ticket, or change the oil every 30 hrs? I'll resample again at the end of this season and see if it improves. Fresh Shell T4 15W40 again with a new oil filter.

 

[Panda87]

True it sheared down to a 30W, so a 20W50 might be the ticket, or change the oil every 30 hrs? I'll resample again at the end of this season and see if it improves. Fresh Shell T4 15W40 again with a new oil filter.

Sounds like a plan! I noticed in your reply to fantastic that you mentioned sludge. Have you looked into Valvoline Restore and Protect? It’s supposedly an amazing engine cleaning oil from what I’ve read here on BITOG. The thickest grade on Valvoline’s website for it is 5w-30, which I’m not sure is thick enough for your engine, but could be worth a shot to get her further cleaned up! I’m excited to see your next sample on this engine to see your progress.

 

[A310]

Sounds like a plan! I noticed in your reply to fantastic that you mentioned sludge. Have you looked into Valvoline Restore and Protect? It’s supposedly an amazing engine cleaning oil from what I’ve read here on BITOG. The thickest grade on Valvoline’s website for it is 5w-30, which I’m not sure is thick enough for your engine, but could be worth a shot to get her further cleaned up! I’m excited to see your next sample on this engine to see your progress.

Thanks, no I haven't tried it. I'm just relying on the detergents in the oil to slowly clean the sludge out. I'm considering installing a converted MotorGuard M30 as a bypass filter. I have one on the shelf that's ready to go, just have to plumb it in.

 

[A310]

M1 0w-40 or 15w-50 would be my recommendations for a hard working motor.

Thanks, I'll have a look at another analysis at the end of this season and upgrade to a better oil.

 

[Panda87]

Thanks, no I haven't tried it. I'm just relying on the detergents in the oil to slowly clean the sludge out. I'm considering installing a converted MotorGuard M30 as a bypass filter. I have one on the shelf that's ready to go, just have to plumb it in.

If it were me, I’d lean more toward “change the cheap oil often” than toward the M30, at least until it starts showing better results in the full flow filters. Using an air filter as a bypass isn’t something I’ve seen before. Do you know of anyone who has done it in the past? Color me curious! Lol

 

[A310]

If it were me, I’d lean more toward “change the cheap oil often” than toward the M30, at least until it starts showing better results in the full flow filters. Using an air filter as a bypass isn’t something I’ve seen before. Do you know of anyone who has done it in the past? Color me curious! Lol

Yes, I've converted a few M30's for people and one for myself. I haven't installed the one I made for myself, but do run M100's which is basically the same housing. MotorGuard started life with the M100 bypass oil filter and over the decades moved into the air filtration. The M100's I have are on the transmission of my daily driver Ford F350 and one in my Ford Excursion filtering the V10's oil. The Excursion now has 41,000 miles with no oil changes, just a roll of toilet paper every 3000 miles. Lab reports come back good, so the oil stays in service and never changed. It works well on engines that are healthy, but not sure the little boat engine will come good.

 

[Panda87]

Yes, I've converted a few M30's for people and one for myself. I haven't installed the one I made for myself, but do run M100's which is basically the same housing. MotorGuard started life with the M100 bypass oil filter and over the decades moved into the air filtration. The M100's I have are on the transmission of my daily driver Ford F350 and one in my Ford Excursion filtering the V10's oil. The Excursion now has 41,000 miles with no oil changes, just a roll of toilet paper every 3000 miles. Lab reports come back good, so the oil stays in service and never changed. It works well on engines that are healthy, but not sure the little boat engine will come good.

That is super cool. I’ll look into them! You and @Crusher both have bypass filtration systems that I know of now. I can’t remember how long he’s been running the oil in his, but it’s a long time like your Excursion. Pretty neat!

 

[Brons2]

I'm going to vote straight 40. Delvac 1240 preferred over T1 for the sole fact that the starting viscosity is higher.

 

[thetricky]

Third season report on the little Ford 2.3 liter. This was a salvaged boat and the engine had sat outside for 20 years. I fixed the fuel issue, but still making metal, I'll take another sample at the end of this season.

View attachment 286438

I just asked Dave at HPL what he would recommend for my 3.0l Volvo penta and he said his 15w-40 HDEO for its sheer stability. I imagine another HDEO would be good to if HPL isn’t your thing.

 

[Oliveoil2]

Do you know how many hours total this engine has? Was there an hour meter connected to the engine?

 

[A310]

Do you know how many hours total this engine has? Was there an hour meter connected to the engine?

No, no hour meter and very little history of the boat. Engine is running really nice, good compression, no blowby and no oil consumption. Engine is run at 3800-4000 all the time, with very little idle time, always under an estimated 70-80% load.

 

[Dave1027]

Why not go with a synthetic like Rotella T6 ?

 

[thastinger]

Metals look normal to me for a boat motor but diesel oils aren't what they used to be as far a ZDDP levels go. I would go with a "classic car" type 20-50 or a marine 25-40 oil, maybe even a straight grade.

 

[RDY4WAR]

Even if the KV100 is wrong (which it likely is given that this is Blackstone), there's still likely a bit of shear there. Those wear numbers are a bit ugly but who knows how much is from rust/corrosion.





Please don't use a common API HDMO in a marine engine. Something like HPL HDMO would be much better since their standards for shear, rust, and foam are far superior. Shear stability has already been covered. As for rust, API's test is 4 hours in freshwater where as HPL's standard is 24 hours in saltwater. (with better results than Rotella in freshwater) HPL's standard for foam is 0 ml where as Rotella foams like a rabid dog. For a visual comparison....

HPL's recommendation of their HDMO is specific to their product. It's not a blanket statement for HDMOs.

If you want to use something off the shelf, you'd be much better off with something like Mobil 1 15W-50 or Valvoline VR1 20W-50.

 

[A310]

Why not go with a synthetic like Rotella T6 ?

That's a good idea, wanted to run another season on the T4 15W40 and see if there's any improvement before I change oil to either a T6 15W40 or another brand like Amsoil 20W50.