Doing engine oil changes

Usually I pull the dipstick and pump it out. It is slow process. I have to drop a 1/4 inch tube down into the dipstick to the bottom of the pan.

I do have engine drain plug on the engine pan.
There is about 5 inches height of engine pan to keel base.
I could put a hose fitting instead of the plug with a rubber hose and run it to a valve, then gravity would drain it into a bilge bucket.

Has anyone designed their own setup like that?
Only reason I hesitate is due to catastrophe if the rubber hose or clamp failed or I accidently opened the valve.

Greetings,
Mr. 717. Why not install a pump?

OP-6 Oil Change Pump - Reverso | Fisheries Supply

The vacuum pump tanks work pretty well in those cases. You can stick the tube in and pump up the vacuum and it will continue to suck in oil while you can go about doing other things. Just stop by once in a while and give it a couple pumps.

On my engine a 1/2" ID hose about 4' long was factory installed to the bottom of the pan. I just use a hand pump and due to it's larger ID, warm oil moves pretty fast. I did not bother adding an electric oil change pump.

My engine has a metal tube plumbed into the pan drain. The top of the tube is about even with the middle of the head. I connect my oil change pump to it, flip the switch and in less than a minute the oil is out.

Same setup on my Volvo TMD 31A Ski, draws out real fast when warm. Had a Perkins 135 that had a hand pump built into the engine for draining the oil that was a nice feature.
On the Northern Lights 5 KW generator I came up with a threaded fitting and hose barb to screw in the end of the sump drain hose so I could use the extractor pump to draw out the oil.
Bill

On Northern Lights 5, 6kw, I just take out the dipstick tube. Held in by one 10mm screw, sealed with an oring. Take out the tube and stick in vacuum tube. I never liked the factory drain, it leaves a lot of oil in the sump.

I added an oil change pump to the engines and genny. With 5 gallons in each engine it was a big help. I also used the pump in reverse to fill the engines. I added an additional valve on the pump manifold to use a separate hose to empty the transmissions as well.
Oil changes were no mess.

Two ways I have done this, I have somewhere a blue metal topsider pump.
I have used a AC vacuum pump and a large glass jar.

I also have a Carter rotary vane gasoline pump, wonder if that would work?
It does pump diesel. Using the Carter would make it pretty simple setup.
I use the Carter as a utility fuel pump etc...would really be ideal.

The top sider pump is a pain to use, and sometimes it does not suck and I have to to repair it just to use it. One time when I was pumping the handle the entire end came off at the top.

The AC vacuum pump works well, but you got to watch it closely. I set it up using a large pickle jar.

Just remembered, I also have a Holley red marine fuel pump. Maybe that would work.

I have a Groco 5 port pump set up ready to go but I may not have enough clearance under the engines oil pans for a drain to hose angle fitting. Transmissions and gen. is no problem. Did you have a clearance problem ?

sdowney717 said:

Usually I pull the dipstick and pump it out. It is slow process. I have to drop a 1/4 inch tube down into the dipstick to the bottom of the pan.

I do have engine drain plug on the engine pan.
There is about 5 inches height of engine pan to keel base.
I could put a hose fitting instead of the plug with a rubber hose and run it to a valve, then gravity would drain it into a bilge bucket.

Has anyone designed their own setup like that?
Only reason I hesitate is due to catastrophe if the rubber hose or clamp failed or I accidently opened the valve.

Click to expand...

I had a boat years ago that had a 4 cylinder Mercruiser I/O that had a factory system exactly like that. The hose had a metal plug on the end (no valve) and was attached to the garboard drain plug. Remove the plug and pull the hose out, remove the plug and the oil drained through the hose into whatever you put under the drain.

WesK said:

I had a boat years ago that had a 4 cylinder Mercruiser I/O that had a factory system exactly like that. The hose had a metal plug on the end (no valve) and was attached to the garboard drain plug. Remove the plug and pull the hose out, remove the plug and the oil drained through the hose into whatever you put under the drain.

