2008 290 Amberjack-Oil & Filter change on ZF Vdrives

[mike472]

I just got a price on an oil and filter change from my local MM dealer who sold me the boat and the price was quoted first at $540 then they came back saying it was $710. This sounded crazy and they claimed the filter kit for both trannies was a total of $253 with the 12 quarts of so of ATF that it takes. I just got this boat this July with 140 hours on it. It now has 200. It calls for a change every 100 hours. Since I didnt know whether or not the previous owner did it, I decided to do it to be on the safe side. This is the digital shift trans ZF64 Type IV I think. I was going to do the whole winterization myself because the dealer quoted a total of $1432 to do everything else which I thought was steep. I figured it was worth paying at least once to see the whole thing done by an experienced tech and also because the boat is still under warrantee on the engines and trannies I thought it would give me some protection from my own inexperience at doing this. If something goes wrong it'll be on the dealer that sold me the boat. It is the MM dealer in Lindenhurst, NY which so far had been very good throughout the buying process and even sent a tech out to meet me free of charge in Mattituck LI on my way back from bringing the boat home from Hyannis, Mass. I had some gremlins telling me about low voltage and to check main engine relay. It turned out to be a dead battery that had been recharged but left a fault on the vessel view display. In the process he checked the boat out thoroughly free of charge. This recent experience with getting the service straightened out has been sort of canceling out the good experience in the beginning. I thought it might have been to good to be true. Any advice here would be appreciated. I love the boat and want to preserve it in it's current excellent condition.:huh:

 

[skolbe]

Buy a good pump and change the oil and filters yourself. My transmissions hold just over 4 quarts, can't remember exactly off the top of my head. The filters are cleanable. You can clean them with mineral spirits. The oil change is fairly straight forward as well. I personally like having two sets of transmission filters. Then I can have a clean set come oil changing time. But that was also before I new they were cleanable. The transmission fluid was supposed to be changed at 25 hours and then every 100 hours. Just a tip, I pump oil from the dipstick on my engines after they have been warmed up. I pump transmission fluid from where the filter is installed.

 

[mike472]

Skolbe, Scott,

Thanks for the advice. I think I'm going to tackle those transmissions myself. Maybe the whole winterization if I don't hear back from MM soon. Where do you guys buy your parts online, like these trans filters, or say a workshop manual for engines or boat? Those fat books that come with the boat don't explain a lot of maintenaince stuff too well. Even something as simple as running out of gas, which I managed to do. Who knew there was a little schrader valve hidden under a cap under the plastic cover on the engine that had to be bled. I dont even want to tell you what that one cost me. Easily the cost of a service manual. I see what looks like a hose fitting and little air pump mounted on top of the engines. The hose fitting has a one way valve in it I can depress with my finger. I am thinking this is a way to flush the engine's raw water side with pink stuff. From what I can gather from the manual the little hand pump blows out any salt water that may be left in the exchanger when the boat is hauled. Have you guys used these fittings and pumps on your boats?

Mike

 

[mike472]

Scott,

Found the trans filter online for $47 for the stock one, or one thats magnetic(fuzzbuster it was called) for $59 that seemed like a nice upgrade. Also, was wondering if you can use standard synthetic Dexron III made for automotive apps or does it have to be a special marine version?

The Schrader valve I mention is right on the top of my 6.2's where the fuel line connects to the fuel injection on top of the engine. You absolutely have to bleed my fuel system when you run out. The tech told me there is no return on these engine so the air has no where to go unless you bleed it by unplugging wiring harness plug right next to it to momentarily get the fuel pump to run(it only runs for about 15 seconds with the engine not running, safety reasons)then plugging it back in with the keys on. The tech did this about 3-4 times until he got fuel out of this valve. Elsewhere on this forum I had seen someone mention turning the key on and off 40 times to get the pump to prime the line. No dice, not on this setup. That should be in the owners manual.

I do have the air actuated single point. I saw this in my owners manual. My question to you is, after you use this system to purge the seawater out of the raw water side, have you used the pipe coming up alongside the engine that has what looks like garden hose fitting with the check valve to pump pink stuff into the raw water system on each engine? This to me looks like a way to pump pink stuff through the raw water system. Looks like you would keep pumping it through here until it made its way through engines heat exchangers, pumps, strainers and out the intakes on the bottom of the boat. I have to look at the owners manual again but I didn't see exactly what this setup was used for.

Do you have an actual shop manual for your boat or is it just the owners manual that came with the boat? I think my boat is unique in having 6.2's as I have never seen another one with anything other then 5.7's or 5.0's. This boat was special ordered with these engines by the first owner according to the dealership in Hyannis through whom I purchased the boat. I am pretty sure these engines were never offered by SeaRay as a standard option. Between the literature I had picked up at boat shows and looking at SeaRay's website there was no mention of these engines being an option. Maybe thats why some stuff relating to this particular boat isn't in the owners manuals.

Thanks,

Mike

 

[mike472]

Thanks Scott,

I'm going to let Marine Max do the winterization and I will ask the tech about it too. I don't want to torch my impeller or flood the innards of my engine so I will wait and get a confirmation of how to do this from him. I figure the money I'm paying them will serve as a fee for the lesson I'm going to get as I watch everything he does and take notes.
I still will tackle the trans myself.

Mike