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What oil do you recommend? HH383


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My hammerhead consumes rather much oil and I find it annoying to keep filling it up all the time.

I do check the oil level before we go out. And I need to add oil all the time.

I checked with Indmar and they said this is normal for the HH enguine.

I use the recommended Pennzoil 15w40. Are there other alternatives that could help prevent this?

Does your HH also consume a lot of oil?

Thanks

Edited by malibubu
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My hammerhead consumes rather much oil and I find it annoying to keep filling it up all the time.

I do check the oil level before we go out. And I need to add oil all the time.

I checked with Indmar and they said this is normal for the HH enguine.

I use the recommended Pennzoil 15w40. Are there other alternatives that could help prevent this?

Does your HH also consume a lot of oil?

Thanks

First you'll want to read this Attention 383 owners.

Some of the other "fixes" was to run 30w or 40w, but those that seemed to burn oil more than the adverage never seemed to get completely resolved.

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First you'll want to read this Attention 383 owners.

Some of the other "fixes" was to run 30w or 40w, but those that seemed to burn oil more than the adverage never seemed to get completely resolved.

I read that and I have got the new dipstick as well.

So some consume a lot of oil and others don´t?

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I read that and I have got the new dipstick as well.

So some consume a lot of oil and others don´t?

Exactly, but I'd certainly contact Larry at Indmar to verify that everything is operating within specs and nothing else can be done. But in some cases they just burn more oil w/o any culprit being identified.

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Exactly, but I'd certainly contact Larry at Indmar to verify that everything is operating within specs and nothing else can be done. But in some cases they just burn more oil w/o any culprit being identified.

Yes When I checked with Indmar, they gave me quick response. They also said that an alternative could be an Straight 40 weight oil.

I still wanted to know what oil you guys use for your enguines out there. And if someone had an oilconsuming HH, changed oil and saw any difference.

I get the feeling more and more people don´t prefer the recommended pennzoil?

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It seems that the HH's do consume oil. At least all the ones at the lake I ski do, It seems all at varying rates though. Oil is a relatively small expense in the grand scheme of boating and while being a little annoying to keep it toped up it's worth it for the extra perfomance of the HH. Keep it full!!!

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It seems that the HH's do consume oil. At least all the ones at the lake I ski do, It seems all at varying rates though. Oil is a relatively small expense in the grand scheme of boating and while being a little annoying to keep it toped up it's worth it for the extra perfomance of the HH. Keep it full!!!

I sure do will keep filling it up ! :)

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Yes When I checked with Indmar, they gave me quick response. They also said that an alternative could be an Straight 40 weight oil.

I still wanted to know what oil you guys use for your enguines out there. And if someone had an oilconsuming HH, changed oil and saw any difference.

I get the feeling more and more people don´t prefer the recommended pennzoil?

Personally I'm not a fan of Penzoil myself, rather I use DELO 15w-40. It meets or exceeds the recommended specs by Indmar and if it's good enough to cope w/ the demands of a diesel well it's fine for my boat as well.

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Proper engine break-in ( http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm ), rather than the "factory recommended" break-in might help with this too.... But, if this isn't done the first time the boat hits the water, it will never be effective...

I find this interesting. Read through a few different owners manuals and forum on what people are saying about breaking in a new engine on a boat. I personally have never pruchased a brand new boat with zero hours on it, but I have been into race cars and built a few 900hp Honda motors. We did the EXACT break in as described in that link. After a new build, threw it in the car, started it and let it warm up on cheapo light weight oil. Drained it (this is to get all the assembly lube, misc metal, etc in the motor out with the first change) After that it was STRAIGHT to the dyno or freewway doing 4th gear pulls putting as much load on the motor as possible while maintaining good AF so it won't damage the motor. Curious why the boat manufacturers say within the first ten hours, don't go above 2000rpm, next 10 hrs 3000rpm, next 10 hours 4000rpm. So what, for the first 40 hrs of owning a new boat you can't do anything really but drive around? No skiing/wakeboarding etc etc???? Makes no sense. I stand by that "Run it hard" 150%. It's the only way to seat the rings properly. By seating the rings properly, you avoid burning oil in these big 383 HH motors because it's got a better seal. Better seal = more compression. More compression = more horse power/torque.

