Which Gear Lube

[KETELS]

Hi All

Quick Question.
I have a 2009 Bravo 3 drive. My Manual says to use Merc. High performance Gear lube. Does anybody know the weight of this lube.
I will probably use this but if I choose to use Mobil Gear lube what weight.
75w90 or 75w140.

Thanks

 

[Rocky_Road]

Re: Which Gear Lube

I can never get my head around 'why' anyone would try to second guess the manufacturer...if they don't know what will work best, then who does?

Don't mind me...someone will be along soon to answer your question. Consider this a free 'bump'!

Happy boating!

 

[QC]

Re: Which Gear Lube

I can never get my head around 'why' anyone would try to second guess the manufacturer...if they don't know what will work best, then who does?

We all do this to a certain degree. I am an OEM guy and I do. Do you shop for tires? Or go with exact brand and model from factory? How is that different?

I guess the point is that we are wired to seek alternatives and to question other's judgment regardless of who that is

With that said . . . Not to speak for DonS, but I think he has a good handle on this. If you DO decide to use non-OEM recommended stuff, then do whatever you want . . . You're on your own and no one can really help you to the point of total comfort.

Last thing, a few of us use Mobil 1 75W90 . . .

 

[BaileysBoat]

Re: Which Gear Lube

I use the Mercury high performance.

"Specifically formulated to help prevent failures due to water entering the gear housing."

 

[KETELS]

Re: Which Gear Lube

I'm Mostly Just curious.

Buuuuut How many of you own A GM, and do you
buy Genuine GM oil.
They do Have it.

Whats the difference. Could it Be price?

Remember I'm Just curious.

 

[QC]

Re: Which Gear Lube

Better analogy than tires ^^^^^ In fact it is directly related with the possible exception that the Marine environment changes engine lube requirements. Doesn't for Caterpillar, Cummins, Detroit Diesel etc. etc. etc.

The water suspension in the gear oil does make some sense to me though . . . the skeptic in me makes me want to see a test.

I can't believe I am feeding an oil thread :redface:

 

[JustJason]

Re: Which Gear Lube

The Merc oil is specifically sticky, and will cling to your fingers as it would to gears more than Mobile 1 or any other gear lube would.

1 more thing. This was taught to me during Mercruiser school, this was from the instructors mouth, and it makes sense, but I can't say that it's the truth.

What he said was all oils outgas (or fume) when hot, which is true.
He said typical automotive gear lube is not recommended for drives because drives are sealed units. Gear lube that people put in differentials in autos is a bit different because that gear lube is not designed by a whole bunch to control outgasing. A typical differential is vented to atmo, so any gasses created are allowd to escape.

On a drive, gasses stay in the drive and the drive must contain the pressure. So Merc HP gear lube is by design made to keep gassing to a minimum.

I can't say for certain if that's 100% true because i'm not a chemical engineer, but the idea makes sense.

1 more thing that makes better sense is that you have a very expensive drive unit, so why wouldn't you put in the manufactorers specified oil. Mobile 1 may say their oil is great, but Mobile 1 isn't going to cover your drive should it fail for any reason.

 

[Rocky_Road]

Re: Which Gear Lube

I'm Mostly Just curious.

Buuuuut How many of you own A GM, and do you
buy Genuine GM oil.
They do Have it.

Whats the difference. Could it Be price?

Remember I'm Just curious.

LOL!

Good point...but my GM car (Vette) came with a Mobil 1 factory fill...and I have always used Mobil 1 for personal reasons! But your point is well taken.

Marine lubricants have been developed for addressing the unique situations that our boats are in...and that is good enough for me. What works for your daily drive dowm I-10, may not be the ultimate solution for what you take out in the Gulf of Mexico...and that gets my attention.

Sidenote: a place I once worked at sold Stilh lawn equipment. If a warranted Stilh came in for warranty replacement, Stilh would do an analysis to determine if their 2 cycle oil had been used. You guessed the rest of the story...!

 

[Fun Times]

Re: Which Gear Lube

Hi All

Quick Question.
I have a 2009 Bravo 3 drive. My Manual says to use Merc. High performance Gear lube. Does anybody know the weight of this lube.
I will probably use this but if I choose to use Mobil Gear lube what weight.
75w90 or 75w140.

Thanks

I will say this, Because you are more then likely still within your warranty time period, I would recommend that you should be still using the Mercruiser High performance gear lube plus, Yes you do not half to use MerCruisers oil by the way of the legal law, But if Mercruiser wants to deny a warranty claim Because of the Questionability of the oil used you could be in for a long battle, And in the mean time your boat could sit unused for a while till things get sorted out.

