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How much oil burn is normal?


SurfgateBob

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I have a 13 LSV with the 350. I seem to burn oil at a rate that doesn't seem normal, but I thought I'd check with the malibu crew. Over the course of a 50 hour span, how many quarts down should I expect to be?

Thanks!

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I have the L96 in my 2013 TXi, just shy of 100 hours and mainly used for barefooting. I don't burn a drop. Check oil level every time I go out.

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Mine loses like 2 at least... I'm wondering what it could be. Since the boat is pretty new, it's kind of concerning.

And it's still under warranty. With an oil consumption issue make sure it is very well documented and you can prove it is excessive before you even begin to make it a concern with your dealer. This means changing your oil with the correct weight and specified brand. Mark the level, video or picture proof is good. Note the hours and then check it accordingly, I would say ever 10 hours of use. Document each check point. At the end of the 50 hour period note the level and then add oil to reach the original first level documented at the change point. This is your total oil consumption test . This is the only way your concern will be taken seriously unless the engine has an external leak.

Finding the source of the excessive consumption can be a very involved task and usually results of several internal engine checks. This is why you need proper proof. If your lucky Indmar may just provide a replacement to your dealer as they sometimes will.

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Proper break in can play into oil consumption. I'm sure my engine wasn't broken in properly (I'm the 2nd owner of a 2007 that I bought with 63 hrs in June 2011) and the first 50 hrs I owned it, burned almost 3 quarts. 2nd 50 hrs I switched to synthetic diesel 5-40 and burned just under 2 quarts in 50 hrs. This summer, haven't used the boat a ton, but switched to Mobil 20-50 and have burned 1/2 quart in 25 hrs. So, going to a heavier weight oil has helped and I also "use" the boat. The previous owner must have babied the boat since it only had 63 hrs in 4 seasons.

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What oil was used for break in (first 50 hours)? If synthetic, you might not have seated the rings. I assume you are sure the 2 quarts is being burned rather than leaking. Do you perhaps have a crank vent tube that is either blocked or plumbed incorrectly to where the intake vacuum is sucking in oil from the crank? 2 quarts / 50 hours is high. FYI, my oil burn rate is not measurable over the 50 hour question.

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My HH would consume oil until I switched to 50wt synthetic. Do you use a lot of ballast? Might be getting the oil too hot causing it to loose it's viscosity.

I use the max stock ballast and sometimes I use an extra 1100 pounds. This happened before I had the extra ballast, though. It seems to smoke a little at high throttle, whether that's getting the rider up, or travelling at high speeds.

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How often do you check it? Is the oil burn linear? I find that up to about 30 hours on an oil change I have hardly any burned, but from there I burn about a quart every 10 hours. Gonna try different oil next season (PCM is recommending Castrol HD40 for heavily ballasted applications).

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My engine was born in 1998 and it doesn't consume any oil. I am surprised that so many are saying theirs does and it's OK.

I am most definitely NOT saying that it is ok to burn oil. Never owned a SBC that burned oil before and the boat motor is just another SBC in marine form. I hate the fact I have to watch my oil level, but it is getting better. But....these motors are used differently than how a car uses it. So, not too overly concerned about the motor having problems internally.

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For the most part, the guys in this thread who are saying they burn oil are pushing a ton of weight and the guys who are saying they don't have direct drive ski sleds. correlation?

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For the most part, the guys in this thread who are saying they burn oil are pushing a ton of weight and the guys who are saying they don't have direct drive ski sleds. correlation?

Correlation? Buy a boat where the engine is not installed backwards in the wrong location, I guess.

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So, I talked to my dealer. He said he has another customer who's burning through a lot of oil. They're trying to figure out what the issue is in consultation with Indmar. Glad to hear it's not just me. I just added a quart to my onwater problem pack.

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140hrs on a 6.0L 410hp

80hrs on a 6.0L 450hp

40ish hrs on a 550hp

Never a drop of oil use on any of them.

I run my boats hard, tons of ballast, always use the exact spec oil they call for. 2qts oil burn for 50hrs would worry me, these arent 2 strokes.

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I thought that this indmar thing about oil consumption had been posted over here on TMC, but I can't find it....

http://www.indmardealersupport.com/service.php

OIL CONSUMPTION
Research, Support and Solution

In the past few years we have noticed an increase in discussion related to oil consumption in engines that are used in high load activities, namely wakeboarding and surfing. Indmar has always believed engines used in low speed, high load activities can have a tendency to burn more oil than unloaded engines. Indmar now has the data to support it and a solution for our customers. We are supplying this information to you as a tool so you can inform and educate your customers on how they can better protect and properly service their engine especially if it is being used primarily under load.


The chart below depicts engine loads for a car, normal boat operation (no ballast), surf and wakeboard (full ballast). All of this data was derived from an LSA engine in a 24’ boat. The Wakeboard testing was performed using a highly ballasted boat with 5700 lbs. of ballast, a common configuration for events. Surf mode was tested using 2800 lbs. of ballast. The normal load curve was developed from boat testing with no ballast in the boat. The car data was taken from prior testing within the industry.

engine%20load%20comparison2.png?timestam

As you can see the horsepower required for wakeboarding and surfing is infinitely higher in comparison to a car or even in normal boating operation. With our LSA test engine loaded we see that wakeboarding requires nearly 450 horsepower at 23 mph and surfing requires nearly 380 horsepower to push out 11 mph while the car requires a mere 75 horsepower to achieve 80+ mph.

During our *480 hour durability test we noticed that when engines under normal load (no ballast) reached 30-35 hours between oil changes they experienced greater oil consumption due to the breakdown of oil viscosity. Oil was changed every 50 hours per the owner’s manual and this was the findings and our collective takeaway:

*Engine also had appropriate break-in hours

After 30 hours – ½ qt. loss
35-38 hours -1 qt. loss
40-45 hours – 1.5 qt. loss

*Note With ballast added, the oil consumption could increase from the values listed above.

Oil viscosity breaks down much quicker in engines operating under greater loads, the most extreme during wakeboarding loads and speeds. With this information we are recommending that your service techs inform your customers that if they are operating their boats under these typical loads for wake sports they should change their oil every 30-35 hours. This will help reduce oil viscosity breakdown, increase engine life and minimize their concerns and experiences related to oil consumption. Boats that are predominantly used in normal boating or skiing conditions can maintain their 50 hour oil change regimen per the owner’s manual.

We hope that you found this research helpful and you continue to feel confident that Indmar will go the extra mile in maintaining that unique customer care and distinct customer service advantage. As always, we encourage any feedback to make us all stronger.

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For the most part, the guys in this thread who are saying they burn oil are pushing a ton of weight and the guys who are saying they don't have direct drive ski sleds. correlation?

My 96 Echelon with 500 hrs didnt burn a drop. My 02 Wakesetter with the nearly the same engine, 800 hours, and a lot of ballast burns a little, probably 1/2 qt - 1 qt in 50 hrs.

+1 for a possible correlation.

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