2003 Crownline oil reservoir fitting

[muc]

hmm: I've replaced more then 30 of these and never pulled the engine. 2-4 hr job.

Pull the drive

Drill from the outside thru the broken fitting. Stop just before you hit aluminum

Push the fitting stem into the boat

Paint a little Perfect Seal in the hole where you gouged the aluminum because you didn't stop drilling in time

Push the new fitting (with the new lube hose already on it) into the hole
Inside the boat

Remove the metal clip from the broken fitting and tie a few feet of thread to it and the steering

Smear some grease on the flat area right above where the fitting comes thru and stick the clip in the grease

Figure out how your going to bend a long thin slotted screw driver that you have ground a little V into the end

Get some one to help you outside the boat, give them something so they can push the new fitting as far into the hole and have them hold it there while you use that bent screw driver to push the clip into place

Push the quick connect onto the new fitting

Fill the bottle with lube

 

[alldodge]

hmm: I've replaced more then 30 of these and never pulled the engine. 2-4 hr job.

Folks are paying up to $750 to replace a $20 part, and they fail often (150hr)

Leads me to believe Merc doesn't care much about customers, and knowing this will probably happen again

 

[Lou C]

The dipstick in the top cover in the pic above, that's exactly how every OMC Cobra and Volvo SX ever made is, dipstick in the top cover....

 

[Lou C]

Folks are paying up to $750 to replace a $20 part, and they fail often (150hr)

Leads me to believe Merc doesn't care much about customers, and knowing this will probably happen again

It's similar to what you see throughout Merc cooling systems, many plastic parts, all prone to getting brittle when the boat gets on in years. Those drain plugs, all the joints between all the hoses, etc.
Meanwhile the older Cobras and Volvos have brass drain plugs, and a simpler cooling system with maybe 5-6 hoses and no plastic joints. I'd never buy another sterndrive anyway due to my boating environment, but after looking at the Merc my brother had for a few years (2020 4.5 200 hp), no way would I want one. It ran great, was quiet and powerful but to work on it, a nightmare.