But on the other hand you if you are going to use something else like Mobil, Then you should also check into using amsoil and compare the two.
There are a lot of people out there that are seriously in tune with their engines and drives, By doing lots of over analyzing tests on their oils, And Amsoil always seems to come out miles ahead in most cases. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Don S]

Re: Which Gear Lube

Good point...but my GM car (Vette) came with a Mobil 1 factory fill...and I have always used Mobil 1 for personal reasons!

How many $10,000 outdrives have you used the Mobil 1 in?
Do you keep your vette submerged in water?

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Which Gear Lube

Dagnabbit! How do I miss these oil threads?


Mercury claims that both their oils are designed to keep small amounts of water suspended so that they will continue to provide enough lubrication to prevent damage when you have a leak.....

Below is also what they say Here.......

Should I use Premium Blend or High Performance gear lube in my sterndrive?

High Performance gear lube is required in all Bravo and Alpha I Generation II sterndrives. It is recommended for use in all older sterndrives as well. Premium Blend and High Performance gear lube should never be mixed. Be sure to drain the unit completely if switching from one type of lube to the other.

That Bravo hanging off the back costs a fortune.....

You're only putting 3-4 qts of roughly $12/qt oil in each year (or every 2 years etc....)

Mobil1 Synthetic (depending on where you buy) can be as low as $8/qt. This is a difference of only $16 PER YEAR ............. $16 per year difference is not really very significant.....



Cheers,


Rick

 

[Bondo]

Re: Which Gear Lube

Ayuh,... Mobil 1, in 75W-90 in my drives,... Regardless the cost.....

 

[Matt89GT]

Re: Which Gear Lube

Isn't the mercruiser oil synthetic as well? I have some amsoil in the garage I havent used it. I'm gonna stick to the mercruiser oil and roll with it.


Correction: Gear Oil, before I get ridiculed for stating simply " Oil "

 

[KETELS]

Re: Which Gear Lube

I did not mean to stur things up.

But my question is, what is the weight. Not whether I will use Merc or something else.

What does this mean?
How many $10,000 outdrives have you used the Mobil 1 in?
Do you keep your vette submerged in water?

I will bet if you ordered A Vette Engine it will also be arround 10,000 or more.

Factory parts are ridiculous, no matter who makes them.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Which Gear Lube

Easy...Under warranty i would sure use the Merc oil.

After the warranty runs out then use any 75w-90 that gives you the warm fuzzy i saved a few bucks feeling..


Ugggh! oil threads!

 

[Don S]

Re: Which Gear Lube

I will bet if you ordered A Vette Engine it will also be arround 10,000 or more.

You put gear lube in your vette engine ??????? Wow

Seriously the problem with the Mobil 1, in my opinion, if a seal leaks on the drive and you get water in it, it seperates and sinks to the bottom, where the lower gears and bearings then set in straight water between uses. Fresh water is not near as destructive as salt water, and I see salt water boats about 99% of the time now, and 100% of the time for the past 20some years.
I had a Volvo DP outdrive, costs about the same as a Bravo III. I used the Merc Hi Performance gear lube for one reason and one reason only. It would turn milky and hold the water in the oil and not seperate.
I also use Mobile I in my truck, but I don't use it in the water either.

 

[Rocky_Road]

Re: Which Gear Lube

How many $10,000 outdrives have you used the Mobil 1 in?
Do you keep your vette submerged in water?

Holster that weapon, pard!

LOL...read the rest of my post...I support using Mercruiser (Quicksilver) in anything with the Mercruiser brand. I actually started the arguement (sorry!) by stating that you should use what your manual tells you.

Oh yeah...here is one of my Vette's (and it still gets marine lubes):

 

[wca_tim]

Re: Which Gear Lube

Redline shockproof (or the newer equivelent amsoil) does provide a substantial advantage and is what a lot of folks that run insanely expensive drives run. It also has a large amount of water carrying capacity and is some of this stickies, won't fling off, solid suspension gear lube you can imagine...

most of the folks I know around here that run their drives (read overpower and push them hard) run redline or some mobile one....

OH, and

I run amsoil 0w30 in the crankcase on the vette (it does 2 mpg better than with mobile 1 5w30 and runs a little cooler), and the redline gearlube in the differential and transmission (have to look to see which ones, the differential requires friction modifiers and is different than the transmission).

Just my own experience...

 

[captain of the seas]

Re: Which Gear Lube

I have used both standard 75w-90 automotive oil and marine oil in my old v\p 270 drive and noticed a much more quiet operation and smoother operation with the marine lubes and the marine doesn't seem to get dirty as fast.
Use marine , preferably manufactures brand and wt.

 

[incrediblened]

Re: Which Gear Lube

I know this is an old and abandoned post, but I gotta say it...

DON'T BUY SUPERTECH MARINE GEAR LUBE. Of all the boats I've owned & driven (about 6) shelled the gears in one outdrive and it was the one that I put SUPERTECH in.