Change fluids?

[GMTK]

2004 Volvo 4.3 GXI-E with 199 hours on it.

January 2019 I changed the engine oil, gear oil, impeller, fuel filter, oil filter. Boat is only run in fresh water, stored indoors in South Texas. I put 20 hours on the engine from January 2019 until today.

Should I do all the fluids again? About $200 for all parts and 2 hours of my labor. The boat is stored 3 hours from my house so I have to make sure I take all my supplies with me. My gut tells me to just do it, but I also want to make sure I'm not wasting time an money when I put so few hours on it.

Interested to hear what the pros say.

 

[Scott Danforth]

per the manual.....you change the fluid every 50 hours or annually....which ever occurs first.

you also change the oil at the end of the season because acids develop in the oil from combustion which will eat your bearings and it allows you to check for water in the gear case prior to winter.

again..... all in the manual.

 

[Lou C]

Agreed that is how I’ve always done it; I change motor oil and filter & drive oil at the end of the season and in the spring replace the fuel filter. When I fog it I put in a set of old plugs and after the 1st start in spring and the fogging oil burns off I put the clean plugs back in. Then I check the cap & rotor for corrosion, take a look at the points and run it to check the dwell, timing & idle speed. Ancient engines need a few more steps but won’t get sidelined by faulty micro processors lol.

 

[Scott06]

Absolutely do The fluids, leave the impeller alone. I do Those fluids As part of my fall winterization religiously and all my boats seem to last a long time.

 

[GMTK]

Thanks guys. Growing up we always did it at the beginning of the season (80 hp merc) and I didn't know any better. I moved away from the boat last summer and the manual is in the boat shed....

I'm going to go ahead and change it all now, then again this fall to get back on track.

 

[hnt]

I always change oil and filter in the fall and fuel filter in the spring....I never change the oil in season and usually do about 100 + hrs per year....oil and filter still look good when I change in the fall.