Amsoil marine gear oil vs. Johnson Hi-Vis

[LRutigliano]

Not sure if this is the correct forum to post to...



I have an OMC Cobra I/O (now Johnson/Evinrude/Bombardier).



Its time to change the lower units gear oil and the engine oil. I've been using the OMC and now Johnson/Evinrude HI-VIS gear oil as this is what is called out in the specs to use.



However, when I was at Joes, I saw the Amsoil 75W-90 synthetic marine gear oil and it was cheaper than the HI-VIS. On the bottle, it states that it meets the specs for OMC, Volvo, Mercruiser, etc.



I also bought the Amsoil 10W-30 synthetic marine oil instead of OMC 30 weight dino oil. Again, the bottle says "can be used for all 4-stroke marine engines spec'g 30 weight or 10W-30"



My question are...



- does anyone know the viscosity of the HI-VIS stuff? I can't find it online, on the bottle, etc.



- is using the Amsoil marine 75W-90 synthetic ok?



- is using the 10W-30 engine oil ok for an engine spec'g straight 30 weight?



I think all is ok, especially because its synthetic instead of dino oil, but if anyone has any comments, please let me know. (because I'm anal compulsive and it will eventually drive me crazy... :-laf:-laf:-laf:{)



Thanks,

Louis

 

[Hoefler]

OMC does not recommend the use of multi weight oils, straight weights only.



The out drive should use Ultra-Lube, it is a synthetic blend, it is thinner than the than the 75w-90. The heavier lube will not circulate properly through the out drive and over heat, causing the upper unit to fail.

 

[mberry]

All I can tell you is that I had a Volvo-Penta equipped boat that I ran 10W30 Amsoil synthetic in the engine, and Royal Purple gear lube in the sterndrive. No problems with either one in 6 years.

 

[LRutigliano]

All I can tell you is that I had a Volvo-Penta equipped boat that I ran 10W30 Amsoil synthetic in the engine, and Royal Purple gear lube in the sterndrive. No problems with either one in 6 years.

mberry, thanks! The Cobra and Volvo outdrives are very similar. I appreciate the info.



Last time I drained the HI-VIS stuff, I found a nice big chunk of steel on drain magnet. Seems to run fine, but it freaked me out and am looking for better alternatives. Also, no one makes a synthetic 30W oil, so I'm stuck with regular automotive oil, "race" oil from Valvoline or the super expensive Cobra oil...

 

[JOdell]

AMSOIL makes this: ASE 10W-30/SAE 30. I run it in my mowers. They call for straight 30W oil. I have used it for years with no problem. One of my customers is a Marine Center here in Indy, They also use severe gear 75-90 as well as the lower end oil in customer's boats. Jason