Changed the oil for the first time on Harrier today. Pretty sure I did it the hard way...
Due to the lack of space under the engine, there is hardly enough room to lower the drain hose and effectively get things to drain.
I see now the only practical way of doing this is to pump it out. Anyone have advice on pumps that have worked well for you?
My last boat had an inboard. I tried the West Marine vacuum pump. Found it to be pretty frustrating/useless. Ended up getting a pump powered by a drill. Put a small diameter hose down the dip stick tube. That is connected to a pump that you turn with a drill. The outflow from the pump discharges into a container of your choice. This tended to be a slow process due to the small diameters of the tube, but all I had to do was sit there and keep my finger on the drill trigger.
The pump comes with plastic hoses. I was concerned that the plastic hose down the dipstick tube would melt in the hot oil. (I made sure the engine oil was hot so its viscosity would be lowered and contaminants would be in suspension.) To put my mind at ease, I cut a piece of the plastic hose off and put it on the stove in boiling water. Boiled it for 15 minutes. The hose never softened.
Oil changes were never neat. Keep paper towels on hand and a convenient trash basket.
There is a pump most of the boaters use at our marina, runs by pumping a top T handle. I am assuming it is called a Vacuum pump.... the hose goes in a spot that is also the pour spout.
Really slick, and works great.
I have never seen West Marine on it..... and if I see it in my parts books I will try to remember to type which one it is here for you.
Mac
Oh, the color is Black top and bottom, black handle on top, and it has a spot the handle rests in. and it has a small 1 to 2 inch diameter hole that has a nice little spout indent.
The center is whiteish plastic kindof see thru. with 3 or 4 sections seperated by ribs on the outside.
MARPAC FLUID EXTRACTOR
Here is Defender link:
http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|311|296536|314179&id=1345777 (http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1%7C311%7C296536%7C314179&id=1345777)
Guys are pretty crazy over it. Has to be atleast 5 or 6 guys that use em at the marina. We take the used waste oil and burn it in our shop. One guy I know that does it 2 times a year has told me that it really is a slick unit, and does the job even on his push mower.
Each guy highly recommends em,
Mac
I use a cheap vaccum pump that I got from Amazon. Don't buy anything expensive that says "marine" on it; I paid about $10 and it works well. Here is the link:
http://www.amazon.com/Hand-Pump-Siphon-Gas-Liquid/dp/B004107292/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1367938529&sr=8-11&keywords=oil+pump
I've had it for a couple of years and done a number of oil changes with it. It is not a fancy contraption but works well. The engine on the CP27 has not much oil in it, so a few strokes on the punp are enough to pump it all out. I usually bring an old milk carton to capture the oil. Make sure you run the engine a bit before the oil change; warm oil flows quite easily through the pump.
Good luck!
I have the exact same model, bought it off the shelf at Lowe's. I got it to empty remaining bit of gas from the tank on my CP 19 outboard before storage.
Nic, do you use the pump by cramming the tube down the oil dipstick tube, or do you somehow use the oil drainage hose that's attached to the bottom of the engine block? Seems like using that hose would be the best way to get every bit of oil out, but it would require adapting the plastic pump to mate to the rubber hose.
Wes
Wes,
I use the oil drainage hose - which makes it wonderfully easy. The pump comes with a some rather soft, pliable rubber hoses, one of which connects easily to the drainage hose. Since you suck the oil out, the resulting low pressure keeps the tubes together nicely.
The biggest challnge, in my view, is getting the iol filter off. Access is partially blocked by the generator and the belt. always ends up as a little struggle.
If you think that's a struggle, you've never owned a Honda Accord :)
Harrier, looks like this could be a great solution, for $10.95 plus shipping.
Absolutely right, I've never owned a Honda Accord. I much prefer my Compac!
In my price range! Thanks everyone for the feedback.
PS I agree about the filter being a pain to get off. Its also impossible not to make a mess.
Curious, does the pump have enough vacuum to draw oil from the filter and reduce the mess?
I never found that the filter removal makes much of a mess (or perhaps my standards are just a lot looser), but i always struggle to get the filter off. I have plenty of paper towels to receive whatever leaks out as the filter comes off.
But on that topic: does anyone have a good idea how to clean the engine? I'd like to remove old grime and oil from the engine and surrounding surfaces. There is a small of diesel on board and cleaning it all out might help. I am not yet ambitious enough to attempt painting the engine ...
Nicolina,
When I have had to clean an engine on a boat, I usually get engine de greaser from WalMart (Napa actually but same stuff at WalMart)
and then bag the Air filter as we dont want water in that!
and then I thin I tape off the dipsticks, so that no water gets in them, and the oil filler.......
I look over the engine for other entrances such as those, then I spray the de greaser on it, and wait the proper time, then shoot her down with water.
