Oil Change pump?

[SkunkBoat]

Does anyone here use an oil change pump on their outboards while in the water? Any problem with the dipstick tube diameter vs inboard motor dipsticks??
I'm looking to do midseason oil changes on Suzukis but any general experience with oil changers is welcomed.

Thinking about buying a Jabsco electric with the bucket.

 

[wspitler]

I use one of the manual suction type pumps that holds 8 quarts. This type comes with two different diameter tubes. The smaller one fits easily down the dipstick tube. A lot less messy and I use it on a lot of different engines. Can't recommend it highly enough!

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[drbatts]

I borrow a jabsco pump mounted on a bucket from a friend. I use the same dipstick attachment that he uses on his yanmar. Its 12v and I attach the alligator clips to the positive and negative connections on the motor. works great. A friend of mine who is a Yamaha mechanic uses a larger hose and just pushes it over the end of the dipstick tube.

 

[DennisG01]

I have a MityVac 7201 that has worked well for me for about 10 years - and I use it on about a dozen boats per year. I push the hose ON the dipstick tube as it makes pulling the oil out faster than sticking a little tiny hose inside the tube. I've never done an OB this way, but it's pretty much all the same. I can tell you that a 3/8" ID hose works perfect on a Mercruiser - I do also use a simple SS band clamp to get a good seal.

I think with pretty much any oil sucker, you'll be able to adapt to what you need. For example, using another hose as an adapter and sticking that hose on the oil sucker's hose. You just need to be a little creative, sometimes, but it's not rocket science.

As far as the Jabsco's go, there are (or at least there used to be) two models... one is relatively inexpensive and the other is not. But you know what the rule is when it comes to buying tools...

 

[Chillaxin]

Manual suction works great the bucket ones always changing the impeller

 

[DennisG01]

Manual suction works great the bucket ones always changing the impeller

I get somewhere well North of 100 oil changes with the better Jabsco unit.

 

[SkunkBoat]

Thanks all for the feedback. I think I'll get a Jabsco with the bucket. The Zukes hold 8 liters EACH! so I'll use a 5 gal bucket instead of the 3.5 gal one it comes with.

I'm already getting angry because a motor takes 8 LITERS and the oil comes in Gallons, always leaving you a pint shy.



edit: just ordered it on Amazon

 

[DennisG01]

The one with the bronze pump head is the HD one, fyi.

 

[Flot]

Check your dipstick as you round the 2 gallon mark - I don't ever recall my DF250s or DF300s taking more than 2 gal although they also spec 9 quarts.

As for the pumps - I have had one of the manual suction ones for years and I hate the damn thing. It works but I've always had to use the "small" dipstick tube based on the motors I had, and I feel like sucking the oil out was an hour+ adventure that usually ended up with oil all over the place as I fought with the tube to make sure I was in the bottom of the oil pan.

My "new" grady has F300s which are the first motor I've owned where there was a suction fit on the dipstick tube, so that I could use the big plastic tube and suck oil up through the dipstick tube itself. It went 10x faster and sure seemed to get almost all the oil out.

 

[SkunkBoat]

got this one. I will let you know how it turns out

 

[DennisG01]

There's nothing inherently "wrong" with that light duty one. It's just quite a bit slower than the other one and you can't empty it by simply putting the motor in reverse as it's not an impeller - it's a diaghram-type setup - so you have to pour it out (not a huge deal, though). I don't think it's rebuildable, either.

 

[wspitler]

Remember that dipstick tubes don't go all the way to the bottom of the oil pan. Can't say for sure, but there may be an inch of oil that will not be removed when you don't use the plastic tube all the way to the bottom of the oil pan. I've had one of the manual ones for years and never had an issue with spilled oil. They are slow, but down south here in the heat the viscosity remains pretty low year round. I have the smaller tube that fits easily into the dipstick tube and, I think, goes all the way to the bottom of the oil pan. Next time I do it I will measure the dipstick length versus the length of tube I can insert to get a better idea of the difference.

