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Lower Unit Gear Oil Change

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uncledick

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Hi Guys:
I have a 150 Yamaha on my Bennington. The boat is on a lift in my dock. When on the lift, the motor is completely out of the water. The lower unit drain hole is about 8 inches above the water. First year owner. Have any of you changed the lower unit oil with the boat & motor in this configuration ? Tips and advice appreciated. I don't at this point have a trailer, and am hoping to winterize with the boat on the lift without taking it out of the water. (Very clean freshwater lake)
Rich/ uncledick
 
Haven’t done that. I suppose you could with a second pair of hands, but one mistake could be costly ( ie a fine) if you spill oil in the clean lake.
 
Rich, are you saying that you're planning to winterize and keep it on the lift over the winter?
 
If the water is not too deep you might be able to stand there and pull it off. Hopefully a boat doesn't pass by while you are doing so as the wave would probably be greater than 8" and that would make a mess.
 
Get yourself a kiddie pool and float it under the lower unit. One of the plastic ones from Walmart. I've changed the oil in the water with a suction pump but I borrow a trailer to do the lower unit gear lube.
 
Is that with the motor in fully vertical position? You'll need it to be to refill the lower unit
 
lakeliving said:
If the water is not too deep you might be able to stand there and pull it off. Hopefully a boat doesn't pass by while you are doing so as the wave would probably be greater than 8" and that would make a mess.
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Yeah, if I go this route, I'll pick an early weekday morning with a perfectly flat lake day.
 
Really like the kiddie pool idea.
Also, I plan to fog the motor while running and store the batteries indoors. Any other tips or suggestions from you guys for this first timer ?
 
uncledick said:
Also, I plan to fog the motor while running and store the batteries indoors. Any other tips or suggestions from you guys for this first timer ?
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If you're in Georgia why bother. Ours sit on a lift through the winter and if we get a warm day...………………….
 
cwag911 said:
If you're in Georgia why bother. Ours sit on a lift through the winter and if we get a warm day...………………….
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Carl: I'm on Lake Blue Ridge with climate probably just like yours on Lake Norman. If you keep yours on the lift all winter to be able to use on warm days, do you drain the water jackets between launches ? We have two or three hard freezes each winter. I'm sure you do too. .....and thank you for your service. I was on active duty similar time frame as you.
Dick.
 
Water jackets?
 
uncledick said:
Carl: I'm on Lake Blue Ridge with climate probably just like yours on Lake Norman. If you keep yours on the lift all winter to be able to use on warm days, do you drain the water jackets between launches ? We have two or three hard freezes each winter. I'm sure you do too. .....and thank you for your service. I was on active duty similar time frame as you.
Dick.
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If you leave the motor vertical, all the water drains. It's not like an I/O where you have to winterize.
 
Thanks Carl. That clears up one of the things I was curious about. Long time inboard guy, brand new to outboards. Based on what you and others have said, I think winterizing is not going to be that big a pain. Winterizing my inboard was always a half day job.
Dick.
 
I’m a retired mechanic so I’ve changed lower unit oil many times on my outboards. I’ve never changed lower unit oil over the water, but I will give you some advice. I did change the engine oil over the water without a drip in the water with a large tray. You will need a large drip tray to catch any spills that miss your oil bucket. Go to a farm supply store and get a deep tray about 2’x3’ in size, cost is cheap. You can just float this catch tray or support it with some rope. You will need a second person to help. Remove the two plugs and drain oil into the bucket, fill from bottom plug until it comes out of the top plug, put plugs back in. Have lots of rags ready for anything that goes wrong. If the oil is warn it will flow out easily.
Edit per Sunedog, As far as batteries put a trickle charger on them over the winter.
 
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cwag911 said:
If you're in Georgia why bother. Ours sit on a lift through the winter and if we get a warm day...………………….
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I am on Center Hill Lake in middle TN. While I change the oil annually (we only put about 30 - 40 hours on the motor each year) I have never winterized the engine and we will use the boat all year round on warmer days in the winter. I love being on the water at cruise speed when no one else is, wearing jeans and a hoodie. We keep our boat on a lift with the engine vertical and all the water drains out. I checked with my dealer and his mechanic and both recommended this.
 
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Change both oils in Oct/Nov sometime. Clean/wax/lube. Empty boat of non essential items. Open mothball containers in various compartments during winter. Put something similar to this on each battery.

https://www.amazon.com/Sunway-Solar...115&sr=8-22&keywords=waterproof+solar+charger

Close mothball containers, go out for an hour+ cruise on warm-ish days about once a month. Don't have to go out once a month but it's fun.
 
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Viking1 said:
As far as batteries you will want to pull them out and set on a table or on a wood board on the ground. Put a trickle charger on them over the winter.
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Viking1 -- No reason to store on a table or wooden board. Right on the concrete is fine with modern, plastic case batteries. Plenty of sources back this up including this one:

The design of modern day batteries includes a hard plastic shell that eliminates the intake of moisture, thus making the garage floor a great place to put your car battery.

Cement and concrete floors provide a fairly good barrier between the car battery and extreme temperature changes that could otherwise cause damage to the battery cells allowing for a discharge leak.

https://northeastbattery.com/do-cement-floors-ruin-car-batteries/
 
sunedog said:
Viking1 -- No reason to store on a table or wooden board. Right on the concrete is fine with modern, plastic case batteries. Plenty of sources back this up including this one:

The design of modern day batteries includes a hard plastic shell that eliminates the intake of moisture, thus making the garage floor a great place to put your car battery.

Cement and concrete floors provide a fairly good barrier between the car battery and extreme temperature changes that could otherwise cause damage to the battery cells allowing for a discharge leak.

https://northeastbattery.com/do-cement-floors-ruin-car-batteries/
Click to expand...
 
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