Hey guys,

It's time for the first oil change on my new 185F amphib (IO520D)

The old owner did not fly the plane too much and ran 15-50 in her.

I'm thinking of switching over to Phillips 25-50 with camguard, and changing the oil every 25hrs, filter at 50hrs.

Currently our temps are around freezing, summertime it gets into the 70s, ideally I'd like a all year oil

Thoughts?


Also I was looking to do the oil quick drain upgrade, any suppliers recommended for the drain?


Thanks!

I have used Philips 20-50 xc in my husky since break-in, no cam-guard. Have done 50 hour oil and filter changes. Engine now has 1300 hours on it and all compressions are in the high 70's. I have been very happy with it

I ran Phillips in my cub from breakin through about 1000 hours. No camguard and it seemed to do great but I sold it and presume it is still doing ok.

I have run Phillips in my 185 since breakin and now use camguard.

I run Phillips in my Husky plus camguard.

Phillips is a great year-round oil.

I have been running Phillips (not Camguard) in my 185F (IO520) with no engine problems to date. I flew the plane on wheels in cold temps up until 2008, but it has been on straight floats since (soft water only).

Steve

NineThreeKilo,

When my IO520 powered 185 was my daily driver I ran Shell 15W50 Semi-Synthetic. Was the coolest running oil in our Texas Summer heat.

But now the SQ-2 has become my daily driver and the 185 only gets flown a couple times a month, mostly on trips. So I've changed over to Phillips 25W50 plus Camguard, which is what I run in the SQ-2. I would have stayed with Shell Semi except with the added cost of Camguard I decided to go with the less costly oil.

Do change your oil filter every time you change your oil, otherwise your new oil is instantly contaminated. On the 185 I change every 50 hours because I run LOP so the oil is still translucent. SQ2 every 25 because it's carbureted so the oil gets dirtier quicker, at 25 It is not translucent.

Regarding quick drains, don't believe what the manufacturers tell you. There are a number of different seaplane engine mounts and if you have one like mine where the steel tubing goes right next to the oil pan plugs the quick drain probably won't work. Take a picture and email to the quick drain manufacturer if you are not sure.

Congrats on the new plane!!

Barnstormer wrote:......Do change your oil filter every time you change your oil, otherwise your new oil is instantly contaminated. On the 185 I change every 50 hours because I run LOP so the oil is still translucent. SQ2 every 25 because it's carbureted so the oil gets dirtier quicker, at 25 It is not translucent......

I would agree with that.
I used Phillips XC20-50 in my last two airplanes, and had good luck with it. But the seller of my new 180 has been running Aeroshell W100 plus camguard since day one, so I'm gonna do the same. I bought a case of W100 so I'd be ready when the time came, and was surprised that the local shop charged a bit more for it than for the XC20-50! Used to be the other way around, with the Aeroshell 15-50 quite a bit more.
I went with 35 to 40 hour oil changes with my spin-on filter equipped C170 & C150/150. The previous owner of this 180 went 35 hours, but that seems a bit much with just a screen. There's a bit less than 20 hours on the oil now and it's already pretty dirty, think I'll go with 25 or maybe 30 hours max.

hotrod180 wrote:...but that seems a bit much with just a screen.

hotrod, you probably already know this but AirWolf makes a full flow remote spin-on oil filter kit. I put one on my 185 soon as I got her home. No problems.

A few years ago Aviation Consumer said Phillips20W50 plus Camgard, Aeroshell 15W50 or Exxon is a toss up from an effectiveness standpoint so add cost of Camgard to the Phillips and compare to Aeroshell or Exxon alone. Whatever is cheapest. Don't know if they have updated their advice.

Now that my Sam's Club carries Aeroshell I am changing to it next oil change. It's now definitely cheaper.

If mine didn't already have an engine mounted filter I'd look into a remote mount one. Mine is such a pain in the butt to change. Might do it anyway.

I use Aeroshell 15W50 with Camguard. The only thing I'd add to others is to change oil at the same hour mark, in the same way, and with the same oil every time. Send oil to Blackstone for analysis. Important to keep as many of the variables out as possible. I suspect the two times Blackstone found problems well before any other indicator payed for the cost of analysis and more.

Brett

Exxon Elite and just for the Hell of it I add a pint of Camguard. Plane is flown pretty infrequently in the home of fog and mist (S43). Have had good oil reports from Blackstone Labs with this combo.

TD

I just ran up on this.

Interesting analysis from folks who do oil analysis.

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/about-aircraft-oils.php

Well, Blackstone sure took the fun out of this discussion! No correct brand, indeed!

I have run aeroshell 15-50 change oil and filter every 25 hours. 1100 smoh now all compressions mid 70's never touched the engine.