Oil change before winterizing or in the spring?

For those that are advocating or perhaps practicing changing their oil in the spring.....I have a question: Do you take oil samples and have them analyzed or do you just change the oil?

Jaybeaux
 
Even with our mild winters and short layup, I change the engine oil / gear lube in the fall before I put it away. That way it's done, spring comes and it is ready to go for the most part, plus it makes me feel good. OTH, my old Correct Craft lived it's life on a small lake in Western NC, winter layup was more like 6mos and pretty cold winters, we never changed the oil in the fall, always at the beginning of the season. Never a problem in close to 2000hrs of operation.

I am sure there is some truth to the science of acids in the oil that can cause problems over a long period of time, but in practice I don't think anyone has ever had an oil related engine problem that could be traced to not changing their oil before winter layup. It still makes me feel better doing it in the fall so I'll keep doing it that way.
 
Jaybeaux said:
For those that are advocating or perhaps practicing changing their oil in the spring.....I have a question: Do you take oil samples and have them analyzed or do you just change the oil?Jaybeaux
Click to expand...

We just change our oil seasonally (after its been used and prior to winter layup) but, since you ask; and for those who desire to, there are also Portable Oil Analysis Kits: https://www.spectrosci.com/product/portable-test-kit/

(Tongue-in-cheek of course; one great thing about Club Sea Ray is that, unlike many portions of society, with CSR members, “common sense is Common Practice! :)
 
Based on comments about engine oil contaminates is their any information on transmission oil contaminates. Do people change it yearly or based on manufacture hour recommendations.
 
I change the engine oil at the hourly limit or annually in the fall. Lately, we are below the hourly limit so we do it in the fall. In the rare years when I changed the the oil twice during the summer due to hours, the oil was changed before storage. I am more relaxed with transmission oil. I do the trannies every three years. The oil always looks fresh and the filters are very clean as well. Always wonder if the need is there based on how the oil and filters look but do things pretty much by the book. Curious if others have similar feelings about the trannies.
 
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I do my trannys every year just for good measure. It’s likely overkill but I’ve got one of those Jabsco oil pumps and it makes the job simple. I do them when I do the oil changes. (In the fall or at 100 hours ..whichever comes first) Takes about 10 minutes on each tranny. Just peace of mind and a personal preference. So far as oil ...If I do get to 100 hours in the season as I did this year, I change it then and then again in the fall. The boat stays in year round, but definitely doesn’t get nearly as much use in the winter as summer ..and I just feel better with fresh oil being in there when the engines aren’t getting used regularly.
 
I know boats the have Borg Warner Velvet Drive trannies in them that have not had an oil change in 10 or more years with no apparent problems. Not saying this is a good practice as the manual recommends annual changes or at a certain hourly interval. It does make me wonder if 100 hours is overly cautious. I do understand that oil changes are cheaper than blown transmissions, but frankly have not seen many failures on boats that I know are maintained on the cheap.
 
Not to hijack the thread, but has anyone had the Merc 25w/40 synth blend oil analysed after a season? I'd be keen to see the analysis.
 
Every two years on my Hurths ,pretty uncomplicated process ; Dex III and a filter change two hours tops it always looks clean and red and the filter looks new as well . I do use synthetic blend Merc 25w40 in my 350 Mags but still change it at the 100 hour interval Iv'e never had it analyzed however. I take the approach here of extreme duty because it's so flaming hot so I figure error on the side of caution . I have been told by others that the Dex III will go years so the jury is still out on that . I am more inclined to follow manufacturer schedule when I don't really know. It is noteworthy to say that it is cheap enough to do often ,and if you're like me , who could resist shoehorning themselves into some tight machinery space in what is usually a compromising position for a couple hours what fun !
 
Funny. I saw coach Gibbs yesterday at Talladega. I am the pilot for the Furniture Row Nascar team.
Believe what you want about oils. A myriad of other disasters would have to occur at biblical rates before you would ever notice anything to do with oil acids.
 
BEFORE!

I sure wouldn't want to be bathed in dirty oil all winter. Give me a clean bed to sleep in!
 
I do the oil changes in the fall too. Another good reason to do it as part of the winterization prep is that it’s one less thing to do in the Spring which means getting back in the water even earlier.
 
One other piece of info if someone decides to read this thread - if you own an IO boat, definitely change the outdrive fluid in the fall. Reason is if the prop shaft seal failed and allowed water to enter the drive, you'll definitely want to get rid of that before it freezes and potentially cracks the drive.
 
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