DIY Service

[wcburk]

Is there any DIY guy out there that service there own boat. I have an 01 23v and want to do the service myself so I can learn more about my boat. How hard is it? What all needs to be Done? Any comments will be great. TIA

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[civilgee]

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[TeamAllen]

Welcome to the site!
I have done my own service on my 97. It is pretty straight forward. Mine is a direct drive. Your V-drive will make it a little less accessible, but I'm sure it is pretty straight forward.
Does it have a Mercruiser engine?

[Bakes5]

All school of hard knocks, google searches and forum questions.

Fluids: Get a good, high quality electric pump for your oil, transmission fluid changes.
Impeller: Learn how to change your impeller. First time will take a long time. Subsequent will go much faster
Winterization: Learn how to winterize yourself.
Prop packing: Easy and should be looked at/adjusted a couple times a year depending on usage.
Alternator: These go every so often. Had a wire break a couple of times but pretty easy to fix/diagnose. If your in BFE, might not be a bad idea to have a spare on hand. Usually easy to replace but only if you have one. And when they go out, they are going to go out on the water.
Starter: Also go every so often. I kept a spare in my boat but never had to use it
Serpentine belt: Keep an extra in the boat
Tools: Have a ROBUST tool kit in the boat. Typical wrenches as well as hose repair, various wire and connectors, prop puller, etc
Spare prop: Sooner or later you will jack up your prop. Know how to take it on and off. Should be about a 5-10 minute job in the parking lot
Trailer parts: Know how to do lube and torque hubs

With an older boat, doing it yourself is the best policy unless its something like a complete engine swap. Cheaper and faster....especially since things are always needing to be done. I did not take my 98 into a shop during the 8 summers I had it. Just figured it out. That saved me on the water a few times and I was never left stranded.

[bsreid]

I get doing DIY service on older boats. But the new raptor engines, how important is it to have a dealer do the service with the proper diagnostic equipment? Our r20 was usually serviced by a friend who owns a marine shop but lately he wasn’t doing the best job and doesn’t have any of the diagnostic technology. So for the rzx I have a feeling it’s going to be best to take it to the closet dealer which is over an hour away and is Malibu. But for the first 15 hour service the owners manual mentions a lot about alignment and just overall diagnostic inspection. Just wondering how important that really is.

[tigemech]

I get doing DIY service on older boats. But the new raptor engines, how important is it to have a dealer do the service with the proper diagnostic equipment? Our r20 was usually serviced by a friend who owns a marine shop but lately he wasn’t doing the best job and doesn’t have any of the diagnostic technology. So for the rzx I have a feeling it’s going to be best to take it to the closet dealer which is over an hour away and is Malibu. But for the first 15 hour service the owners manual mentions a lot about alignment and just overall diagnostic inspection. Just wondering how important that really is.

The raptors are fairly simply for a do it yourselfer. But for any work you will want to bring it to the dealer, as they have the proper resources that other shops may not have. Also if its still under warranty you wont have to worry about something you did effecting the warranty.

[freeheel4life]

^^ x2. Diacom is pretty much a must as sometime codes at the screen will read different than when pulled directly from the ECM. There are also a couple little tools like the fuel pressure adapter if you need to diagnose issues as there isn't a Schraeder valve on the rail.
There's also some specific service procedures like warming up the block to change plugs, all info that's provided to dealers in conjiinction with Indmars training. Indmar pays out a higher warranty rate of techs are certified thru factory training, which has to be re-done every two years to stay current.