what oil in 4jhe? are aftermarket parts bad?

[luvitt]

I just filled my newly revived 4jhe with 15w-40 Shell Rotella upon recommendation from the local Napa auto parts girl (she wasnt normal, definately a gear head). is this the right type of oil? The bottle says its recomendend for multiple diesel engines, but yanmar isnt on that label. is that weight of oil correct? is the brand ok? I also used a Napa oil filter. Is there any reason not too? the engine is an 86, so no warranty anyway.

btw, changing the oil was a pain in the butt. i was so careful, and still ended up with a bilge full of oil. I started with one of those drill operated oil pumps shoved down the dipstick tube, but it was so slow i abandoned it and pulled the plug with a shallow drain pain underneath (40 hunter). well it was on an angle and almost immediately spilled out of the pan. I wouldnt have been able to retrieve a full pan from under the engine without spilling it anyway. Does anyone have a suggestion for easier oil changes? the plug is just not in a good spot. I saw the rotary oil change pump in the manual, but im not gonna buy and install that thing.

Thanks.

 

[Lee Coller]

I use 30W in my 4JH3E which is what Yanmar recommends. I use Chevron Delo, but the Shell should be fine too.

 

[Lee Coller]

I just looked at Yanmar Marine's web site, and they mention 15W40 CF (formulated for diesel). My manual says SAE 30 though if I recall correctly, and I know I've been told that by yanmar's reps as well.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

It seems as though everyone has their favorite brand and type oil and a myriad of reasons why.
My suggestion is to not worry too much over which brand oil you use as any oil rated specifically for diesels and of a viscosity appropriate for the expected climate is okay. Far more important are:
the frequency with which you change it, and
the way you operate the engine.

My personal preference is Shell rotella but there is nothing magical about any one particular brand.

If you want to maximize the life of your engine, change it when it gets contaminated or seasonally at minimum, always allow the engine to come up to operating temperature, and occasionally run it at close to max rpm under load.

 

[Ken Palmer]

A couple years ago I could not find 30W oil for sale in town. I was told by the Yanmar authorized tech that they have changed to the 15-30W diesel oil. Works for me, but now I go through a qt of oil a season, which I am told is not normal. I live with that and check oil level frequently.

 

[Scott]

In answer to your question regarding changing oil, I've found the best way to change oil is with a vaccuum pump & 2-1/2 gal. tank. The unit can be purchased in a marine supply store or on-line for about $40.00. You may be able to buy one on this site.

 

[KD3PC]

I was recently told by a Yanmar dealer that in regards to SHell Rotella or other "synthetics" that the 4jh series should use 15w40 unless it is turbo equipped then straight 30. Filters should be yanmar as many of the "cross overs" are not high pressure cans nor do they have the correct intrnals that Yanmar requires in the event something needs to be bypassed.

for the cost difference I stay with YanMar filters

As for the drips, I use the diapers that absorb oil, not water and use ziplocks within a ziplock for filters. The nice pumps that attach to the dipstick tube, rather than slide in to them are easiest and less mess, though both work well.

dave
P42

 

[petersea]

Shell Rotella 15w-40 is fine for your engine unless you are operating under extreme conditions stay with it. Most sailboat engine do not get operated at "extreme" conditions. It meets the spec's for you engine. As far as brand goes I like the Shell Rotella oil ( it is also available in different weights but may need to special order from warehouse) I think the napa marine filters (they sell both marine and automotive) are good if you can't get a yanmar in your area but you can get yanmar on line (stock up filter don't go bad unless they get rusty so keep at home in clean/dry place) As mentioned earlier it is more important to change oil and filter regularly rather then fret over brand name. If you are using the correct API service classification of oil (rotella is correct) the brand does not really matter. The API service classification of oil was established buy the government/military just because of that reason (so brands could be mixed with out harming engine, but still meeting requirements) The oil weight is subjective to operating conditions and most mfgs have said multi viscosity is OK even on the older engines but under severe operation prefer straight weight oils. Bottom line you are fine with what you have just change regularly min of once a year or 100 hours but more often is better (every 50 hours or even 25). Oil changes are cheap over the life of engine, doing one change a year vs. two cost about $200 over a 10 year time span if you do it yourself. Bet all of us have spent $200 in worse ways ! ! If I recall your engine was sitting (possibly having been wet from being submerged and pickled ?) so you may want to change it after several hours of run time once or twice before going to longer intervals. I might be opening a can of worms here but for what my thoughts are worth I would NOT use a synthetic oil or even a synthetic blend in an older engine, not cost effective and more often then not will cause oil leaks. For what another opinion is worth I use a hand pump from jabso to drain oil out of dipstick tube works well for me. Cost was about 30 dollars as I recall, and will drain oil in less then two minutes. While dipstick pumps may not get 100% of the oil they get 95% or more and with regular oil changes you will not have a problem Hope this helps and good luck !

