Inmand Chevy 350 1987

[greg ricci]

  Hello guys ,   The 1987 Amer Ski  Advance I recently purchased appears to be a 350 Chevy block  !   
   Can anybody tell me what motor oil is recommended and best type of tranny fluid !
  Thanks,
       Greg

[RonT]

The trans fluid is easy, Dextron ATF. The Motor oil on the other hand gets interesting, poll 10 "experts" & you will get 10 different reccomendations of what type & when to change. Our boats have very different loads & use than todays modern automobile. Here is my opinion this week on oils:
1) Synthetics are superior lubricants particularly under high internal heat conditions, our boats run "cold" compared to modern cars
2) Modern cars call for very "light" oils (0-20 example) primarily to squeeze a little better MPGs, our boats don't fall into this category
3) The Indmar Owners manual for your boat calls for SAE30 oil changed every 50 hours or 60 days whichever comes first
4) I use SAE 10-40 (non syn) + STP in my boats & it gets changed every season

[greg ricci]

Thank You ,
       Greg

[PaulM]

I've used a 15W-50 full synthetic in my 88 Advance with the Indmar SP-300 since new.  Engine seems to be in great shape, knock-on-wood, with 800 (+/-) hours.  Having performed years of research on engine oil-related accessories supplied to major automobile manufacturers, I am a strong believer in the performance advantages of top-grade synthetic oils.  The additional cost of premium lubricants is virtually insignificant, compared to the cost of replacing bearings and rebuilding engines.

[Mike]

I use Mobil 1 full synthetic