Changing Oil Sucks

[hostage]

So I have a 4.3L Merc @ 190HP that I am trying to change the oil on. According to my sources it hold 4.5 quarts. Last year I tried this hand pump and it took me hours to get as much as I could. This year I bought a water pump that is similar to what people use for draining oil and hooked it up after I warmed the engine up for about 10 minutes. It worked really well and within a few minutes pumped out 3 quarts, then it slowed/stopped. I measured the content and it looked like about 3 quarts as I compared it to a second bucket filled with a gallon of water. Either I can never seem to get all the oil out or I am wondering if when my old mechanic broke the dipstick, did he replace it for a matching dipstick? Does anyone know how long a dipstick for a 4.3L Merc ~1999 should be and where is the full and fill lines are?

Last year when I filled it, it wasn't taking the full amount it should have taken. I don't think the filter would hold 1.5 quarts.

-Hostage

 

[agallant80]

Re: Changing Oil Sucks

Strange, another thread was started on this same subject today.

Check out these nice things to have. The first is a hose you attach do the drain plug on your pan, pull it out of the bilge plug and drain your oil that way. The other is the pump that screws on to the dipstick tube. I ended up with the hand pump and it works way better than It thought it would. It dot most of the oil out. Also the oil must be up to temp to make it flow out nice.
Oil Drain Kit - 1/2 x 20 Thread Size-26163 - Gander Mountain
Mercury Marine Engine Quicksilver Boat Motor Oil Change Pump 802889Q1 802889A1 | eBay

 

[hostage]

Re: Changing Oil Sucks

I do not have the drain tube that they started putting the after my boat was built ><

I used a garden hose attached to the threads on the dipstick to suck it out. A lot came out, though it did stop after about 3 quarts. Now I am questioning if the dipstick is actually the correct one..

 

[agallant80]

Re: Changing Oil Sucks

If your tube does not have threads then it may not go to the bottom of the pan.

 

[hostage]

Re: Changing Oil Sucks

Never mind I found the dipstick specifications on my manual. I will see if it is correct when I get home.

 

[captain zac]

Re: Changing Oil Sucks

10 min. on the muffs is not enough time to heat the oil
run a little longer

Harry

 

[thompson80]

Re: Changing Oil Sucks

I just received the oil change hose kit from a popular water sports outfit in NC. Looks to be exactly the one that Gander Mt. carries. Fisheries Supply in Seattle seems to have the same, but asks another $30 for it.

Just repowered, and hit the 20 hr. mark. I jacked up the trailer tongue, and tried to line the bilge with foil to get the initial break-in oil to drain out the transom. Just made a mess and spent probably the better part of an hour cleaning the bilge, which was filthy to start with, from the previous owner never cleaning it. Didn't want to go the dipstick route, because most all of the sludge and solids settle to the bottom of the oil pan - I want to drain the oil from the BOTTOM. You'll never get the worst stuff out thru the dipstick. The drain hose looks to be a quality product, well made, and worth all of $35. It's exactly what I was looking for. Future oil changes will be a piece of cake.

 

[hostage]

Re: Changing Oil Sucks

I ran home and checked the dipstick, I have one that has a round nob on top. Measuring from where the the stick enters the tube all the way to the bottom it is 27 1/2". I measured from the bottom the fill line is 1.5" off the bottom and the full line is about 2.5" off the bottom. According to the manual it looks like the person who wrote it can't do math as it says 34" is shorter than 27". I also see there are two different styles. Are both styles compatible with my engine? I am not thinking so as the other dipstick pictured has the full line at 3.75" compared to my ~2.5" inches.

So I guess the question is my dipstick accurate and have I have been feeling it short a quart the past 2 years?

When I put the dipstick in and pull it out, it is bone dry. Does this mean all the oil is out?

 

[harleyman1975]

Re: Changing Oil Sucks

try putting a coat hanger down the tube until it bottoms in the pan and then compare to your dip stick.

 

[Volphin]

Re: Changing Oil Sucks

Add a Fumoto Valve in place of the drain plug if you can reach it. You need part number F107N. Attach clear hose to nipple and drain through the transom drain plug hole. I've used it for years. http://www.qwikvalve.com/fumoto-f107n-valve.html

 

[bspeth]

Re: Changing Oil Sucks

My oil change pump has a tube that inserts into the dipstick tube and extends all the way to the pan.Simple and painless.

 

[hostage]

Re: Changing Oil Sucks

I did a quick search online based off my engine serial: 0L642966

According to a site it says I need part number: "861942T 6"

I think my dipstick is indeed wrong at least based off how it looks. compared to what is shown in the diagram.

Also with the suggestion of the coat hanger, if it put it all the way down there and it is dry then does that confirm that I have no oil in the pan?

-Hostage

 

[hostage]

Re: Changing Oil Sucks

I called Mercruiser and they said based of my serial number the distance between the full line and where the stick is flush up against the tube it is a total of 24.83", know that my stick is 27.5" long it gives me about 2.67" from the bottom of the stick to the full line, which is close to the 2.5" I measured. So based off that math, i am fairly sure that the dipstick isn't the problem. Do I need to make sure the boat is angled a certain way when I drain it? Should I have the bow high or low?

