how often do you change fluids.

C

chazaroo

New Member
Dec 4, 2006
415
Florida
Boat Info
1996 Sundancer 250
Engines
single 5.7 w Bravo III
We've been doing it every 50 hours. Oil, steering, drive, antifreeze. IF it's liquid we replace it. I'm wonder if that's often enough. I should also mention that it takes us a little over a month to put 50 hours on the boat.

-Chazaroo
 
chazaroo said:
We've been doing it every 50 hours. Oil, steering, drive, antifreeze. IF it's liquid we replace it. I'm wonder if that's often enough. I should also mention that it takes us a little over a month to put 50 hours on the boat.

-Chazaroo
Click to expand...

well i was told every 100 hours or every year.. which ever comes first.. thats what the dealer told me.
 
Routine Maintenance

Some years ago when I switched from a lifetime of gas engines (back to straight 6 Grey Marine 100 HP!) as wise surveyor told me that a diesel will run forever if the owner will do just a few simple things.

1. Keep the Air Clean
2 Keep the Oil Clean
3 Keep the Fuel Clean

In honesty it does take a little more than that, but he was on firm ground to impress on me the cheap and easy mainentance patth was the low cost way to long term ownership.

On my 6C's I change every 50 to 70 hours as schedule allows, Cummins duty cycle calls ofr 300 hours what a farce the pistons would be through the block at a 1000 hours with that followed. It costs me about 150 bucks to change the oil and filters and I can't even get a tech to my boat for less than $150 in Time and Travel. I change the oil filters on every change. Oil is the cheapest maintenance item I have.

I change the Genny oil every 50 hours, airfilter cleaned at 50 changed at 100.

We test the coolant every oil change and adjust chemical balance by chaging to a new coolant filter whcih has chemicals in the filter as required. We use FleetGuard "Complete" coolant and it is meant to go for years without changing as long as the proper PH & DCA balance is maintained. We drain into clean buckets and refill after any heat exchanger work. This stuff is more expensive than oil!

I clean & oil the air filters 100 hours or annually.

My two Cummins engines are doing fine so far on the diet I feed them!

I change the marine gear with every oil change on the engines.

Does this help?
 
I do the full 100hr service every 50 hrs. I know it cost a little more up front, but I would rather pay a little now than a lot later.

I normally don't have the time and skills to do all the service my self so I leave it up to my dealer and then go over everything they do along with asking for the parts that they replace. not to say that a I don't trust them, actually I don't trust anyone when it comes to my toys...
 
Thanks guys. That pretty much sums up my belief. 100 hour service at 50 can't hurt. And I've heard forever that oil and filter changes are cheap maintenance for a car. Gotta be right for a boat too. I'll continue with the 50 hour services.


Chazaroo
 
I do all 100 hour services once a year (approx. 60 hours) , except engine oil and filter change, which I do every 30 hours since we only boat about 60 hours a year.
 
Devil's advocate: Do you guys have any idea how conservative the numbers are for fluid changes? These are developed by the people who profit from frequent changes at both ends - the manufacturer of the boat, and the manufacturer of the lubricants.

Add in to the mix the fact that most of us have switched to synthetic lubricants/blends when the recommended intervals are largely based on the minimum acceptable petroleum product.

Reasons to change more frequently than recommended:

Frequent operation in excessively dusty environment - ?
Abnormally high operating termperatures
Racing or similar operation (boat racing, not compared to cars)
Suspicion of contamination (Head gasket, cap left off....)

All this being said - Many of us are extremely anal when it comes to boat care. I would advise that many of us divert our energies and monies to more effective means - and we'd be more environmentally conscious at the same time.
 
Changed my Power Steering fluid over the weekend (only the starboard side). I checked it Friday and didn't like how black it looked compared to the port side (which isn't used). Used a hand pump the next morning to pump the old out and refilled with new stuff. I was a bit concerned when I started the boat the next day and immediately noticed that there was no power steering - very hard to turn wheel. After about 20 secs, the problem went away as the fluid had a chance to begin circulating within the system. I believe this is the first change for PS. Engine has approx. 85 hours.
 
