Changing engine oil

[rxc]

On my 2003 SO43DS, I have the Yanmar 75hp engine, and I have been changing the oil thru the dipstick. However, I note that I do not get anywhere near ~6 liters(?) of oil out of the engine when I suck it out of the dipstick. I also do not put anywhere that amount of oil back into the engine. I have been quite persistent with the suction tube, making sure it is pushed all the way down to the bottom of the tube, but I think that the angle on the engine keeps me from draining the sump completely.

The oil color has consistently been pretty clear when I change it, and not the dark black stuff I used to get out of my old boat's engine, so I am not too worried. However, I think that I did find the real drain plug on the port side of the engine, towards the back, in a spot that is accessable only by feel. To use it I would have to drain the oil into the engine sump, which is not a good idea.

So, I am asking if anyone else has succeeded in (1) figuring out how to drain more oil thru the dipstick, (2) figuring out how to change the oil using the real drain plug without making a god-awful mess, or (3) figuring out how to attach a drain hose to the drain plug that would allow me to suck the oil out of that spot, instead of thru the dipstick. My old boat used the last technique, and while it was not perfect, it was much better than using the dipstick.

[MartyB]

I have to admit, I've toyed with option 3. Not sure where to find the parts. I do have a lawnmower with a similar plug and hose, along with my Bobcat with a Kabota engine has something similar to drain the oil too. So option 3 seems doable, once you figure out the plug size etc. Which, I have not done, nor have I seen fit to find the time etc so far.

Marty

[bottleinamessage]

Keeping in mind that ours is a 1991 Yanmar. The dipstick tube is affixed to the very bottom of the oil pan. I think all Yanmars are plumbed that way. Rather than put a tube into the dipstick tube, I have a rubber fitting that slips over the top of the tube. Hence when I vacumn the oil out, I get 99% of it.

[rxc]

The dipstick on my Yanmar does not go to the bottom of the pan. Instead, it goes into the side, a few inches above the bottom. The Universal engine on my old Catalina 34 had a drain hose tapped into the pan, but it did not get everything out either, because of the tilt of the engine. I was wondering whether anyone else had found a similar connection to attach to the Yanmar.

A key question for this is whether I did actually find the "real" drain plug on the port side, aft. I think the bolt I touched was the drain, but it was very difficult to see. I was wondering if anyone has actually used this to drain oil, and how they did it. I used to use an anti-freeze bottle cut in half lengthwise to drain the transmission on my C34, because it was not possible to suck much of the transmission fluid out of it. Luckily the transmission on the Yanmar allows me to suck out all of the lubricant. I would still like to drain it sometime, but for now the dip tube works well.

Oh, well, that is part of the joy of owning boats - doing required ordinary maintenance in quite confined spaces, contorting the body into inhuman shapes.

On a separate matter, I don't know how many of you own Raystar 120 GPSs, but mine just died, and some internet searching revealed that there is an internal battery(!?) inside this device that is NOT user replaceable, and after about 5 years, it turns into a piece of junk. In the course of figuring this out, I managed to somehow destroy the Seatalk capability of my autopilot, which is now off in jolly olde Englande getting fixed, and I have found a new Raystar 125(new! improved!) GPS here in France, for only 285 Euros($419). So, if you own a Raystar 120, standby for it to fail - not a question of whether, but rather when.