Teach me how to change my oil

JC3

JC3

Well-Known Member
Oct 6, 2006
1,336
Kentucky
Boat Info
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Engines
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Do not laugh but I want to learn to do my own Maint etc... It is time for new oil,
zincs, impellers, etc... you get it. I have never changed the oil myself. The old girl has the oil change system on it but I have never used it. SO. Will some very kind person be very nice and slowly walk me thru this? Thanks guys, JC3
 
Did you lose my phone number?

If you are in Florida tomorrow, call me you get to the boat and I'll talk you thru it. If not, call me anyway and I'll try to tell you where to find everything. I'm about to leave home for the evening so I don't have time to type all that stuff tonite.
 
JC3,

Here are the high points of the job.

1) Purchase 15 gallons of oil, You are supposed to use Cat SAEO, but a lot of folks use Rotella Straight 30wt or 40wt. You can't use Multi Viscosity oil because the additives in that type of oil clog the aftercooler.
2) Purchase three 5 gallon buckets that have a snap on lid and a removable threaded bung. I got mine at Lowes. I also have a one gallon bucket to hold under the filters.
3) Figure out which transfer pump you have (probably a Reverso) and buy the impeller and gasket for it, because the damn thing is always broken and won't work at all with even one missing blade.
4) Purchase Cat Oil Filters Only and a filter wrench that will fit them.
5) Get a Funnel so you can fill the filters with oil, and put oil in the engines if you have gallon containers.

Now that you have all the stuff you need. You can either bite the bullet and replace the impeller on the Reverso Pump, not forgetting to take every thing apart so you can fish out the missing impeller blades, OR you can warm up the engines and then figure out that the transfer pump does not work and then fix it etc. (Don't ask how I know this). If you are a big guy like me you may need a small friend to fix the reverse pump.

6) Check your oil levels. Then warm up the engines to get the oil warm, it will not transfer worth a damn if it is cold, plus you want to stir up all the sediments etc.
7) Take a 5 gallon pail with lid and remove the treaded bung. Place it on the floor of the bilge and insert the transfer pump hose.
8) Open the valve for the engine you want to drain and turn on the transfer pump. The switch is bidirectional, so center is off and one way is drain and the other is fill. If I recall down is drain.
9) Drain 5 gallons of oil into the bucket, turn off pump and close valve.
10) Put threaded bung on the 5 gallon drum BEFORE you move it. You can make a huge mess if you don't have it sealed as it is heavy and hard to move without sloshing.
11) Get another 5 gallon container and drain the rest of the oil from that engine. NOTE how much oil you removed. The engine holds 26.5 quarts, but you never get it all out.
12) You can pour some fresh oil into the oil fill tube so that it flushes out the last of the oil in the reverso system. But that is only makes sense if you are refilling from 5 gallon containers.
13) Repeat 7-12 for the other engine.
14) Remove both oil filters. Have a bucket under them to catch the mess.
15) Pour clean oil into the filters until they are full.
16) Wipe a thin film of oil on the rubber gasket.
17) Thread the filter on until it just barely makes contact and then tighten 3/4 - 1 turn.
18) Fill each engine with the same amount of oil that you took out, less one quart. You don't want to overfill it because it is a PITA to get the oil out. If you have gallons, it is pretty easy to just pour them into the fill tube. If you have 5 gallon pails, you can use the reverso pump to suck it out of the pail and back into the engine.
19) After the engines have oil and you have checked the level on the dipstick you can do one of two things. Either you can start the engine and watch the oil pressure to make sure it comes up in a few seconds. OR if you are anal like me you can remove one of the wires to the fuel rail solenoid so that you can crank the engine, without it starting, until you build up oil pressure, then reattach the wire to the fuel solenoid and start the engine.
20) Let the engines run a few minutes at idle, then shut them down, check for leaks, check the oil level and top up as necessary.
21) Clean up the mess and drips and figure out where to dispose of that oil. My marina burns it for heat so they take all they can get.

Hope this helps, if Frank has any other wisdom, reply with it here as I am sure others will read this some day.

Good Luck,

Pete
 
that covers it pretty well. I also write date & engine hours at change on the filters and pull oil samples when I'm switching pails. lots of oil absorb pads (and simple green too). you can get a case of 100 for under $20 off ebay. Don't forget the gen while you're at it.
 
It's not a complicated task at all, just a little time consuming. On my 3126's I had it down to just under two hours the last time I did it before I sold the boat. As for the Reverso pumps, I never had an impeller problem. My DA was a 2000 and still has the original impeller, and my DB is 2005 with the original impeller. Maybe I'm just lucky? I do have a spare on hand though just in case my luck runs out midway through a fluid change!
 
peterkvs said:
JC3,

Here are the high points of the job.

1) Purchase 15 gallons of oil, You are supposed to use Cat SAEO, but a lot of folks use Rotella Straight 30wt or 40wt. You can't use Multi Viscosity oil because the additives in that type of oil clog the aftercooler.
2) Purchase three 5 gallon buckets that have a snap on lid and a removable threaded bung. I got mine at Lowes. I also have a one gallon bucket to hold under the filters.
3) Figure out which transfer pump you have (probably a Reverso) and buy the impeller and gasket for it, because the damn thing is always broken and won't work at all with even one missing blade.
4) Purchase Cat Oil Filters Only and a filter wrench that will fit them.
5) Get a Funnel so you can fill the filters with oil, and put oil in the engines if you have gallon containers.