Works great and makes em look new.
After it is all cleared out, then I run em a bit to ensure that it is all in working order.
Be sure to maybe even wear a respirator just in case you need as some areas are confined enough to make ya nausea.
Mac
Thanks, Mac. Do I need to be concerned about the electrical bits getting wet? Cable and wires, connections, generator etc? In a car, they can get wet, but in a boat?
I haven't seen that as an issue, but one could always tape em off which will keep em dry. The job is pretty quick. And it isnt something you will do every year luckily.
The mess goes in the bilge, which I then clean out with Dawn soap.
Typically I mess with this on the land, but have cleaned a few in the water after a thorough check for oil the I can clean up first, etc.
Mac
Nic - with all due respect to Mac, whose opinions I respect, I would not subject my nice clean bilge to the auto degreaser/hose-down treatment. I would go the kinder, gentler route with a spray bottle of Greased Lightning and a handful of rags. You can get GL at Home Depot and it works very well. My friend who owns a commercial cleaning service swears by it.
www.greased-lightning.com
Wes
Wes,
The difference is of course that your bilge is clean and mine isn't - a fact that Mac may have guessed right. However, point taken: the whole point of teh exercise is of course to get the smelly mess out of the belly of the boat and bilge cleaning is part of it.
Actually, that was my thought, (No offense) and the typical job when we do it, makes for a better outcome as the bilge typically looks cleaner as well, which surprises the customer with a added bonus.
I have cleaned engines up with some brake cleaner on a rag, but it doesnt get the crevices very well.
There is so little to diesels (especially Yanmars) that I am not really sure that getting em a little wet for this would be a issue.
Only thing I could see is maybe the starter, but that is why you tape some of that off.
The 27 had so much room in the engine housing, that I was really surprised when I looked at Wes' newest venture, I literally told my wife that I could have hugged the engine.
Compared to J29s, you guys have nothing to complain about in the space department..... trust me.
A good cleaning every 10 years sure doesnt hurt. ;)
Do what you think is best, my ideas arent always the best, just what has worked for me.
Mac
I don't know, I would never use any type of automotive engine degreasers, brake cleaner, or any high volatile solvents in such a tight confinement as the inside of a boat. They are noxious and can be overwhelming on small cleanup jobs (like a carburator) in a big garage, let alone the small space of a boat and a larger object to clean. Sure, the strong engine cleaner will be fast, but whew...really bad for your health, IMHO.
What they might do microscopically to fiberglass that could have long term effects is another question, I'm not sure how resistant our boats are so prefer to keep the strong chemicals off it, that way there is no question if something may or or may hurt it.
I've been using a spray bottle of Dawn mixed with water to do degreasing, wax removal, quick cleanup, etc for years. Not on boats, but all the motorized or greasy items in the household. That's would I would use, safe and effective, albeit not as strong or fast as the organic cleaners, but a little scrubbing and brushing beats the fumes any day. As Mac states cover all the electronics/starter/alternator/vents/intake. Spray down and with plenty of shop towels and old toothbrushes, mop up and scrub down what you can. Vinegar is a great smell remover and cleaner, you might try spraying 50/50 vinegar/water after the dawn spray and let it sit. Also place maybe 3 small open containers of vinegar for a day or two, then come back remove the vinegar and open all the hatches for a day. Maybe one in the bilge and two in the cabin.
Is a strong chemical degreaser potentially damaging to boat components? It could attack fibreglass, bilge paint, or the bilge pump and hoses. There are also marine degreasers available, and presumably they should be safe for use on a boat and in contact with materials found on boats. But are they materially different from other, e.g., automotive, degreasers? The most obvious difference is that the marine degrreasers are more expensive by a factor of four. I am not competent to judge if they are chemically really all that different.
I heartily second Salty's suggestion. Start mild, and work your way stronger only if necessary. Dawn is amazing stuff - it was the tool of choice during the Gulf oil spill disaster; they used thousands of gallons of it including to rescue sea birds covered in oil. My next step up would be a household spray cleaner like 409. Avoid solvent based degreasers at all costs in enclosed areas. MacGyver is a boat tech so his blood is 50% toluene already; the rest of us could get killed if we aren't careful.
Wes
I use this:http://www.greenterpene.com/d_Limonene_Orange_Terpenes_Food_Grade_p/001005527.htm. (http://www.greenterpene.com/d_Limonene_Orange_Terpenes_Food_Grade_p/001005527.htm.).
I clean the bilges and motors of all my various vessels (9 of'em) with d-Limonene. You may relate more to orange hand cleaner. Anyway it's a natural emulsifier that allows oils to be water soluble. Works great, I just put a little in the bilge, go for a cruise or sail, and rinse it out (being careful not to discharge into the water of the lake I live on).
Just a suggestion.