Should I change the oil ?

[GRR]

I changed the oil in my Volvo Penta 431 last May. Due to circumstances, I only used the engine for around 15 hours.

do i need to change the oil and/or impeller etc ?

 

[PaulGooch]

I would change the oil and filter and make all the other usual checks, but i would not change the impeller just for the sake of it.

 

[Nickcf]

I wouldn't bother so long as the oil hasn't got any sign of water in it etc (would appear frothy). Cars seem to run for 2-3 years between services these days (my car tells me when a service is due and I've already had it for 2 1/2 yrs and it's still at least a year away....) so why is it necessary to change boat oil after 15 hours just because it's a year old?

 

[moonraker 36]

change the oil and filter.
it aint worth the cost's of premature engine failure.
condensation can contaminate the oil.

 

[Bassplayer]

Oil's cheap - engines are expensive.....

 

[Richard10002]

AFAIK oil protects as well as lubricates, so picks up contaminants, even in an unused engine. The recommendation is to change theoil at the end of the season, before the engine sits idle for several months..... then change it again before the start of the season.

Compared with other boating expenses, a couple of oil changes is neither here, nor there

 

[Anthony]

Oil is cheap insurance.

The increasignly longer service times on cars is in part a repsonse to please business buyers and lease companies who factor in service costs and dont like down time. It's more a case of what they can get away with rather than what is ideal for the longest life of the engine.

Engines and oil don't like sitting around unused, as they do in boats.

I'd just change it and feel better for having done it.

As for the impellor, depends how old it is and what condition it is in now.

Ants

 

[Channel Ribs]

The worst thing a premature engine oil change is going to do is clean out the unused innards, so I would do it.

Likewise the impeller is the kind of small component that can really ruin your boating season, change it just for piece of mind.

 

[blueglass]

I changed the oil in my Volvo Penta 431 last May. Due to circumstances, I only used the engine for around 15 hours.

do i need to change the oil and/or impeller etc ?

oil and filters relatively cheap but not free, and I think you would be throwing away perfectly good oil.. Personally wouldn't change mine after 15 hours.

 

[Sneds]

I don't think the issue is the 15 hours use but the fact that the oil has been in the sump for a year, for what it costs I'd change it and do, as a matter of course every 12 months.

 

[nonitoo]

I change mine every 100 hours and also at the end of the season (whatever the hours since the previous change).

8 ltrs 15W/50 £40 and filter £20 Cheap peace of mind.

Tom

 

[GRR]

Thanks for all the replies

Oil & Filter change it is