I performed my first outboard maintenance yesterday - onboard - using a Harbor Freight sawhorse. It fit right in the cockpit, and the outboard attached to it easily.
And I have to recommend the Topsider Oil Changer - it sucked the oil out completely, with no mess. I then removed the drain plug - nothing was left! (I did run a little fresh oil through, just to flush.) Also replaced the leg oil - emptied the old stuff into a plastic dish. Didn't have to transport the motor, or clog up dock traffic.
Maintenance card earned! Back to sailing!
Pictures, where are the pictures?
TG
Yeah, that Topsider outfit (http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_390306_390306?utm_source=google_PPC&utm_medium=Dynamic+Search+Ads+Test&utm_campaign=DSA&utm_content=_cat:fuel%20transfer%20lubrication/oil%20extractors&mkwid=sWgi7Aaj0&pcrid=81459281471&mtype=b&devicetype=c&storeId=6970&langId=-1&type=search&gclid=CJTCg9viy9ICFduEswodf7QLWQ) sure looks like a handy bit of kit...Bit bulky to stow aboard, but undeniably handy to bring to the boat for seasonal maintenance. A more compact "make do" tool for this sort of thing might be Harbor Freight's Multi-Use Transfer Pump (http://www.harborfreight.com/multi-use-transfer-pump-63144.html). Not as elegant and fool-proof "tidy" as the Topsider, but it costs only just about $5 on sale or with one of their 20% off coupons, and with care it'll get the job done and stow handily in a plastic bag. Still, next time I'm down near the Northern Tool outfit a half hour south of me on an ethanol-free fuel run, I believe I may pick a Topsider (http://topsider) up. This is not the first time I've heard superb things about them.
I bought one of the transfer pumps from Harbor Freight and while it worked for transferring gas, it won't pump viscous fluids like oil.
I second the Harbor freight transfer pump didn't pump. It really didn't pump much of anything and after a very short time it wouldn't prime. To me not worth the space it takes up. But that's just my opinion.
I use to use the Jabsco, I think it's called, little pal hand pump. It works well but is expensive a about $45.00
Tom L.
Ditto on the HF hand pump... had one, wasn't happy.
Hmmmm...I used a Harbor Freight one to pull the Automatic Transmission Fluid out of my old Durango towbeast when I first got her last year, and it worked a charm. Once she started flowing, she even just carried on herself by siphoning action. She's slow, but she gets there. I've also used one for pulling 90 weight GL-4 gear oil or gasoline out of the Amphicar (http://www.amphicar.com) over the years.
I'll agree that some Harbor Freight wares are best avoided (I'm looking at YOU Crossbar Dent Repair Kit! (http://www.harborfreight.com/crossbar-dent-repair-kit-66957.html=)), but I've always had happy thoughts about their Multi-Use Transfer Pump (http://www.harborfreight.com/multi-use-transfer-pump-61364.html).
But yeah, one has to concede that the Topsider is in a different class of tools. It should be at ten times the price.