When it comes time to ask your friends and family members for their tips and tricks for car maintenance, everybody seems to be an expert! Whether it’s your parents telling you everything they learned when they were growing up, your friends telling you all of the tricks they use to get the most out of their car’s, or even somebody at work who watched a few mechanic style shows and now considers themselves an expert.

Keep Your Outboard on the Water for Longer

However, if you were to ask the same people about how to take care of a marine engine, well everybody sort of draws a blank. It isn’t that they don’t want to offer advice, it’s simply that not many people are lucky enough to own a water-vessel. If you are interested in buying a boat and want to know a little about marine engine operation and maintenance, Bill Rigdon has a great post below to share. The big difference between your car’s engine and the motor which powers your boat Have you ever heard the really loud, engine screeching sounds which come from your car each time that you drive all the way to the grocery store, to complete your errands, or along the highway? Of course, you haven’t. The reason is that your car has a range of gears to choose from. Even if you have an automatic car, there will be at least three different sized cogs made available for the engine to use to move you efficiently at different speeds. Now, think about the last time that you were on the water and you heard the sound which came from a boat’s engine. Was it nice and low, like the hum of your car’s engine? Or was it one loud and constant noise which sounded like the engine was being placed under a tremendous amount of stress? You can probably guess the reason - because a boat’s engine doesn’t have the range of gears to choose from which your car does. While it’s true that a boat’s engine is basic in nature and has been designed to function in this manner, it certainly wasn’t designed to handle the stress alone, relying on both grease and engine oil to keep it running smoothly. To enable your boat’s engine to run at a consistently high RPM, a marine-focused synthetic engine lubricant coats each of the engine's parts with a thin layer of film which works to reduce friction, effectively working to improve the amount of time your boat’s engine to power your vessel. Click here to buy AMSOIL 10W-40 Synthetic Marine Engine Oil, an engine lubricant purpose designed for the stresses endured by a marine-based engine. If you are not sure this is the right product for your engine, speak with an expert at Bill Rigdon AMSOIL Dealer by calling (503) 329-9004 to find out more or alternatively, check out the online store for further information.

Extreme Heat Conditions

Of course, it isn’t just the head of your engine which affects the operation of your engine. If you think about driving your car, there are many instances where the engine is given rest. For example, when you stop under a tree for lights to change or you park your car in a shopping center car lot which is covered. However, when you are out on the water, even when your boat’s engine is switched off and you are all sitting waiting for your fishing line to move, your engine is still being hit with direct sunlight. Of course, once you realize that there aren’t any fish biting that day, you switch on your engine and immediately power back to the shore at full-throttle. With this in your mind, you can likely imagine just how hot it gets inside your engine. For this reason, it’s important for boat owners to choose the right engine oil. A traditional engine oil can tend to break down under instances of high temperatures, leaving your engine and its parts exposed to unnecessary wear, damage, and the very real possibility of stopping while you are in the middle of the water.

A Synthetic Oil Change in Clackamas, OR

The best way to keep your boat on the water for longer is with a little engine maintenance and a synthetic oil change. To make sure you are using the right product for your engine, speak with Bill Rigdon AMSOIL Dealer at (503) 329-9004 and speak about your boat and outboard. Of course, with a wide range of high-quality AMSOIL products available, be sure to ask about the range of vehicles and engines you have in your garage. ;