Click to expand...

That is the simplest thing to do. I will have to measure and see how high up it really is.
My idea was run the hose to the valve and mount the valve on the inboard engine stringer.
Reaching the engine drain plug might be a stretch,

I will experiment with the electric fuel pump, see if it can pump engine oil.

I've set up many engines with a drain hose system that I consider almost idiot proof. I'm living proof you can't make anything idiot proof, idiot resistant is the best that can be done.

As with the OP I'm concerned about leaving a valve open. I'm also concerned with hose failure or the hose fitting vibrating out of the drain plug hole. All very expensive!

I use a quality hydraulic hose from the drain pan plug to a valve then to a male hydraulic coupler.

1/2 Inch NPT Steel Hydraulic Hose Female 64168933 - MSC

The hose is secured so that it cannot rotate and back out of the drain plug hole. Quality hydraulic hose will easily withstand the heat and vibration of the engine. Properly made hydraulic hoses do not use hose clamps which are prone to failure. If I forget to close the valve the worst thing that happens is the hydraulic fitting may weep a tiny bit.

On the suction end of the oil change pump is a female hydraulic fitting to match the male and another length of hose to the pump. This hose does not have to be anything special as it is not left attached to a running engine.

The oldest setup I have done has been in service for 21 yrs without a failure.

Having a hose from the oil pan is standard on thousands of boats I would guess...


My current boat, my last boat...many commercial boats I have run...


There is no pressure involved...just how scary can it be? Hook to a pump or gravity drain....no big deal.

psneeld said:

Having a hose from the oil pan is standard on thousands of boats I would guess...


My current boat, my last boat...many commercial boats I have run...


There is no pressure involved...just how scary can it be? Hook to a pump or gravity drain....no big deal.

Click to expand...

For me the scary part would be a hose failure while running. Hydraulic hoses are good. Also I have used the screw together AN fittings and stainless braid hoses with engine oils.

sdowney717 said:

For me the scary part would be a hose failure while running. Hydraulic hoses are good. Also I have used the screw together AN fittings and stainless braid hoses with engine oils.

Click to expand...

Seems like there are so many scary things here on TF that the real world of recreational and commercial boating that I live in just don't seem to bother most captains with a handful of experience.

Wonder why here everything is so scary?

There are a bazzilion other things to worry about other than 10 inches of hose you can keep a close eye on and if you do lose oil pressure...throttle back and shut down if you must...doesn't mean you cooked an engine unless you are asleep at the wheel.

Scary = lack of training and expierence. Just my two cents.

Engine alarms are a wonderful thing for a low oil pressure situation.


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Volvo's dipstick tubes (at least on my 63L) go all the way to the bottom of the pan. I was informed by Dick Vosbury to just clamp a hose around the top of dipstick tube, hook up a pump, and you'll get almost all the oil out that is possible.

Not sure if other diesels are like this, but it might be something to look into.

(**and HiDHo Bill, I was just telling Bess how much I am going to miss the hand pump on our old Perkins.)

I have tried the TopSider can and have found the same problem, I spend more time repairing it than using it.

This last year I ordered a hand pump from Jabsco

It came with various size hoses and I was able to slip the end of one of the hose over the dip stick tube and pump out the oil into a container. It was much faster than any of the Topsider type units I have tried and less of a mess. Cost me about $53 through Amazon and well worth it.

Fortunately, all the trawlers I am looking at have a "reverso" system installed. Sounds decadent.

I use a West Marine manual oil extractor-6.5 liter for my Volvo tamd40b engine. Just hook it to the oil extraction tube built into the engine and pump about 20 times and it pulls the oil right out- No mess, no fuss. Best $100 I've spent yet.

"I use a West Marine manual oil extractor-6.5 liter for my Volvo tamd40b engine. Just hook it to the oil extraction tube built into the engine and pump about 20 times and it pulls the oil right out- No mess, no fuss. Best $100 I've spent yet."

