Which oil to use in 1996 Crusader 260 stock engines

[Patriot]

I have a bit over 1,000 hours on the 1996 Crusader 260 stock engines and sometimes (while trolling) the oil pressure drops below what I'm comfortable with. Any suggestions? How about oil filters while I'm at it? The filters are remote so I'll just take a look at the numbers.

 

Thanks a bunch

Edited July 1, 2016 by Patriot

[fisherdude]

mercruiser 25 w 40 is recommend by factory  i ask barretts marine what oil i should use in an old 3.7 lx i was  told  to run rotella 15w 40  . i dont have oil pressure problems tho . i would check with a marine mechanic that you trust . 

[lakebound88]

Shell rotella 15w40 diesel blend. It has the added zinc your engines need. At least that's what I run in my crusaders...

Sent from my XT1080 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[vetting]

Another vote for Shell rotella 15w40 

 

Its what I use in my 89 mercruiser also.  

[rod hog]

merc is recommending 25w50 for trolling

Edited July 1, 2016 by rod hog

[Patriot]

I got ahold of my marine tech "Mike's Marine" in Mexico, 25-w40 it is. No point in changing

Thanks for everyone's input

[Patriot]

I ended up going with rotella 15w40. I tried to find 25w40 but nobody in Oswego had it.

[Xxx]

Here's the word from a Merc Rep that was at our local marinia Beltzville Manor Marinia. I asked the rep all the guys are in this strait 30-40 sae oil. He said that's old school. We recomend 25w-40 Merc oil. I said now wait a minute I just bought a new Seloc book and the first words of the oil maintenance was DO NOT USE a multi viscosity oil such as 25w-40, so what's the deal here? He told me those books read word for word on the older stuff and as the newer stuff comes out there going to rewrite these books as they are getting shyt from the general public. Now this is what he told us The Shell Rotella oil in the 25w-40 is a special blend that has all the properties of the strait weight oils. This oil is a diesel recommend oil and their motors have the same properties as marine engines, and this oil being the 25 weight makes for easier starting in the colder temp and also gets oil to the top of the engine faster for the valve trane and naturally the cams shaft and the 40 weight to maintain oil pressure at lower rpm's or motors with a lot of time on it. The Merc oil is basically Shell Rotella in a Merc bottle which means more $$$ for the same product you can buy at Tractor Supply. So that's the order from headquarter!!! Also this oil has the older properties such as buffers that the flat tappet camshaft require, I forget the ingredients names, so I need to change oil in my 350 Merc and I'm going with the 25w/40 shell Rotella and also I need to change oil in my 3.0 merc. That I use to pull my girls on the tube a water ski's. Here's a little more info I had a hard time to get on plane with my bow rider, it calls for a 19" pitch prop, so I wanted to put a 17" prop on. "Henry our Merc dealer" said why don't you drop an inch and go with a 4 blade prop you won't regret it. So I did all I can say is WOW this boat jumps out of the water like a porpoise!! I got one for my LakeO boat also. I also gained a few mph's and my rpm's are in the ballpark! PAP.

[Patriot]

Thanks Pap. I was waiting for you to chime in on this.

I bought 40 like you suggested in another post then I started asking around the docks, they said 15/w40, looked for 25/w40 like my marine guy said, even at tractor supply and nobody had it, except NAPA only had 4 quarts. I ended up with15/w40 on sale at NAPA for $12 a gallon

[Xxx]

Thanks Pap. I was waiting for you to chime in on this.

I bought 40 like you suggested in another post then I started asking around the docks, they said 15/w40, looked for 25/w40 like my marine guy said, even at tractor supply and nobody had it, except NAPA only had 4 quarts. I ended up with15/w40 on sale at NAPA for $12 a gallon

Your most welcome, I know the price is outrageous but our dealer carries it. Couldn't you order it through Tractor Supply? Our local store carries it, and a heavy duty truck repair shop should carry it, might have to buy a 5 gallon bucket of it though. I'd think the 15w/40 would be just as good. What hell is 5w differance going to do, nothing, might be better so the oil gets to the upper part of the engine faster. I have a pm to Hank about this, I wanted to hear from a professionals point of view!! I'll let you know once he gets back to me! P

[Patriot]

Your most welcome, I know the price is outrageous but our dealer carries it. Couldn't you order it through Tractor Supply? Our local store carries it, and a heavy duty truck repair shop should carry it, might have to buy a 5 gallon bucket of it though. I'd think the 15w/40 would be just as good. What hell is 5w differance going to do, nothing, might be better so the oil gets to the upper part of the engine faster. I have a pm to Hank about this, I wanted to hear from a professionals point of view!! I'll let you know once he gets back to me! P

Thanks Pap. The more info we have, the better. I'd assume that this goes for most v-8 marine engines