Do I "need" Mercruiser oil and filters?

[Woodsracer]

I am new to the boating world and I was just at the dealership and of course they want to sell you Mercruiser brand everything. My boat is a 2003 Maxum 1900SR with 4.3. Can I just go get a filter for a Chevy 4.3 from the auto parts store? Another question, I checked my oil after running the boat for 3 hours and it still looks like I poured it right out of the bottle. Shouldnt it have turned black? Car engine oil does, so I dont get it...
Thanks in Advance for all advise..
Bruce

[biggerseagar]

Bruce first welcome to the website.........

There can be two thoughts on all this. Should I go with the brand name products or find as cheap as possible?

Doing your own oil change on your size engine can be a breeze and save you lots of money. Or let the dealership do everything and spend the extra for peace of mind.

I do most of my maintence that I can handle. The pulling off the drives and inside the engine I let the dealer do.

As far as using Merc brand I try to use most times. Sierra is a good brand also and for the most a couple bucks cheaper.

Oil, I use Merc or Quicksilver brand. The price of oil is such that you are paying just a few pennies more for the Merc brand so why not.

Go on ebay and find deals on all this. I buy filters by the case, much cheaper that way. Oil by the gallon and outdrive fluid by the 5 gallon.

And no your oil should stay clear for the most part. That means you have a clean engine, so keep up the good work!

Hope d I have helped!

Roger

[Woodsracer]

That helps a lot. I hadnt priced any oil other than what the dealer quoted me and I agree with you. Even if it was a few bucks more I would go with the Merc stuff.

[shrew]

Mercury is now selling oil under Mercury, Mercruiser and Quicksilver. Be very careful to make sure you're using the 4 stroke Inboard/STerndrive oil. 25-40 is a weird weight and difficult to find anywhere other than the previously listed Merc. brands. As for Merc filters, we're talking 1-3 dollars per year here.

As for the oil color, how did you 'check' it? Was it by way of the dipstick? The oil isn't circulated through teh dipstick tube. You can drain the oil and look at it, or suck a little out of the dipstick tube with an oil pump (make sure to pull more than the volume conained within the diptstick tube), or you can pull a valve cover and look at it.

[Woodsracer]

The dipstick was the only way I checked the color. When you check a car after running the engine for a bit after an oilchange, the color changes so I assumed it would be the same with this engine, which is a Chevy 4.3

[mmwjr]

Oil should never change color after only 3 hours. If it does it means one of the following:

1. Not all of the old oil was removed.
2. Carb is set to rich.
3. To much blow-by in cylinders
4. water is getting into the system.