Never knew changing old can be so hard...

S

Slacker

Member
Apr 23, 2008
143
Oxford, CT
Boat Info
2006 Searay Sport 205 w/ Monster Tower and Kicker Amp.
Towing w/ 2018 Mercedes GLE350
Engines
Merc 4.3L MPI Alpha (220hp)
Never knew changing oil can be so hard...

OK, so I pulled the quick drain hose out the through the boat plug hole and removed the screw. I noticed oil was coming out, BUT EXTREMELY slow... Really really slow. SO I let it drain all day and came back to find it just dripping. SO I inserted the plug back in and put 4 quarts of oil in. Now the book said if I was doing an oil and filter it would take 5 quarts... so no I am very confused since I am over filled and forced to drain it again. Please help... Is the oil supposed to come out this slow and how much oil should it take? I am currently draining it yet again...


2006 Searay Sport 205 4.3L MPI
 
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did you run the engine to operating temp? if it's cold, the oil will flow like refrigerated pancake syrup. get it good and hot. if it still runs slow, maybe the hose is coiled up strangely in the bilge and not draining properly.
 
I let it run for about 5 minutes. Apparently not long enough cause when I felt the oil it was cold. I guess my only option at this point is to drain it all back out... Checking the oil inbetween would be pointless right? I just checked my manufacture manual and it states 3.8 quarts. SO the Seloc manual is wrong.
 
yeah man. run it til your dash temp gauge is around 170. do you know how much oil you collected after the first drain out? i try to put it in containers of known volume (ie: a 1 gallon milk container) so i know exactly how much came out.

do this: with the engine off for a while (1/2 hour), check the dipstick. if it is at the right level, then you have enough oil in the pan. if it's a bit low, add some, wait 5 mins or so, then check again. you are waiting b/c to get an accurate dipstick reading, all oil has to drain back into the pan. if the manual says 5 quarts that's the capacity of the engine, but it's unlikely you'll get all 5 quarts out completely. that's why you need to keep an eye on the dipstick.

as far as draining again, it depends on how much you got OUT with the first drain. for example, if you only got 2.5 quarts out, then added 4 quarts, now you've not only have TOO MUCH oil (bad), you've mixed degraded oil with new.

if you dont know how much you got out the first time, drain ALL the oil out when it is HOT. collect the oil in a container that you know the capacity of. then add 4 quarts, run the engine for 5 minutes. shut down, wait 10 minutes and check the dipstick. you run the engine after re-fill to get oil into the filter (assuming you changed the filter). if the dipstick is reading LOW, add a bit more and keep checking.

GOOD LUCK!
 
Thanks guys! So I let the oil drain completely out again then filled it with about 3.5-3.6 quarts of oil. It appears to be correct now...

So the first time around I think I overfilled it by .2-.5 quarts of oil. I just hope I didn't damage anything by starting it after that. The engine bogged down and died. I did not try to restart it after that. That is when I double checked the stick and it was readin high now.
 
I found the oil comes out of mine a lot faster if I punch a hole in the filter, let drain for 1/2 hour and then take the filter off. It seems to give enough relief to let the remaining oil out.
 
Slacker said:
So the first time around I think I overfilled it by .2-.5 quarts of oil. I just hope I didn't damage anything by starting it after that. The engine bogged down and died. I did not try to restart it after that. That is when I double checked the stick and it was readin high now.
Click to expand...

You're not going to damage the engine by having a 1/2 quart too much in there. And it bogging down and dying had nothing to do with that amount of oil. Problems come from having too much oil in pan and getting to operating temperature; probably more than a 1/2 quart...
 
Hmmmm, wonder if it bogged down because I changed the fuel filter and there wasn't enough gas flowing through it yet....

Thanks for responding though. I was gettign kind of worried that I ruined something... As you can see I'm no the most mechanical guy:)

It seems to be running great now though.
 
Slacker said:
Hmmmm, wonder if it bogged down because I changed the fuel filter and there wasn't enough gas flowing through it yet....

Thanks for responding though. I was gettign kind of worried that I ruined something... As you can see I'm no the most mechanical guy:)

It seems to be running great now though.
Click to expand...

Yes, that would be it.
 
hey slacker! more power to ya! you just keep working on that boat, keep looking here for some advice and experience, and keep on STICKIN' IT TO DA MAN! everyone here's glad to help (and pour a bit of gasoline into the filter before you screw it back on next time.:thumbsup:

btw, what kinda boat you got? put some info in that signature.
 
I have a 2006 Sport 205 that I bought as a left over at the end of last season (2007). I was that guy that always said I will never buy a boat. They are such a waste of money... then I started at a new company and the guy who sits in the next office has two and kept talking me about them and how much fun. SO I decided to pick one up for the lake by me. And let me just say... some of the best money I have spent yet!!! But the maintenance... MY GOD! Just have to learn how to do everything on my own. Thanks again!
 
GOOD LUCK and welcome to a dangerously expensive and addictive lifestyle! kinda like cocaine without the health risks, FBI and DEA.

please note that i do not condone or recommend the recreational use of illegal narcotics or controlled dangerous substances. JUST BOATS!
 
I started changing my oil on Saturday morning and it is still not done. When I got underneath my boat and started to remove the plug from the hose, I remembered reading this thread. My engine has not been started this season. The dirty stuff has had all winter to drain down into the pan and I really didn't want to start the engine and pump the dirty oil through it again. I knew that the cold oil would take a long time to drain, but I had no idea that it would take more than 11 hours to do it. I got just under 1 gallon after letting it drain for 6 hours. I plugged it up Saturday night and came back late Sunday morning. It drained for about 5 hours and I got about 3 more quarts out of it. The manual says to loosen the oil filter. I took it completely off, and removed both the dipstick and fill tube cover as well. None of them made any difference. The manual also says to use a pump on the dipstick tube to push the oil out. I put the oil filter and fill cap back on. Then I used a portable air tank with a blower nozzle on it in the dipstick tube. This made a bubbling sound in the pan, and about 1/2 quart came out in a couple of minutes, but then it seemed to stop having any effect so I went back to just letting her drip...

I topped off the first jug and left the second one under there all night. I have to run down this evening to see how it is going. The book says she holds 9 quarts. I hope that last one comes out really slow, or I'm going to have a mess to clean up when I get there.

Michael
 
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i'd be leary of shooting compressed air into there. much easier to run the engine, impurities be damned!
 
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