 

[luvitt]

Thanks guys. I plan on changing the oil many times this season. The engine was submerged. but she runs like a top, and no signs of water in the oil when i changed it! I was told that the boatyard ran the engine for 6 hours and changed the oil multiple times.

 

[Gordon Taylor]

I have a 3 cylinder JH series engine. I use a vacuum pump to remove the oil via the dipstick tube. I found the removal to be very slow until I removed the oil filler cap. Might be worth a try if you haven't already.

 

[luvitt]

i tried 2 different vacuum pumps before i gave up and pulled the drain plug. I used a "mighty vac" and a Jabsco drill pump. it took 15 mins to fill up a .5 liter water bottle (just want to see what the oil looked like in a clear bottle). i gave up and crammed an oil pan under the engine. I was totally mistaken about the amount of oil in the engine. I thought the manual said 3 liter/6.5 cu in. i thought that was a small amount of oil, but figured it was a small engine. the manual really read: effective/maximum. it ended up taking 2 gallons. not sure what that curly 'L' looking symbol was, thought it stood for liters? needless to say, the small drain pan on an angle, overflowed immediately. i might try to rig something up later down the road.

 

[Vinny]

The Rotella 15-40 is fine as others have said. But the NAPA filters are not. The relief valve in some filters may not be correct so the Yanmar is your best bet. Yanmar part # 129150 - 35152. Also the Diesel fuel filter should be a Yanmar fuel filter as well Yanmar filter # 129470-55702. Oil amount is 7 US Quarts. Get the new rubberized Banjo washers that go on the fuel lines at the same time. They will stop a lot of fuel leaks in the future.

You might also consider before you change it go to your GREGORY POOLE EQUIPMENT CO. Caterpillar Dealer and get a couple of oil analysis kits. Then you can start a time line and continue with an oil analysis at each oil change. It is simple, the kit has a plastic bottle that you put the oil in (they ask for a mid drain collection of hot oil) and seal it in a pre-stamped envelope with the questionnaire. Drop it in a mail box and a week later you get a neat form that gives all of the information on engine wear you will ever need. After a few years this will be a valuable tool at the time of resale considering the history of the boat.

 

[Richard Bryer]

The Rotella 15-40 is fine as others have said. But the NAPA filters are not. The relief valve in some filters may not be correct so the Yanmar is your best bet. Yanmar part # 129150 - 35152. Also the Diesel fuel filter should be a Yanmar fuel filter as well Yanmar filter # 129470-55702. Oil amount is 7 US Quarts. Get the new rubberized Banjo washers that go on the fuel lines at the same time. They will stop a lot of fuel leaks in the future.

In Canada I am told the NAPA filter is made by Purolator. I dont know who makes the Yanmar one- Could well be Purolator. I have used the NAPA filters for several years now, no problem.

The truckers must laugh at us boaters worrying about which filter to put on when we change our oil at average at probably less than 100 hours!
Her is a link that has more than you ever want to know about oil filters
http://knizefamily.net/minimopar/oilfilters/index.html

 

[Vinny]

http://knizefamily.net/minimopar/oilfilters/index.html[/URL]

Richard,

I did miss speak as to which was important the Pop - off or Flow Back valve. I meant to say flow back. For a filter that is mounted sideways it is important for this valve to work as to prevent contaminated oil from the filter flowing back into the engine. This is sited in the article that you referred to. I would like to point out that as in batteries, tires and many other parts the builder, Goodyear, Purolator and Exide to name a few built their brand name to specs that they require but built other brand names NAPA, Sears, AutoZone to the specs that the customer asks for. In some cases the specs may be even better than their own but in some cases they are an inferior product. Thus the cheaper cost.

That being said I see no need to use an off brand product when the cost of the factory part is $7.77 US per filter. How much less could the NAPA filter save. Is it worth the cost difference to take the chance. I can't answer that for others but it is not for me. The factory filters can be bought on line and shipped to the house. It doesn't get any more convenient than that. BTW I am not connected to Yanmar or any other manufacturer for that matter.

One more point. Most truck companies run fleets and that again is a whole different can of worms. Just a quick example of fleet mentality. Back in the day (1960's), as everyone likes to say, Ohio Bell had a policy that was a bit strange but the bean counter had it figured out. That only added oil to a gas engine and never changed it. But they changed the oil filters every 5k miles. At 75k the engine was removed from the truck and replaced with a rebuilt. I don't have any idea what their policy would be today. But something to keep in mind is that when a truck breaks down it cost far less, even in time lost, than Sea Tow or Tow Boat US.. And road side assistance is easier to find than having a problem 40 miles off shore, at 2 AM on a dark gloomy night, in the rain.... you get it I'm sure.

 

[luvitt]

Yeah, im gonna get rid of the napa filiter. it was just a convenience thing. I wanted to start the engine, and dont have a yanmar dealer close by. I will be ordering them on the web, along with the fuel filter and other items.

thanks