oil change question baja by fountain
 

getting ready for my first oil change on my 247 islander by fountain. My old 202 had a drain hose that came out the drain plug that made it easy. My 247 has a 496 ho and doesnt look to have the same feature. It looks like I have to pump the oil out through the dipstick. Anyone know where you get one of these pumps that attack to it? Also the dealer said to run a straight 40 weight ,no synthetic. I have about 15 hours on the motor. thank to anyone who chimes in.

Any marine store should carry a oil extractor that you connect to the dipstick tube (same as a garden hose end). Or find them online. Warm up the oil before you try and suck it out using the pump.

Check your Merc Engine manual for which oil you should run in your motor. The dealer recommendation doesn't sound right to me.

15 hours is not a lot of hours on the motor oil (if new) and unless you are ready to winterize, why the early oil change?

I got to thinking about this... the 496HO manual recommends Merc/Quicksilver Synthetic.

http://www.mercurymarine.com/service...ory=fuel#MCOil

What type of oil should I use? Can I use synthetic oil?

Engine Oil

For optimum engine performance and maximum protection, use the following oil:
Application Recommended Oil
All MerCruiser engines Mercury MerCruiser Full-Synthetic Engine Oil, 20W-40, NMMC FC-W rated

IMPORTANT: Lubrication requirements for catalyzed engines differ from the requirements for non-catalyzed engines. Some marine-grade lubricants contain high levels of phosphorus, which can damage the catalyst system on MerCruiser engines. Although these high-phosphorus lubricants may allow acceptable engine performance, exposure over time will damage the catalyst. Catalysts damaged by lubricants containing high levels of phosphorus may not be covered by the MerCruiser Limited Warranty.

If Mercury MerCruiser Full-Synthetic, 20W-40 oils is unavailable, use the following lubricants, listed in order of recommendation. If you are servicing a catalyst engine, use these for short periods of time only.

1. Mercury/Quicksilver 25W-40 Synthetic Blend, NMMA FC-W-rated 4-cycle MerCruiser oil
2. Mercury/Quicksilver 25W-40, NMMA FC-W-rated 4-cycle MerCruiser oil
3. Other recognized brands of NMMA FC-W-rated 4-cycle oils
4. A good-grade, straight-weight detergent automotive oil according to the last row of the operating chart below.

NOTE: We do not recommend non-detergent oils, multi-viscosity oils (other than as specified), non-FC-W-rated synthetic oils, low-quality oils, or oils that contain solid additives.

This crankcase oil recommendation supersedes all previously printed crankcase oil recommendations for MerCruiser gasoline engines. The reason for this change is to include the newer engine oils that are now available in the recommendation.

Older Operation, Maintenance & Warranty manuals, Service manuals and other publications that are not regularly updated will not be revised to show this latest engine oil recommendation. Current Operation, Maintenance & Warranty manuals, Service manuals and other service publications that receive regular updates will receive this revised recommendation the next time they are updated.

This pump works VERY well. I had the hand pump in the past but they are slow and you'll more than likely top them off at least once with the 496.

This one is what I am getting next... pump the oil in no time at all!

http://www.iboats.com/Jabsco-Porta-Q...-view_id.38908

The stringer really got in the way of that oil drain line didn't it. A way to fix it would be to put another plug in the transom to get the hose out. But I am not a fan of having too many holes in a boat.

Hope this helps and good luck.

I think we started doing that on the first 30 Outlaw prototype with 496 HO's. My 29ol only had the one drain hole, and it was a job fishing the hoses, but I liked the concept. No half quart of dirty oil left in the pan.

Oh, and don't trailer the boat down the road with those things hanging, or you might be sorry,

XT

Like TW7 said above...I use one of these. It took going through several cheap pumps before I finally got wise.

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|311|296536|314179&id=830103

Makes the job EXTREMELY easy with no mess. Lines are all long enough to not even have the bucket in the bilge. When I'm finished I buy another 5 gal bucket and drop the old one off at Autozone...after they close of course:)

Search around and you can find them closer to $100.

great info, Im going to have to order one of those pumps. I decided to change the oil with only 15 hours on the motor because im winterizing next week and the boat is a leftover 09 so im guessing the oil has been in there since 09. You guys think the boat has too few hours to switch over to synthetic? I was thinking ill just go with the what merc says above with
20w-40

You can find that same pump many places for way less than that price. I bought 1 2 weeks ago for $50, never used, off Craigslist. :)

Thats a low price. If you see any more online around 100 or less let me know. I saw one on ebay buy now for 125 that was the lowest i found.

I have a Moeller Fluid Extractor and it works well for less cost.

Here are some options: http://www.bizrate.com/moeller-fluid-extractor/

I believe all 496s shipped with oil drain hoses. It's the ONLY way to change oil, ALL the oil.

You can order the oil drain hose kits from Mercury. Www.bammarine.com