Logo
FULL SITE MENU

OIL FOR TLDI ENGINES

I

irish1979

Member
"Hello,
could somebody tell m

"Hello,
could somebody tell me whats the situation regarding using non-approved oil in the these engines. My engine was set up by the dealer and subsequently used a brand of oil called

' GFN - SUPER OUTBOARD MOTOR OIL, NMMA TC-W3 2 TEMPI' TWO STROKE SUPER OUTBOARD MOTOR OIL.

The rest of the writing is in italian on the container as far as i can see...means nothing to me.

During its short lifetime of 150 hours the engine seized twice (discussed at length on here). I've yet to get a written report from Tohatsu but have had a conversation on the phone with a rep regarding the engine today and they're looking into this issue.
The recommended oils as far as I know are as follows

Tohatsu Premium Oil

Nissan Marine Premium Oil

Pennzoil Complete Marine Synthetic

Pennzoil Semi-Synthetic Outboard Oil

Mercury Optimax/DFI Oil

Yamaha Yamalube 2-M Semi-Synthetic Injector Oil

Bombardier RAM Ficht Oil

Where does one stand if you use a different type. Is this GFN brand suitable?

The saga continues"
 
"That's not a brand that I

"That's not a brand that I've ever heard of. But, keep the following in mind. Your engine requires an oil that is formulated for use in a DFI- 2-stroke. If that oil does not say that on the bottle then chances are it should not be used. The TLDI engine is the most tolerant DFI design when it comes to oil. Basically it needs a semi synthetic oil to run properly. Synthetic or semi synthetic oil is required due to the way the injectors spray the oil. The oil has to atomize correctly or it will tend to clump causing an incomplete lubrication of the cylinders. You can also wind up with clogged injectors, however, the engines onboard diagnostic suite would normally let you know if the injector itself was clogged. All of the oils that you listed are synthetic or semi synthetic. There are other brands out there that I'm sure would run fine in the engine, but to be within the warranty guidelines you would have to be using an approved oil. If the dealer provided a non approved oil to you then they may be responsible for any damage resulting from the improper use of that oil. However, courts here in the U.S. might possibly hold you responsible as well. A case could be made that the consumer is ultimately responsible because the oil was in fact, not on the approved list. I'll see what I can find out about GFN and let you know."
 
There should be a product code

There should be a product code on the bottle that starts with 4388. What code does yours have?
 
"Thanks for the prompt reply,

"Thanks for the prompt reply,
I think the fact the engine was set up using this oil could be a key issue( purchased and recommended for use on day 1). Anyway this might not be listed as the key failure issue in the final report from Tohatsu. I found a GFN site but the 5 litre Super outboard motor oil tc-w3 does not seem to be listed amongst its current range of lubricants. It wouldn't be a very high profile brand as far as I can see...maybe in Italy."
 
"Chances are that GFN has thei

"Chances are that GFN has their own labels put on another manufacturers product. That's really common and is actually the case on all of the outboard manufacturers themselves. Take a look at this link:

http://www.gfn.it/497-MOTUL-OIL-TECHNOSYNTESE--OUTBOARD-TECH-2T.xml?xi=77.0.1

It looks to me like this oil is one that, while not approved, might be okay. The 439 oil that you have been using looks to me like a standard oil that would cause problems for a DFI engine....That's an opinion as my Italian is as weak as their English


Futher opinion:

If the oil you have been using is not at least a semi-synthetic, not appoved for DFI's and furnished by the dealer, you probably have found the source of the problem with your engine and the responsible party. Let me know what happens. As I've said from the beginning, these things have so few problems that when one does go poof its really very interesting to know why."
 
"I think that is just a standa

"I think that is just a standard oil...Not for use in a DFI. The link that I gave you shows their semi-synthetic oil and I think it would be unlikely that they would offer two different synthetic oils.

My opinion, at this point is still, "if the oil you have been using is not at least a semi-synthetic, not approved for DFI's and furnished by the dealer, you probably have found the source of the problem with your engine and the responsible party."

My opinion, I doubt Tohatsu or their UK distributor is going to feel at fault at this point and if I were you I would start looking at the dealer as the responsible party."
 
I think this may be the cause

I think this may be the cause but these people are selling and setting up a fair amount of these engines...you'd be expecting mass seizing of engines at hours greater than 150 you'd imagine.
But the point still remains that this looks like it is not the correct oil and I can argue that. I think I'll e-mail the GFN people to get their advice and something in writing. Thanks
 
"Like I said, "the TLDI en

"Like I said, "the TLDI engine is the most tolerant DFI design when it comes to oil." It really comes down to that atomization. Even regular dino oils usually have some synthetic elements to it so it wouldn't surprise me if some people got years of use even though they are using the wrong oil.

Think of it like this:

Twenty people with equal driving ability each drink ten pints in 2 hours at ye olde pub. Then they all drive ten klicks to get home. Most get home without driving off the road and hitting the neighbors cow or post box. One poor sod runs off into a ditch, opens the door and falls in the mud, steps into the roadway and gets hit by the constable's patrol car and the vomits on the constable. Sometimes we are one of the 19...Some times we are unlucky 20. Its just the way the dice roll
"
 
Back
Top