Hampton and Gerryb both brought up interesting points. Environmental issue aside, I think changing too often is better than not changing often enough. The key is finding the ideal change point that maximizes boat life while minimizing environmental impact. Gerry mentioned the power steering fluid change which brings up a separate issue. Should all fluids be changed at the same time? I would think the outdrive would be changed more often than the power steering based on the high operating temperatures in a Bravo 3 for instance. I've been replacing everything at once and perhaps that's overkill.

-Chazaroo
 
Forget environmental impact, you or your mechanic should be recycling the used fluids.

But remember the financial impact. I'm a seasonal boater and every thing is seasonal. All the fluids get changed at the end of the season. Usually that's between 90 and 120 hours.

If you have enough money to double up on your maintenance, you need a bigger boat :lol: :lol:
 
If you have enough money to double up on your maintenance, you need a bigger boat :lol: :lol:[/quote]


I'll inform my wife immediately. :smt043 :smt043 :smt043

Chazaroo
 
I am in the water for about 6 months/year and about 100hrs/year. I usually pull the boat (since I have a trailer) about once mid-season and change the outdrive fluid then. I will also change it during winterizing.

I change the oil & filter at 50 hrs. while the boat is in the water or if it coincides with me pulling the boat out mid-season.

I have not changed trim tab fluid, only topped it off as it appears clean and the same with the trim pump fluid.

I changed my power steering fluid once during this summer prep. but it too was clean.

I am a believer in the 50 hr oil and outdrive oil change but the other fluids could be changed less frequently IMHO.
 
hmmmm, I think I'm going to wait until 100 hours to change the oil, which should be in the next couple of weeks. Everything I've ready and been told said 100 hours is good. It still looks really clean to me. I'm pretty anal but not THAT anal. If I changed the oil every 30 hours, I'd be doing it once a month. I also don't run my engines hard.
 
I think from a priority standpoint engine oil and drive oil are the two critical ones. Engine oil for obvious reasons and drive oil because I've been told the Bravo 3s run real hot.

Chazaroo
 
Something interesting I just found out.

I went to my dealer yesterday to check on their load and how long it would take to get my boat serviced. while i was at it I checked on the 100hr service and was informed the Mercruiser no long requires the waterpump impeller replaced at 100hr. their recommendation was for every 200hr's ( 200hr's service is 250 more than the 100hr fo radding a tuneup and impeller). I was shocked to here this considering the area I boat in where Impellers be very prone to damage do to sand being sucked into the engine.

has anyone else heard anything along this line?
 
Yikes! That's a new one on me. Don't think I want to wait that long on impellers.

Chazaroo
 
While some consider me to be anal on maintenance, I only change the raw water impeller after 2 years which is 200 hrs on my b3.

I did have good luck changing my older boat with an alpha, every other year also.

Changing the b3 is easy and can be done while the boat is in the water, so I never really worried about it. Don't get me wrong, I won't go three years on the same impeller :smt018 .

I boat in Long Island sound and while there is not usually alot of sand around me, I have run into sandy spots without pump failure so far.....
 
Hmmmm.

In the car world, the people who sell me an engine after I burn one up recommend 7500 mile oil changes, with 15,000 mile filters. The people who sell me oil changes recommend every 3,000 miles. :smt017

In the jetski world, the people who sell me the expensive synthetic jetski oil recommend the expensive jetski oil; while the mechanic who would fix everything when it clogs up recommends the cheap stuff. :smt017

And nobody recommends burning the 10-15% ethanol blended gasoline I burn. Including the marina which has ONLY the blended fuel for sale. :smt013

So. . . I figure the oil in my car and the jetski is cheap compared to the consequences of a mechanical failure. I replace fluids close to the *minimum* intervals, but if I go over I don't loose any sleep over the fact.
 
chazaroo said:
I should also mention that it takes us a little over a month to put 50 hours on the boat.

-Chazaroo
Click to expand...

Geez I wish I could get that many hours a month on my boat...I am jealous :smt089
 
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