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I/O oil change questions

winter

winter

Active member
Being I now own my first I/O, i have allot of newbie questions. Here's another one. What device is preferred to extract oil from the pan when doing an oil change? I see self pump, electric pump, hoses that attach to the drain plug etc. I don't mind spending a few $$$ for an easier time, but i'd only be changing the oil once, maybe twice a year.

Also, this is a 92 Persuader with a 350. What oil and weigth is recommended? How about a filter? I won't use Fram products unless it's an HP series. Thanks everyone!
 
i have the hose that attaches to the drain plug, just stick out back of boat and take the cap off. really easy and mess free!
 
i use an oil extractor that goes doen the dipstick - made by pella i belive. it works very well and is very clean. holds up to 8 liters of oil, which also makes disposal easier.

as far as oil goes, i only use amsoil synthetic 15w40, marine engines work to hard not to give them the best. If you use convential oil, an sae30 or sae40 is a good choice. don't use car oil 10w30 - it will froth up and be less effective - so i've been told. the amsoil is essentially a straight 40 but becasue of the flow properties they could put the 15 in front.

i usually use napa filters - they are made by wix and seem to be pretty good.
 
Down the dipstick if your drain plug is hard to get to like mine is. Oil choices/preferences could go on forever. I think Mercruiser rec. 15-40, so stick with that, and just don't buy cheap oil. Like you said, you only do it 1-2 times a year so get the stuff that cost a little more and feel good about it.
 
I use mobil 1 full syn. in the engine with a K&N filter and amsoil in the foot. I rather drain oil out the bottom its a hole lot quicker and it gets every thing out, evac will not get everything out but 90% of the people use it. I change my oil 4 times a season in the engine and twice in the foot.
 
Thanks guys! I'm a goof about oil changes in my vehicles. They all get top notch stuff (My TDI VW gets oil that's nearly $50 a change). I'm going to put some hours on my boat, but not excessively so. Under average use, how many hours do you go between changes? I'll have to give the oil some serious thought. Not sure I want to switch to synthetic after being run on conventional for the last 340 hours. Maybe, but i'll have to look into it.
 
If I'm not mistaking, mercury says 100 hours or once a season. In my experiance, most boaters around here put 30-50 hours on a season. We always did engine oil changes in the fall when we put them away. Lower unit oil is changed at the same time.
 
I use a hand pump (old fashion) to suck the oil out of the dip stick. Enchanters are tight to work in. I still like to change the oil twice as mention in another post. Once at the begining and once at the end. This eliminates any moisture from sitting in the block from the season and any crud that settled over the winter to be removed. Overkill but safe.

I'll save you the time from asking out the outdrive lube.

There is a drain plug at the bottom of the outdrive and on the port side (left) at the top of the outdrive is a screw for the breather hole. You need to remove both to allow the lube to drain. I help it along with a compressor in the breather hole near the end as it begins to drip. To refill you have to pump it up from the bottom. with the drive in the full in position pump lube in and when it begins to come out of the top breather hole it is full. Install the breather screw and then remove the lube pump and install the bottom screw. I change this in the spring usually every other season.

Check for water in the lube when you drain it.
 
I played with both extractor and out the bottom and because the extractor doesn't get everything out like red said,I like out the bottom... I also like being able to see what comes out first... just in case there's anything that looks even a little bit like metal... I also like the hose that screws in in place of the oil plug and leave it there all the time. I secured it to the side so it doesn't flop around... mine fits through the drain plug too so it's really easy to just stick it out the drain hole and drain the oil into whatever...
 
WCA_tim, great idea witht eh hose through the drain plug. Is that a part you can buy or something you came up with. I wuld like to install this on my boat.
 
you can buy it, all the new sea rays have it standard. there is a metal cable that attaches the drain plug to the oil hose - works very well. i imangine it is a standard merc part. your local dealer should be able to hook you up.
 
Chris E said:
you can buy it, all the new sea rays have it standard. there is a metal cable that attaches the drain plug to the oil hose - works very well. i imangine it is a standard merc part. your local dealer should be able to hook you up.
Click to expand...
I'm going to add this to my "must have list".:thumb:
 
Remlinger you should really do your gear oil every season especially living in the great white north cuz if you had a leaky seal throughout the season you can crack the case.
 
Blizz said:
Remlinger you should really do your gear oil every season especially living in the great white north cuz if you had a leaky seal throughout the season you can crack the case.
Click to expand...

Blizz, Thanks I'll start doing that from now on.
 
oil shooting from dipstick

Please help!!!

I have a 1983 checkmate diplomat with a 488 Mericruiser (incredible boat).
It has been sputtering and I thought it was bad fuel. I treated fuel and noticed oil leak in valve cover gasket. Changed the gasket and then launched back on the water 1/4 of a mile down river oil came gushing out of the dip stick. Looked like we struck oil in the engine compartment and then towed in by a pontoon boat.

Where is all the pressure coming from? HELP!!!! Any wisdom what to do? I love Checkmate and would love to find some help on this one.

tidman71@gmail.com

John
 
tidman71 said:
Please help!!!

I have a 1983 checkmate diplomat with a 488 Mericruiser (incredible boat).
It has been sputtering and I thought it was bad fuel. I treated fuel and noticed oil leak in valve cover gasket. Changed the gasket and then launched back on the water 1/4 of a mile down river oil came gushing out of the dip stick. Looked like we struck oil in the engine compartment and then towed in by a pontoon boat.

Where is all the pressure coming from? HELP!!!! Any wisdom what to do? I love Checkmate and would love to find some help on this one.

tidman71@gmail.com

John
Click to expand...
You'll prob. wnat to start a fresh thread, no one will see it in someone elses. ;)
 
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