So here is my question, what is the eastiest way to drain the oil from the engine of the boat without making a big mess in the transom? I have an electric pump that will pump the oil out of the dipstick tube, but was told that will not get all the gunk out of the pan. I know the whole bring to operating temp first thing, but I would really prefer to drain the oil fromthe pan using the plug, but I do not want an oily mess in the transom. Does anoyone have any suggestions on a different way to do this?

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1995 225BR 5.7L w/ Bravo One & Thunderbolt Ignition

Boat Name: Cent$less

Life's Journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting, 'Holy sh!t... What a Ride!! ' '

Dustin, 

There is.  It's a 4-5 ft hose assembly where one end screws into your oil pan where drain plug used to be.  The other end has a removable plug with a hook to hang somewhere on the transom.  To drain oil you feed the loose end thru the hull drain plug hole, remove hose plug and out it comes.  No mess.  I bought mine at a boat dealer but they probably sell them through the catalog houses.   I had one on my old boat and it worked great.  Only downside I saw was it is very slow compared to my dipstick pump.  1 minute and I'm done.  

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Paul Baisch

By far, the easiest way to change oil is to take it to the shop and let them do it.  Probably not the answer you're looking for, but it's definitely the easiest!! 

Paul's suggestion to put the adapter with the hose on it works also.  But, I've heard of cases of the hose coming off while running and ruining the engine.  I'm not sure how common that is, but it's enough to make me think twice about doing it. 

There's not really any other method to get the oil out of the pan other than to pull the plug and hope that you have your drain pan positioned correctly. 

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The dipstick tubes are designed to have the oil sucked up through them - I would say for safety and sanity just get a pump and do it that way.  Just warm the motor up first to get all the junk suspended in the oil and use the method the manufactuer put in place!

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2008 Crownline 210 LS
5.0 Merc. MPI
Picked it up 7/24/08!

Dustin, my theory is that with a pump, I can do an oil change much easier myself which will make me do it more frequently.  I change mine every 50 hours (Merc recommends 100 or a season) so even if I leave some old oil in there, it's so diluted and then with a filter change, any particulant is trapped.  Also, by changing more often, the chances of sludge developing is slim.  If 1/2 a quart gets left and you're adding 6 fresh quarts and a filter and then repeating that on a good interval, you'll never have a problem.

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O'
"Little Mascara 3"
2003 266BR,496 MAG w/Bravo III

Thanks for all the reply's. I think I will just use the pump I have for this to keep the mess to a minimum.

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1995 225BR 5.7L w/ Bravo One & Thunderbolt Ignition

Boat Name: Cent$less

Life's Journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting, 'Holy sh!t... What a Ride!! ' '

Thanks Mike that is some good info to know. I do have one more question though. Would it be wise to start the engine, get it to operating temp, run some SEAFOAM thru the carb and crankcase, THEN do the oil change? I do this with my car, truck, and ATV and it helps to keep the top end nice and clean.

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1995 225BR 5.7L w/ Bravo One & Thunderbolt Ignition

Boat Name: Cent$less

Life's Journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting, 'Holy sh!t... What a Ride!! ' '

How do you use Seafoam?

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2008 Crownline 210 LS
5.0 Merc. MPI
Picked it up 7/24/08!

Nathan,

One of the easiest ways is to dmp it into your gas tank. Another way is to pour it SLOWLY into the card or a vacum line. On my truck and car I pour it into the brake booster vacum line. The engine sounds like it is going to die and it smokes ALOT, but it cleanes all the carbon build up off the top of your pistons and valves. Or you could dump some of it into your crankcase and let the engine run for about 15-20 min. then drain and change oil and filter. If you do a search on youtube.com I am sure you will be able to find a vidoe of it somewhere. I know it helps with the truck and car. The ATV I just dump into the gas tank.

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1995 225BR 5.7L w/ Bravo One & Thunderbolt Ignition

Boat Name: Cent$less

Life's Journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting, 'Holy sh!t... What a Ride!! ' '

Did my first oil change today using the method of attaching a pump to the dipstick tube.  I used a milk jug as my container.

Concern: The motor holds 4.5 quarts but it didn't suck that much out.  It MAYBE sucked out four quarts (including what was left in the filter).

 Is this normal?  I really wanted to get the other 1/2 quart out of there...

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2008 Crownline 210 LS
5.0 Merc. MPI
Picked it up 7/24/08!

The pump won't get it all out Nathan but that extra 1/2 quart left won't hurt anything.  Keep it changed on a frequent basis and it'll all be good.

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O'
"Little Mascara 3"
2003 266BR,496 MAG w/Bravo III