Me too!

Many larger diesels come with manual pumps installed with a hose. I just aged the pump hose in place of the old manual pump. It never occurred to me to worry about the hose then I don't wear suspenders with my belt either.

sdowney717 said:

That is the simplest thing to do. I will have to measure and see how high up it really is.
My idea was run the hose to the valve and mount the valve on the inboard engine stringer.
Reaching the engine drain plug might be a stretch,

I will experiment with the electric fuel pump, see if it can pump engine oil.

Click to expand...

I would say that the key here is to use hose that's intended for oil.

Our boat needs 4-5 oil changes per SE AK cruise, and there's not much space for carrying a big hand-pumped vacuum oil changer or 5-gallon bucket type onboard. We have a Reverso 312 gear pump mounted next to the Volvo 44.

I put the suction hose over the top of the dip stick tube, slightly tighten a small hose clamp on it so it doesn't suck any air, and the Reverso pulls out most of the oil right quick - way faster than the rubber impeller model we had before. Oil goes into a couple of empty gallon oil jugs for disposal. After refilling I have two more clean empty jugs for the next time. Hoses are stored in big ziplocs (three layers of them) and can be shoved back into storage position without concern about spills.

The only difficult part of this is detaching hoses from the pump without dripping much - takes practice, and I'm not always successful (hooray for absorbent pads).

Tom.B said:

Volvo's dipstick tubes (at least on my 63L) go all the way to the bottom of the pan. I was informed by Dick Vosbury to just clamp a hose around the top of dipstick tube, hook up a pump, and you'll get almost all the oil out that is possible.

Click to expand...

I have a Volvo and the service manual recommends pumping the oil out through the dipstick tube.

The tube cannot go all the way to the bottom of the pan. If it did, oil couldn't get into the dipstick tube to be measured or pumped out. There has to be some clearance.

I cannot get as much oil of my engine as Volvo claims the capacity is so I'm certainly not replacing all the oil.

WesK said:

The tube cannot go all the way to the bottom of the pan. If it did, oil couldn't get into the dipstick tube to be measured or pumped out. There has to be some clearance.

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Well, DUH!

WesK said:

I cannot get as much oil of my engine as Volvo claims the capacity is so I'm certainly not replacing all the oil.

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Curious. How much difference are the two values?

I have a pair of Perkins Prima 80T marine diesels in my shop that have the slickest little hand pumps I've ever seen for changing oil. They are attatched to the oil pan and look similar to a fresh water old kitchen sink pump. Very interesting, I dont think I would want to pump 10 gallons out with one but I'll bet they work fine for these little engines. I use a gear rotor pump for pulling out oil in my sporty, the same one for fuel cleaning. I pull the engine oil thru the filter system and add it to the bulk fuel tanks. Then burn it.

I have a pair of Volvo TAMD41s. One has a hose from the bung on the bottom of the pan, which I use. They both have an oil extraction pipe beside the dipstick pipe, which I have to use on the other engine. I always do my oil changes together. I haven't been able to measure any difference in the amount of oil removed from each engine. I use one of those vacuum pump thingies, so with a thingie capacity that is less than the capacity of each sump, I have to dump part way through. I know my ability to measure is hampered, but still I can't notice any difference between the two.

kulas44 said:

I have a pair of Perkins Prima 80T marine diesels in my shop that have the slickest little hand pumps I've ever seen for changing oil. They are attatched to the oil pan and look similar to a fresh water old kitchen sink pump. Very interesting, I dont think I would want to pump 10 gallons out with one but I'll bet they work fine for these little engines. I use a gear rotor pump for pulling out oil in my sporty, the same one for fuel cleaning. I pull the engine oil thru the filter system and add it to the bulk fuel tanks. Then burn it.

Click to expand...

Same with my Lehman..the stainless hand pump option is cute but at about a cup a stroke...if the oil isn't almost water like....it is a struggle.