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I find this interesting. Read through a few different owners manuals and forum on what people are saying about breaking in a new engine on a boat. I personally have never pruchased a brand new boat with zero hours on it, but I have been into race cars and built a few 900hp Honda motors. We did the EXACT break in as described in that link. After a new build, threw it in the car, started it and let it warm up on cheapo light weight oil. Drained it (this is to get all the assembly lube, misc metal, etc in the motor out with the first change) After that it was STRAIGHT to the dyno or freewway doing 4th gear pulls putting as much load on the motor as possible while maintaining good AF so it won't damage the motor. Curious why the boat manufacturers say within the first ten hours, don't go above 2000rpm, next 10 hrs 3000rpm, next 10 hours 4000rpm. So what, for the first 40 hrs of owning a new boat you can't do anything really but drive around? No skiing/wakeboarding etc etc???? Makes no sense. I stand by that "Run it hard" 150%. It's the only way to seat the rings properly. By seating the rings properly, you avoid burning oil in these big 383 HH motors because it's got a better seal. Better seal = more compression. More compression = more horse power/torque.

That's not what it says, it says 10 break in total.

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I find this interesting. Read through a few different owners manuals and forum on what people are saying about breaking in a new engine on a boat. I personally have never pruchased a brand new boat with zero hours on it, but I have been into race cars and built a few 900hp Honda motors. We did the EXACT break in as described in that link. After a new build, threw it in the car, started it and let it warm up on cheapo light weight oil. Drained it (this is to get all the assembly lube, misc metal, etc in the motor out with the first change) After that it was STRAIGHT to the dyno or freewway doing 4th gear pulls putting as much load on the motor as possible while maintaining good AF so it won't damage the motor. Curious why the boat manufacturers say within the first ten hours, don't go above 2000rpm, next 10 hrs 3000rpm, next 10 hours 4000rpm. So what, for the first 40 hrs of owning a new boat you can't do anything really but drive around? No skiing/wakeboarding etc etc???? Makes no sense. I stand by that "Run it hard" 150%. It's the only way to seat the rings properly. By seating the rings properly, you avoid burning oil in these big 383 HH motors because it's got a better seal. Better seal = more compression. More compression = more horse power/torque.

Exactly!!!!

The old break-in method of taking it easy just doesn't apply these days. Machining and tolerances are much better today. There's no "tight spots" to wear in, or burs to wear away. All the machining is perfect. Just like the article talks about though, the cross-hatching is very light, and you have a very limited amount of time to properly seat the piston rings. Seating the rings is the only thing break-in is about these days....

Why would they tell you to break it in easy???? Good question. But, if you break it in easy, and it's not running strong down the road, what do you do?? Get the engine rebuilt?? (Parts $$$$ for the manufacturer) Buy a new boat?? ($$$$ for the manufacturer) You get the picture....

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I believe I am one of the reasons for the new dipstick. When I got my 2006 HH383 it consumed quite a bit of oil. Not only that but it had oil pressure problems (many of my posts about this subject can be searched for) that Indmar and Malibu struggled with. After months of testing Indmar decided to increase the quantity of oil in my engine by and extra quart (hence the new dipstick) and told me to run Valvoline VR-1 50 weight racing oil. My consumption has slowed a bit, and as long as I keep the oil topped off I no longer see the oil pressure drops.

Hope that helps.

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That's not what it says, it says 10 break in total.

This wasn't meant to be a direct quote from the Indmar Manual sorry. I have however read that from another Boat manual. Not sure which one it's been a year or two. But even with 10 hours break in... If those piston rings aren't seated in 10-15 minutes of running the boat (warm up no included) , they won't ever be seated and will be needing a replacement, or you'll just have a power loss and burning great amounts of oil. Would you ever notice this??? Probably not unless you've rode in a few other peoples boat or ran the math on how it comes out of the hole, dyno numbers after break in, etc etc etc. Who's gonna do that?

