Why do the oils on a boat have to be changed yearly

[marob]

My wife asked me why the oils on a boat have to be changed yearly, transmission every 200 hours and why does the antifreeze on a Volvo Penta have to be changed every two years. The engine oil I understand but why the transmission and antifreeze. Thanks in advance.

 

[dbsea]

Hi Marob,

Just to clarify, if you have a Volvo Diesel, the service interval for oil/filter is every 100 hours or annually, whichever comes first. If you use your boat more than 100hrs a year, you'll need to be changing oil/filters more frequently. Just like oil, transmission fluid (ATF) and coolant don't last forever. They have a useful life and have to be replaced as they break down. As they break down, especially the ATF will not properly lubricate the transmission components which could lead to a failure. As far as coolant, it repeatedly gets heated to very high temps and then cooled, which does also cause it to breakdown over time which impacts its ability to cool your engine effectively. The previous owner of my boat did not service the coolant as it should have been, and when I removed it, it was basically sludge... 🙂

 

[Maggie Anne]

I wonder if there are different service intervals for different models. My Volvo manual has 200 hours or 24 months for oil and filter change.

 

[dbsea]

I wonder if there are different service intervals for different models. My Volvo manual has 200 hours or 24 months for oil and filter change.

Very possible. I was speaking from my own engine (D6-435), and I'm guessing with the higher RPM and horsepower of that engine, it might have a more frequent service interval.

 

[Newf]

I wonder if there are different service intervals for different models. My Volvo manual has 200 hours or 24 months for oil and filter change.

It will definitely be different for a range of models. My manual shows 200hrs or 12 months for a D1-30 and 500hrs or 12 months for D2-40. 500hrs seems high hours but that is what it shows.