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Oil Requirements for Hammerhead Engines


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Or a sister....;)

I'm actually trying to get the fluids changed in the boat tonight before we go out in the morning & I had an interesting discovery. On the '06 Hammerhead (& possibly other engines, I don't know) they went to a different, beefier tranny/v-drive combo. Well, it turns out that both use ATF fluid. I had to call Indmar to even find out which combo was in my boat since the manual calls out for something like 4 different combos. The model is called a Ski-Vee & is completely a Hurth product as opposed to a Hurth tranny/Walters v-drive combo. Interesting.

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I went with straight up 40w, but in the Valvoline Racing formula. I could almost hear the engine saying, "Yum yum" as I was pouring it in. We'll get to put it to the test tomorrow. :)

I managed to get out almost 4.5 quarts plus what was in the filter. That was with just the tongue jack all the way up & the trailer level side to side. Not too bad IMO.

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I went with straight up 40w, but in the Valvoline Racing formula.  I could almost hear the engine saying, "Yum yum" as I was pouring it in.  We'll get to put it to the test tomorrow.  :)

I managed to get out almost 4.5 quarts plus what was in the filter.  That was with just the tongue jack all the way up & the trailer level side to side.  Not too bad IMO.

Nice! Did you draw the oil out of the drain tube using the Tempo? Where is the drain tube on yours? Mine is towards the front of the engine (towards the bow) on the starboard side.

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I've been here so long that I've almost forgotten what it is like to play with my favourite toy. I asked the factory about oils and the advice was to use mineral oil until 100 hours then use synthetic. They reckon it would be like letting off a handbrake.

My ZZ383 has still only 30 hours on it as its sits in my toy shed in Whangarei (I hope!).

If it is not a hot rod motor, I wonder why it is so lumpy.

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I used the Tempo to get the oil out, worked great with the fitting that I built to adapt to the end of the drain tube. I stuffed it out the rear plug & didn't even have to risk all of that oil in the boat. The drain sounds like it's in the exact same spot as yours.

Andy,

No synthetic is recommended in any of the Indmar engines until the 100 hour mark. Got to get her good & worn in! :)

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  • 7 months later...

Just to bring this back up to the top....

I did another oil change on mine today, along with the tranny & vdrive. This time I only pulled about 3.5 quarts of oil plus the filter. In the vdrive unit it's supposed to hold 1.0 quart, yet I pulled (& put in) 1.25 quarts of ATF. In the tranny itself, it's supposed to hold 2.12 quarts, & I pulled just over 1.5 quarts. The vdrive & tranny levels I'm pretty confident in since I just checked the levels on the lake yesterday, but I'm not absolutely confident that the engine oil level is perfect. Sitting on a trailer is not ideal for checking levels, so I'll take fluids with me on our next outing to double check.

Here's the point: Indmar has a special proceedure that they recommend using to get all of the oil out of a 383. It is a PITA & involves jacking up 1 side of the trailer, which I did on my initial oil change last fall. I didn't do that this time around & wasn't able to pull as much from the engine. So what I've decided to do is to change the oil 1 more time before 100 hours (I'm at 40 now, I'll probably do another at 75 or 80), then once I'm over that threshold I'll switch to synthetic. That should be a bit more forgiving since getting all of the oil out is an issue.

One nice thing is that using straight 40w makes it easier to find a good oil of my choosing rather than having to stick with an oil with specific ratings. Talking with Jim at Indmar, he said that pretty much any of the major brands (Castrol, Valvoline & Pennzoil were the names that he mentioned) will be fine. I do still get the low pressure warning on occasion, but it only comes under conditions as Indmar describes & never stays on for more than a second or 2. So even though it's something that I'll continue to watch, I'm not worried about it anymore.

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Trace,

What does Indmar say to do to get all the oil out of the Hammy? Jack up which side of the trailer? And, how much oil in that bad boy?

Edited by Pistol Pete
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Yeah, you've got to raise the tongue as far as the trailer jack will go, then jack up one side of the trailer. Apparently the drain plug isn't on the optimal spot on the pan to drain it all. The first time I did it, I think that I got out 4.5 quarts plus the filter, this time only about 3.5 quarts plus the filter. I didn't jack up the trailer either time. Indmar says the capacity is 5.5 quarts.

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  • 4 months later...

At the 20 hour mark on my new HH, on good reputable advice, I swapped in 20-50 for the 15-40, and have run the last 45 hours on it... No probs... pressure. Flows like SAE 50 when hot... so it's actually a little easier to drain when cool... "thinner". But dont take my word for it... go google oil viscosity ratings... One thing, the better oils in terms of durability, are closer to a 1 to 1 range. The greater range in ratings, the more "fragile" the oil becomes... if that can be said for modern lubricants... With that in mind, a case for SAE 50 can be made. Just depends on your use habits with the engine and how often you change your oil. You can get SAE 40 or 50 at most auto-parts stores. I'm wondering if it's like suckin' jello at change time.

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