Oil Change Question

[Paulywood]

Went to change the oil in the boat today as I'm getting ready to put it away. I have never changed the oil in this boat. It looks like there is a rubber hose coming from the drain plug that I can use to change the oil. However, I can't really get below the level of the drain plug in my bilge. Also, when I removed the plug at the end of the hose nothing came out. Is there a valve at the pan that needs to be turned? Do I have to use a pump to pull out the oil? The boat is a 2001 Sportcraft with a 4.3 Mercruiser. Thanks for your help guys.

[Priority1]

Nick,

I added a drain hose to mine a few years ago. They are now standard on a lot of the Mercruisers. Leave the cap on and stick the hose through the transom drain hole. Get a container and take the cap off. Get the end of the hose as low as possible. Of course the engine should be warm for the best results. When mine is just about done draining, I add another 1/2 qt of clean oil to push out as much of the old oil as possible. I like this system because most of the mess is outside the boat. You may still get a small amount of oil in the bilge when you remove the filter. Make sure you put some oil on the new filters gasket surface, so it will seal and remove easily.

You don't need a pump. The oil drains by gravity. There is not a valve in this system. The oil will drain real slow even when warm. The I.D. of the hose is quite small.

[Rayman96]

It will drain a little faster if you remove the fill cap or dipstick to allow air into the crankcase.