 

[DennisG01]

Remember that dipstick tubes don't go all the way to the bottom of the oil pan. Can't say for sure, but there may be an inch of oil that will not be removed when you don't use the plastic tube all the way to the bottom of the oil pan. I've had one of the manual ones for years and never had an issue with spilled oil. They are slow, but down south here in the heat the viscosity remains pretty low year round. I have the smaller tube that fits easily into the dipstick tube and, I think, goes all the way to the bottom of the oil pan. Next time I do it I will measure the dipstick length versus the length of tube I can insert to get a better idea of the difference.

Bill, have you verified that the dipstick tube stops an inch before the pan bottom? The dipstick, itself, is not a good measure for this since the dipstick doesn't go the bottom - they never do. The reason I ask about the "inch" is that this would be the first dipstick tube (to my knowledge) that would stop that short.

A more accurate method is to suck the oil out through the dipstick tube and then drain the oil as normal and see how much more comes out - it's typically just a few ounces.

 

[SkunkBoat]

I doubt I'll ever go over 200 hours a seasan so I only plan to use it once a season (on two motors)at the 100hr mark. I will do a normal drain change and filter when its put on blocks for the winter. I won't be doing oil changes on my cars...its too cheap to get that done by someone else. So I went with the lower end model.

 

[DennisG01]

Sure - it will definitely work for you. And it's not like you can't start it going and go and do something else while it's working.

 

[wspitler]

Bill, have you verified that the dipstick tube stops an inch before the pan bottom? The dipstick, itself, is not a good measure for this since the dipstick doesn't go the bottom - they never do. The reason I ask about the "inch" is that this would be the first dipstick tube (to my knowledge) that would stop that short.

A more accurate method is to suck the oil out through the dipstick tube and then drain the oil as normal and see how much more comes out - it's typically just a few ounces.

I haven't verified the depth of the dipstick tube on my motors. I just use the plastic tube and don't bother with the drain plug as one of my boats is on a lift and that is always messy regardless. I do know that on cars I have worked on, the tube isn't even as long as the dipstick itself. At 100 hours, my oil is still quite clean, so a little left is no big deal.

 

[DennisG01]

so a little left is no big deal.

I agree with that. When you factor the percentage of a few ounces to total, it's totally insignificant.

To date, the things I've used the dipstick tube on with success are 4cyl, 6cyl and 8cyl Mercruisers and Volvos (GM blocks), Indmar, newer Mercruisers (their own blocks), Mercedes and BMW. I haven't done it on any 4-stroke OB as I've always been on land when doing those, so I just drain it. Hence the reason why I'm curious about it.

 

[trapper]

Been using the vacuum pump ever since I go the F 200i4. The plastic lower unit housing has to be removed to get at the drain plug...pain to remove with its clips and screws. So it is slow, but as Dennis has said "it's not like you can't start it going and go and do something else while it's working." Usually start the greasing or prop removal while this is going on. Yes I believe I get to the very bottom of the oil pan and remove most of it since I do it immediately after running it and warming up the outboard thence the oil.

 

[wspitler]

One thing I've found on my motors (F250s and F150) is that unless you tilt them up a bit for a few minutes after they have been run, you may still have some oil up behind the pistons in the block, especially if the bow is up slightly with the engines tilted in. The cylinder sleeves are tilted up and might hold oil behind the pistons. It is surprising how much oil levels change with a less than level engine due to the shape of the oil pan. I actually use a level on the flywheel when determining the level. I initially thought my F250 made a quart of oil every 100 hours or so, but found that I had not accounted for draining the oil from the cylinder cavities and once I made sure to get all of the oil out, they don't seem to use oil, or make much oil. Just an observation so far.

 

[Meanwhile]

I just checked my oil and thought I might have engines making oil. I think I overfilled them as I didn't tilt the engines prior. Lesson learned. As above, tilt those engines.