Yanmar 6lpa-stp oil change interval

The owners manual for this lovely motor has conflicting advice as to oil change hours. In the text it recommends every 250 hours but in the schedule for maintenance it says every 125 hours. Helluva discrepancy. I reckon 200 hours as the engine is too powerful for my waterline so i cruise at modest revs. Any thoughts would be welcome. Thanks

How many hours do you do in a season, or do you boat all year? 200 hours is likely a fine amount especially if you are putting on hours frequently.

Take an oil sample at 150hrs and post the results. Interval can be based on that.

The boats use pattern would be key, lots of cold starts and short operation, 150 might be right.


Cruising with a cold start and a day of motoring, 250 should be fine.

I second the oil sample. Most of us drain perfectly good oil.

silverback said:

The owners manual for this lovely motor has conflicting advice as to oil change hours. In the text it recommends every 250 hours but in the schedule for maintenance it says every 125 hours. Helluva discrepancy. I reckon 200 hours as the engine is too powerful for my waterline so i cruise at modest revs. Any thoughts would be welcome. Thanks

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I see 125 hrs in the maintenance schedule, where did you see 250? Anyway, if you are using your boat often and cruising fair distances at hull speed, 125 is likely a conservative number, however Yanmar has to cover all circumstances in their recommendation.

Thank you all. I mostly cruise around the lovely Whitsunday islands on the Great Barrier Reef and except for a couple of longer cruises each year do mostly 2/5 hours a day at about 60/70% of available revs. So cruising at about 2500 of the 3800 rpm available. About 7 knots i calculate hull speed at about 7.5 knots. So nothing is under stress.

On page 30 of the owners manual it states that 250 hours is recommended time. Sorry should have included ghat in my reply.

My manual for that Yanmar doesn't have anything re oil change on Pg 30. Maintenance chart is on Pg 34- 35 and lists 250 hrs. Not even a column for 125 hrs?

Bacchus said:

My manual for that Yanmar doesn't have anything re oil change on Pg 30. Maintenance chart is on Pg 34- 35 and lists 250 hrs. Not even a column for 125 hrs?

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The manual is here and does say 250 on pg 30 but the chart on pg 54 says every 125 or 6 mos.

https://www.yanmar.com/media/global...ion/operationmanual/6LPA_OPM_0A6LP-G00103.pdf

Personally I change oil every fall before winter storage. My hours per season are in the 100-125 range so never give it a second thought.

Just noticed mine is a different engine. 6LYA STP
370 HP but lower WOT and significantly larger oil capacity... almost 2X 20l

Bacchus said:

Just noticed mine is a different engine. 6LYA STP
370 HP but lower WOT and significantly larger oil capacity... almost 2X 20l

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That could explain it, but still a contradiction within the Yanmar manual. I have found Yanmar to be pretty responsive and suggest contacting them directly if anyone is concerned about this discrepancy.

backinblue said:

That could explain it, but still a contradiction within the Yanmar manual. I have found Yanmar to be pretty responsive and suggest contacting them directly if anyone is concerned about this discrepancy.

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Agree
I'll bet it was a copy paste from another manual to create that one and didn't catch the discrepancy.

I'd be more apt to assume someone put a triangle in the wrong column, than they misprinted 235, when they meant 125. 125hrs seems like a short oil change routine.

I do mine once per year, because I don't even make it to 100 hrs in a season.

Shrew said:

I'd be more apt to assume someone put a triangle in the wrong column, than they misprinted 235, when they meant 125. 125hrs seems like a short oil change routine.

I do mine once per year, because I don't even make it to 100 hrs in a season.

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Yep!

Shrew said:

I'd be more apt to assume someone put a triangle in the wrong column, than they misprinted 235, when they meant 125. 125hrs seems like a short oil change routine.

I do mine once per year, because I don't even make it to 100 hrs in a season.

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I disagree, but that's just my opinion. I say that because the scheduled maintenance chart is the bible when it comes to maintenance more so than some text elsewhere in the manual. I would assume someone proof-reading the text would miss the mistake easier than an engineer checking over the scheduled maintenance chart before publishing it. Reading through my Mainship manual, I can find a few errors that I chalk up to typos or mistakes, but I assume when it comes to specifications they are more likely to be accurate. Again, if anyone really cares, I'm sure Yanmar would supply the answer. Anyone know how it compares to other engine brands?

We are looking at a boat that has 2 or the 370 hp Yanmars. So I downloaded a manual for it. The matrix shows an oil change at 50 hours and then every 250 hours.

Comodave said:

We are looking at a boat that has 2 or the 370 hp Yanmars. So I downloaded a manual for it. The matrix shows an oil change at 50 hours and then every 250 hours.

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I would follow the matrix

I have never heard of an engine that failed from too fresh oil..

Of course not. Better yet, change your oil every 50 hours. Oil is inexpensive. Cheap insurance.

FF said:

I have never heard of an engine that failed from too fresh oil..

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