Now that you have all the stuff you need. You can either bite the bullet and replace the impeller on the Reverso Pump, not forgetting to take every thing apart so you can fish out the missing impeller blades, OR you can warm up the engines and then figure out that the transfer pump does not work and then fix it etc. (Don't ask how I know this). If you are a big guy like me you may need a small friend to fix the reverse pump.

6) Check your oil levels. Then warm up the engines to get the oil warm, it will not transfer worth a damn if it is cold, plus you want to stir up all the sediments etc.
7) Take a 5 gallon pail with lid and remove the treaded bung. Place it on the floor of the bilge and insert the transfer pump hose.
8) Open the valve for the engine you want to drain and turn on the transfer pump. The switch is bidirectional, so center is off and one way is drain and the other is fill. If I recall down is drain.
9) Drain 5 gallons of oil into the bucket, turn off pump and close valve.
10) Put threaded bung on the 5 gallon drum BEFORE you move it. You can make a huge mess if you don't have it sealed as it is heavy and hard to move without sloshing.
11) Get another 5 gallon container and drain the rest of the oil from that engine. NOTE how much oil you removed. The engine holds 26.5 quarts, but you never get it all out.
12) You can pour some fresh oil into the oil fill tube so that it flushes out the last of the oil in the reverso system. But that is only makes sense if you are refilling from 5 gallon containers.
13) Repeat 7-12 for the other engine.
14) Remove both oil filters. Have a bucket under them to catch the mess.
15) Pour clean oil into the filters until they are full.
16) Wipe a thin film of oil on the rubber gasket.
17) Thread the filter on until it just barely makes contact and then tighten 3/4 - 1 turn.
18) Fill each engine with the same amount of oil that you took out, less one quart. You don't want to overfill it because it is a PITA to get the oil out. If you have gallons, it is pretty easy to just pour them into the fill tube. If you have 5 gallon pails, you can use the reverso pump to suck it out of the pail and back into the engine.
19) After the engines have oil and you have checked the level on the dipstick you can do one of two things. Either you can start the engine and watch the oil pressure to make sure it comes up in a few seconds. OR if you are anal like me you can remove one of the wires to the fuel rail solenoid so that you can crank the engine, without it starting, until you build up oil pressure, then reattach the wire to the fuel solenoid and start the engine.
20) Let the engines run a few minutes at idle, then shut them down, check for leaks, check the oil level and top up as necessary.
21) Clean up the mess and drips and figure out where to dispose of that oil. My marina burns it for heat so they take all they can get.

Hope this helps, if Frank has any other wisdom, reply with it here as I am sure others will read this some day.

Good Luck,

Pete
Click to expand...
I think its fantastic that you would take the time to share all of this, I am definitely saving it for future reference. How often would you normally change your oil/filters and do the samples on 3126TAs if you used you boat 75-100hrs per season? What about the fuel filters, are they user friendly too?
 
In addition to Pete's description, I would suggest getting an extra empty 5 gallon pail for the old oil. On the 450, you have to stand in the engine hatch opening and lift the used oil up thru the hatch which is not a very handy motion. I find it a lot easier to fill the used oil pail only 2/3 full. It is the same amount of oil but is a lot easier to handle in/out/off the boat.

The oil change system on JC's boat may be a Groco, not a Reverso. If so, you will have to make up a hose to go from the outlet on the Groco pump to the waste bucket. ANy of the oil change pumps may blow fuses if you try to pump cold oil in either direction. Check the fuse size, then go to an electronics store and buy a pack of "slo-blo" fuses for the pump. They have a different element in them that requires them to heat up before blowing. It also helps to warm the engines and the oil before beginning the process.......but in Key Largo, I doubt this will
be important.

Get a plug or cap for the hose to save the mess when changing buskers. You will be surprised at how big a mess a little bit of used diesel oil makes, so go the extra mile to eliminate the risk of spills.

Buy a couple of engine diapers to put under the oil buckets as you change the engine oil. Save one to put under the fuel filters when you change the engine mounted fuel filters.

I use 1 gal heavy duty ziplock bags rather than a bucket for the oil filters. Slip the bag up over the top of the filter and then unscrew the filter and bag. The bag catches the drips and then gives you a way to seal up the 1+ quarts of old engine oil as you get it off the boat and to the disposal tank. I also have a 4th oil change bucket with the top removed in which I place all the trash, oil rags, old filters etc.....just make it easier to contain it all in one spot.
 
NaughtyDog said:
I think its fantastic that you would take the time to share all of this, I am definitely saving it for future reference. How often would you normally change your oil/filters and do the samples on 3126TAs if you used you boat 75-100hrs per season? What about the fuel filters, are they user friendly too?
Click to expand...

Caterpillar is very specific on the oil change interval......it is 250 hours or annually, whichever comes first. Moisture and fuel burn by-products are acidic and can damage some internal components so the annual oil change removes impurities and condensed moisture retained in the engine.
 
Frank, Pete, You guys are GREAT! I have been out of the loop and not remotely close
to a computer. I am doing this on a little phone thingy. Frank I will call you in a few days when I get back. Again Everybody, Thanks for helping this dummy. BTW, my system is a Groco. JC
 
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