Oil

[Richard Lee]

Just bought a 1996 Mariner Magnum, 40 HP, 4 cylinder, 2 stroke. No manual. Has a tank on the front of the motor for adding oil in order to mix with the gas. What is the specs/type of oil to buy? Thanks --

 

[guyjg]

TCW3 oil...and not an all purpose 2 cycle oil. I use Cabela's branded synthetic blend...$18 a gallon.

 

[dtoole]

i have been running "super tech" from wal-mart for years. is tcw3 oil and does not void warranty. $11.00 gallon. pennies make dollars.

 

[galamb]

I also tend to run the Walmart oil.

There is only a couple of refineries that make water cooled two stroke oil (TCW3), and while some OEM oil has extra additives, the base oil is more than sufficient for any conventional two stroke motor (as long as the gas/oil is mixed "before" it gets to the cylinder).

If you run in very cold weather/very cold water (duck hunting up north in late fall etc) it could be useful to run a semi-synthetic (it's a little thinner and mixes better in the cold), but otherwise, the cheapest TCW3 rated oil on the market will work just as well as the stuff in the fancy "Merc" jug which often costs 3X as much...