Do you change your own oil, fluids, etc?

I'm already at 25 hours and need to change the oil. My dealer can't do the service until July 29, so no chance of that one. I'm going to change it myself. I've asked around and am pretty versed on HOW to do it, now I just have to do it.

But how do you change the vdrive fluid? Transmission fluid? Easy or difficult?

Do you do your own service? What do you leave to the dealer to perform and drop cash for as opposed to handling it in the garage?

(Message edited by tparider on July 13, 2005)

It takes far less time and effort to change the oil yourself than it does to tow the boat down to the dealer!

You will need a pump of some sort. The cheap hand pumps work fine. This is the pump I use:
http://www.boatersworld.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&catalogId=10051&langI d=-1&productId=326247

You may need to play with hoses and reducer fitting so that you can get the hose to fit over the dipstick tube, or on your drain hose if your engine is so equipped.

As for the oil filter: Some manufactures are nice and remote mount the oil filter so that is easy to get to and points up. If yours is hard to get to or points down or sideways it is almost impossible to not spill oil when you take the filter off.

My trick is to get a garbage bag and open it up under the filter AND to have oil absorbing pads lining the bottom of the boat. The idea is that when the filter comes off you can just drop it in the garbage bag along with any oil that drips out.

For the transmission fluid you need a skinny hose that you can poke down in the dipstick hole.

I generally have "oil change day" and change the oil in everything. I then use a permanant marker to write the engine hours / milage on the oil filter.

I got one of these and it has worked well for engine and tranny, have yet to do the V-drive, but that's coming soon.

http://www.skidim.com/prodinfo.asp?number=SUC01

It comes with skinny hose that fits down the dipstick on my engine, tranny and V-drive. You can generate a pretty nice vacuum with it by pumping it alot and then releasing the clasp on the hose. It's good to measure probe around in the pans to make sure it's as deep as it goes. You will hear it hiss when it's just about done.

Good rule of thumb is to measure what you take out and replace that amount, particularly on the tranny, then check it at the lake. I found I was right on the money with what the engine manual said. Changed fluids in under an hour with no mess.

You can do the tranny and V-drive cold, but the enine oil should be heated by running it for a few. You will need to get a garden hose into your cooling system and supply the engine with water before the raw water pump, otherwise you'll fry your impeller. Some boats have a fitting already plumbed in.

I keep my boat on a lift, and would like to change the oil where it sits. The upside is that I can warm the engine up by taking a cruise, the downside is that I would have to swim to get to the drain plug.

Is it safe to say that a pump out of the dipstick is better than using the oil drain hose? Can you hook up something to the drain hose and pump out of it, or is that even needed?

David. LSVs are super easy to work on.

Let me first say that it's disappointing that the dealer you just got your new boat from is going to blow you off for a month. They could make it happen. A 20 hour service would take them no time at all.

The Vucuum style pump posted by Flux works awesome. You'll have better results if you run the boat and heat up the oil before you pump.

LSVs have a oil drain tube that is blocked off on the driver side, right next the the oil filter. It should have a plug on the end of it. If they discontinued that, the pump hose should fit inside the dip stick tube.

Refer to the manual, but, if they haven't changed, the v-drive and transmission run on separate fluids and you can drain them through their dip stick holes. The oil change and filter should take you 30 minutes. The v-drive and trani should take you 20 minutes combined.

Be sure to have your boat/trailer sitting flat when you check fluids. It's important that you do not overfill.

My boat sits on a lift so it's easier for me to change all fluids myself. I use a Tempo "Oil Boy", a hand-pump style. It works well, but to get every last drop of oil, you have to let it sit for a while, and come back and pump it up frequently.

To catch the filter, I cut the bottom off a milk jug. After you put in your new oil, make sure to run the engine for a few minutes then re-check. About half a quart of oil will be used to fill up your new filter, so you'll need that much to bring it up to "full" again.

This is a pretty big file, and it's from my TOYOTA v-drive, but it'll give you a good idea what goes on during a service. Big things it misses are engine alignment check and lubrication of the steering and shift cables. For less than the price of having it done, I can DIY with some of the best fluid money can buy:

http://www.epicmarine.com/docs/Epic%20v-drive%20annual%20maintenance.pdf

good info everyone...thanks.