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I find this interesting. Read through a few different owners manuals and forum on what people are saying about breaking in a new engine on a boat. I personally have never pruchased a brand new boat with zero hours on it, but I have been into race cars and built a few 900hp Honda motors. We did the EXACT break in as described in that link. After a new build, threw it in the car, started it and let it warm up on cheapo light weight oil. Drained it (this is to get all the assembly lube, misc metal, etc in the motor out with the first change) After that it was STRAIGHT to the dyno or freewway doing 4th gear pulls putting as much load on the motor as possible while maintaining good AF so it won't damage the motor. Curious why the boat manufacturers say within the first ten hours, don't go above 2000rpm, next 10 hrs 3000rpm, next 10 hours 4000rpm. So what, for the first 40 hrs of owning a new boat you can't do anything really but drive around? No skiing/wakeboarding etc etc???? Makes no sense. I stand by that "Run it hard" 150%. It's the only way to seat the rings properly. By seating the rings properly, you avoid burning oil in these big 383 HH motors because it's got a better seal. Better seal = more compression. More compression = more horse power/torque.

Not all engine manufacturers recommend that. The PCM break-in procedure is much different from Indmar's

And '06 is right, it's the first 10 hours total, not 40.

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Directly taken from the Indmar Manual

Break-In

Taking care now to break-in your new Indmar engine is VERY important. When broken in properly, your engine will last longer, run better and require fewer repairs over its lifetime. Your new Indmar engine does not require an elaborate break-in procedure, just a little care and common sense for the first 7 hours.

Always let engine warm up to normal operating temperature before accelerating. EFI engines, including the LS1, are programmed with a phased warm up to ensure that the engine is warm before full RPM is possible; refer to Table 1-1.

Table 1-1. EFI Phased Warm-Up

TEMPERATURE TIME RPM LIMIT

103°F (40°C) or less ——— 3000 RPM

104° to 139°F (41° to 59°C) + 10 seconds 4200 RPM

140° (60°C) and higher + 10 seconds Full RPM

• Avoid fast accelerations and don’t carry (or pull) a

heavy load during this period.

• Check engine and transmission fluid levels frequently.

During the first 50 to 100 hours, an engine can use

more oil than usual. Maintain oil at proper levels at all

times but do not overfill.

• Vary your boat speed during break-in. Do not run at

the same speed very long.

• Observe gauge readings and check for loose mountings,

fittings, nuts, bolts and clamps.

• Report abnormal operation, noises or vibrations to

your dealer.

Break-in Steps

1. For the first hour, do not exceed 2000 RPM; vary

RPM continuously.

2. For the second hour, do not exceed 3000 RPM;

3. For the next five hours, do not exceed 4000 RPM.

After the first ten hours of operation, take your boat to

the dealer for its first engine and transmission oil and

filter change and engine checkup. Your Indmar dealer is

best equipped to check the engine immediately after

break-in.

After the break-in procedure is over, your boat may be

operated continuously at any speed. Be sure to check

the wide open throttle operating range; refer to Chapter

4, Selecting A Propeller.

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Valvoline straight 40 weight. Says something about race oil on the bottle. We've put about 150 hours on using this and only burn like a quart between changes.

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I must be lucky, my HH doesn't use any oil. I had heard of this so I was checking it before every trip to the lake and I never had to add any oil to it.

Terry

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Next time I change the oil I think I will try another one just to see if there is any difference.

Thanks for your replies.

I bought my boat with 30 hrs on it. I changed the oil when I got it home. The first year we used mercuiser oil, 25w 40, the oil pressure ran high the whole time. We put about 100 hrs the first summer never used a drop of oil. Changed the oil for the next summer and used rotela 15w 40 the desial oil. Put another 100 hrs on it and never once had to add oil to the engine. I have a 2004 383 hh so I don't know if that makes a difference.

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I bought my boat with 30 hrs on it. I changed the oil when I got it home. The first year we used mercuiser oil, 25w 40, the oil pressure ran high the whole time. We put about 100 hrs the first summer never used a drop of oil. Changed the oil for the next summer and used rotela 15w 40 the desial oil. Put another 100 hrs on it and never once had to add oil to the engine. I have a 2004 383 hh so I don't know if that makes a difference.

If you have an '04, then you don't have a 383 like the rest in this thread. The 383 didn't come out until '05. Your HH is a different motor (350ci/380hp) with a totally different set of problems.

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