Oil change

[Fire_medic]

Quick question for who ever can answer it. For the price of an oil change I was thinking I would rather do it myself the oil pumps are cheap enough, does anyone here change there own? is there more to it besides sucking the oil out changing the filter and putting new oil in?

[NHarp1]

Nothing better than doing it yourself to make sure the job is done right.
I suggest to warm up the engine oil first (use a fake-a-lake to run the engine), suck out the oil from dip stick or from oil drain tube from under the oil pan, change out the filter (may need a oil filter band),
put in the correct amount of oil and check for proper oil level on the dipstick after running the engine for a bit.

[dingleberry]

Many people on here change their own. You got the basics - remove the old, replace the filter, and fill 'er up. One suggestion - running the engine before you drain the oil (either on the water or with fake-a-lake) will warm the oil and make it easier to remove.

While doing that, you may also want to handle some of the other regular maintenance items, too, like replacing the impeller, checking/servicing the tranny and v-drive fluids, etc.

[Wakeman22]

If you do it this time of year and do not have a reliable heated space for storage you will need to winterize it again. My boat has a hose attached to the bottom of the drain pan that you can put thru the hull drain plug hole and let it drain into a pan. Oil needs to be hot or this way takes some time to drain completely.

[Fire_medic]

Thanks guys I thought it was that easy(with warming the engine up)I do like the idea of the hose on the bottom of the oil pan sure would make it easier. But either way its going to save me tons doing it my self so I can put more in the fuel tank lol

[NICKYPOO]

You should have the hose connected to your oilpan. What motor do you have?

[Fire_medic]

The boat is new to me, I got it in Dec. so I haven't had a chance to look under the motor yet. But what your saying is tige's come equiped with it already? My motor is the 5.7

[NICKYPOO]

5.7 Merc?

[NICKYPOO]

You are looking for the hose with the brass plug on the end.

[rushin]

If it is the Marine Power you should have a hose on the bottom of the oil pan.

Warm it up, route the hose out the bilge drain.

It does take a while for it to drain.

I made a extension for my hose to clear the TAPS plate.

[IDBoating]

This has come up many times before, glad to see you're willing to do it yourself. The more of your own work you do on your boat, the better you'll know it.

To the great advice you've already received I'll add the same I always do when someone asks about changing oil: Immediately purchase a Mityvac 7400 fluid extractor. It will cost you ~$70-80 but you'll wonder how you ever got along without it. A couple of fittings at the hardware store will connect it directly to the oil drain hose that you undoubtedly have (and that others have mentioned). Extracting warmed oil will take about three minutes tops (not a typo) instead of the incredibly long time gravity will take to do it. You'll also do a more complete job, as I've found the gravity method tends to leave some in the oil pan.

Here's what the pump looks like:



Do a Google search, there are lots of online sources.

Good luck and report back!

[Fire_medic]

Yeah its the 5.7 merc I think I may have seen a hose like that in there. But if gravity draining is slow hooking a pump up to suck it out sounds pretty good time spent waiting for oil to drain is time not spent on the lake. Since you guys are all willing to offer some of your knowledge my next question is My steering cable will need to be replaced its STIFF!!!! I have heard its a common problem with tige's the local dealer told me about 6 hours to replace it depending if he has to go under the fuel tank is this a job that I could do or should the dealer do it????

[dingleberry]

Yeah its the 5.7 merc I think I may have seen a hose like that in there. But if gravity draining is slow hooking a pump up to suck it out sounds pretty good time spent waiting for oil to drain is time not spent on the lake. Since you guys are all willing to offer some of your knowledge my next question is My steering cable will need to be replaced its STIFF!!!! I have heard its a common problem with tige's the local dealer told me about 6 hours to replace it depending if he has to go under the fuel tank is this a job that I could do or should the dealer do it????

If you are willing to change your own oil, you should be able to handle replacing the steering cable yourself. Do a search on this site - there are quite a few threads about it. In fact, there is a thread kept near the top of the FAQ section that describes the whole process pretty well. I am a complete newby on boat maintenance, and I just did mine a couple weeks ago. Not bad at all, and a lot cheaper than paying your dealer to do it.

[moved2ski]

When draining with out a pump, I let it drain overnight.

[Fire_medic]

Drain over night good thing I'm patient lol. I just read all 8 pages of posts about steering cables lots of hit and miss stories the most success were direct drives which I did in my old malibu very very easy and I had to change the helm as well. Now to try a V-drive. The cost of the cable is around 150$ the dealer cost and labour would put it around $1000 so its a no brainer.