 

[Fun Times]

Re: Changing Oil Sucks

Should I have the bow high or low?

Usually the boat needs to be level.

Take note of where your tube inserts into the pan to get an idea of where you would want the majority of the oil to flow/sit next to the tube hole.

By looking at your parts diagram, it would seem the tube does not insert the pan like some models as you have a fitting and an gasket with threads. So make sure the boat is not sitting angled away from the tube area as well.

http://www.mercruiserparts.com/Show...inbr=2694&bnbr=220&bdesc=Oil+Pan+And+Oil+Pump

Here should be what your tube looks like,
Mercruiser Dipstick Tube 860209A 1 | eBay

Did the other guy replace the stick, tube or both?

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Changing Oil Sucks

My oil change pump has a tube that inserts into the dipstick tube and extends all the way to the pan.Simple and painless.

That is how I have done it. You can actually feel when the tube bottoms out in the oil pan.

Of course, you want to use a thin wall tube, so the flow is decent.

Last year I tried just hooking a tube to the top of the dipstick tube . . . seemed to work, so the dipstick tube must go all the way to the bottom of the oil pan.

 

[bonzoscott]

Re: Changing Oil Sucks

You're pretty close with three quarts. There's gonna be some in pan pan you can't get with the pump, plus there is close to a quart in the filter. Plus, are you sure there was 4.5 quarts to begin with? If it has had seasonal changes, you're okay to mix a little. If it would make you feel better, change it, run it, change it again. That's almost as much oil for one change in my pickup.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Changing Oil Sucks

It is very simple to calibrate the dip stip.
1) put the boat in the water AFTER you've removed ALL the oil.
2) Put in the recommended amount of oil.
3) Insert the dipstick -- any dipstick that reaches reasonably close to the bottom of the pan.
4) Pull the stick. See where the oil level is. THATS the full mark.
5) Use a file to cut a full mark on the stick.
6) Go boating.

Note: Do this on land and you will never get a good reading on the water. The boat will always sit the same way on the water at the dock and that's when you get the best reading.

 

[thompson80]

Re: Changing Oil Sucks

Add a Fumoto Valve in place of the drain plug if you can reach it. You need part number F107N. Attach clear hose to nipple and drain through the transom drain plug hole. I've used it for years. http://www.qwikvalve.com/fumoto-f107n-valve.html

That's another alternative, and fairly cheap, but the drain hose kit I received, that is available from several sources, has a 90-degree swivel brass head on the pan end, which is nice, because my Mercruiser 140 has very little clearance between the back of the pan, where the drain plug is - facing aft, and the rear motor mount or whatever it is just behind the pan. Plus, there is a threaded brass fitting on the other end of the drain hose with a brass cap on it, which prevents the oil from discharging until YOU unscrew that cap. And the rubber hose itself is marine fuel hose, so durable.

If anything accidently bumped the lever on the Fumoto valve when you're underway, all of your engine oil could drain out into the bilge as you run the engine, until it freezes up from lack of lubrication. And then with 4-5 quarts of HOT oil slopping around in the bilge under a hot engine, you risk an engine room fire, which is no fun. To be safe, you would have to religiously check that valve EVERY time before every start up to be SURE it's closed. Just my 2 cents.

I still like the manufactured drain hose kit method best: pull the transom drain plug (I do that after every outing anyway); snake the drain hose through the drain hole in the transom; unscrew the brass cap over an oil drain pan or jug, and go have a beer while the oil drains. Later, reinstall cap tightly with TWO wrenches (there is a hex on the cap and on the fitting it screws onto), push or pull hose back inside, and you're done. Bilge is clean, not a drop of oil gets to it. And that gunk in the bottom of the pan has a good chance of getting drained out with the oil. Why fight pumping oil up through a skinny little drain tube and do TWO oil changes every time in hopes of getting most of the old oil out, when for $35 one time, you can do it so much easier and better from the BOTTOM, where the nasty stuff is?

 

[hostage]

Re: Changing Oil Sucks

Looking at some of the pictures and that I store my boat with the bow sky high, could be why I couldn't get all the oil out. It looks like the dipstick tube attaches to the front bottom of the oil pan. I am guessing if I lower the bow I can get some more out. I will try pumping the rest out, though it will be a bit harder as the oil is far from warm. Thanks for the input, I will keep you guys in the loop.

-Hostage

 

[Volphin]

Re: Changing Oil Sucks

If anything accidently bumped the lever on the Fumoto valve when you're underway, all of your engine oil could drain out into the bilge as you run the engine, until it freezes up from lack of lubrication. And then with 4-5 quarts of HOT oil slopping around in the bilge under a hot engine, you risk an engine room fire, which is no fun. To be safe, you would have to religiously check that valve EVERY time before every start up to be SURE it's closed. Just my 2 cents.

Not a likely scenario... ever play with one? "Something" would have to hold the heavy spring loaded lever IN, past the detent 1/4 inch, and then rotate it 90 degrees. That's just not going to happen. I run it on my off road jeep too... through all sorts of brush, rocks, mud holes, stream beds, etc and it has never moved from it's locked closed position. When it's closed, you know it's closed.