no Oil till Spring?

[toliver]

I just sucked out only about 3 Qts of Oil with my Big Boy Topsider hand pump from my Yanmar 2QM20, for my seasonal oil change.
I have 2 Questions;
1- Does anyone know how to get the remaining 1 1/2- 2 qts of oil still in the Crankcase sucked out?
2- I am considering not adding my 3 qts of new oil into crankcase until spring. If I don't plan on starting the engine till Spring, is there any reason to add oil to crankcase now as opposed to waiting for springtime?

 

[Ron20324]

The reason to change oil when laying up is to remove the acids and other nasties that have built up over the season. If you leave some you've done no good in removing only part of it. I'd start working now on a way to remove all of it. This can't be the first time you've changed the oil?

 

[centerline]

in my opinion, its not so important to get all the oil out during an oil change, as it is to make sure you compensate for it by changing it often enough to keep it relatively clean....

Ive seen many engines installed at such an angle that doesnt let all the oil drain out from the drain plug, so when using a sucker, it can either be better or worse for getting all the oil out...

even in a perfectly level installation, some oil pans have the drain plug on the outside edge rather than on the bottom, which can hold a half a quart of oil or more in the pan unless one were to tip the engine....

but no matter how you do it, there is absolutely no advantage to leaving the crankcase empty.... although I can think of a couple down sides to it, such as, what if you forget?

 

[DougM]

Total crankcase capacity, according to the Yanmar manual is about 2.6 liters (1.6 effective). A liter is just slightly over a quart, so if you got 3 quarts out you would not have that much oil remaining. It would be nearly impossible to get all of the oil out of the crankcase especially by sucking it out and with the engine installed at an angle. If you truly believe you have up to two quarts still in the engine, somebody has been overfilling.

 

[All U Get]

A friend of mine bought a boat new and did an oil change by running the new oil for about an hour then removing it and refill it again. His oil was then totally clean. I got to see his dipstick when the boat was twenty years old. It was like showroom color and he said it was near changing time. The sailor that bought that boat got a good deal.

All U Get

 

[arf145]

As others have said, get that new oil in there and crank the engine some to distribute it before you put the engine to bed for the winter.

 

[Justin_NSA]

I don't think there's any harm in leaving it empty over the winter. The question would be 'why'? And like mentioned, there's that risk of accidentally starting it dry.
You have bigger issues if you have removed 3 qts and you think you still have 2 remaining.

 

[Warren Milberg]

You may want to try using a Jabsco hand oil pump to get out some,or most, of the remaining oil. I am able to move the tiny sucking tube around the dipstick hole to get to various parts of the sump on my 2GM20F that are angled. Not a perfect solution, but it works for me. Might work for you, too. See: http://www.ceshowroom.com/ProductDe...x6VSCbCzrkAYylLVy-nDjSmHEdYVZGybARhoCx2Hw_wcB

FYI, I'd fill the sump with new oil in any event, and then turn over the engine by hand to distribute the new (or newish) oil through out the cylinders. All upside, no downside that I can think of.

 

[Ilanortho]

Also, warm the engine before draining it.

 

[Siamese]

Would be good to know the oil capacity of the engine with certainty. In the meantime, 2.6 liters is 2.75 quarts, which would indicate you did a bang-up job of getting the oil out if it's capacity is 2.6 liters.

Opinions vary widely with regard to oil change frequency and how to prepare an engine for the off season. Having sifted through the available information, myth, and opinion, here's what I do and why.

In the fall, I change the oil (Rotella T non-synthetic). I change it in my boat slip, and then run it over to the hoist, 2.5 miles away, and I'm done for the season. In the Spring, I run the boat back to my slip and change the oil again.

Why: In the fall, I want to get the oxidized, bad oil out and replaced with fresh oil, and get the new oil distributed throughout the engine. If the motor doesn't get run after the change, it's internals are still coated with the old oil, regardless of how much oil is in the crankcase. In the Spring, I change it again to make up for the fact that there's always a little oil left when attempting to remove the oil. Also, I like to get the 6 month old (very slightly used) winter oil out.

 

[toliver]

Also, warm the engine before draining it.

"To warm or not to warm"...my problem is if I warm up the engine before the oil change, (also to let thermostat open so that I can introduce antifreeze into my raw water engine cooling punp) it usually takes over an hour for the oil to drop by gravity into the oil pan...by then the oil is not warm any longer...a true dilemma.

 

[MitchM]

1) check if your engine has a drain plug that will allow faster draining (with oil fill and dipstick tubes open of course..2) per Mack Boring, it is a bad idea to leave the engine empty of oil for any length of time. air has moisture in it. moisture rusts things.

 

[jssailem]

it is a bad idea to leave the engine empty of oil for any length of time. air has moisture in it. moisture rusts things.

 

[toliver]

ok, just back from my boat, (and on-board manual) looks like the manual says indeed the Crankcase oil volume in a 2QM20H should be btwn 3.5 qts min. and 5.4 qts max. (dipstick read full just before oil change)
So, I guess there is still over 2 qts of oil remaining in my oil pan...how do I remove this considerable amount of oil?
Also, nice comment from Mitch about moisture in engine...+1
maybe time to get a small Jabsco pump as rec'd by previous poster
Thanks for good comments

 

[MitchM]

thanks john, i will pass your compliment onto the guys at mack boring..here's my favorite oil change pump: 6.5 liters, thin and tall, fits right down into engine compartment. tube fits into dipstick. take off oil filler cap, put pump's tube into dipstick. pump a vacuum into the pump body with 'bicycle- style' attached handle, watch the oil fill the container. pump to keep a vacuum every so often. dump the oil some legal place, then clean pump body and tubing with 409 and paper towels. pour some bilge cleaner into bilge and clean it too while u r at it. (buy Moeller, not west marine knock off. my moeller is 35 y o. )
Marine Oil Change With Moeller Fluid Extractor Pump - YouTube
2:08

this is a tin tall pump, vacuum
Changing the oil in a Westerbeke diesel engine with the Moeller / Tempo

 

[agprice22]

1) check if your engine has a drain plug that will allow faster draining (with oil fill and dipstick tubes open of course..2) per Mack Boring, it is a bad idea to leave the engine empty of oil for any length of time. air has moisture in it. moisture rusts things.

I was thinking this too! But then... the oil is in the pan... nowhere near the pistons and bearings and rings... so then I remembered what my friend did when I was young. He put a little Marvel Mystery Oil in the cylinders to lube them over the winter. He opened the cylinders up in Spring to cycle the oil. This is like fogging the cylinders in a 2 stroke. Of course there were no 4 stroke outboards back then...
I have an aversion to leaving the motor dry, but, considering the oil is nowhere near the parts needing oil, the aversion seems irrational. But I still could not do it. I say oil always belongs in the engine.

 

[NYSail]

If you don't refill with new oil then run, the internal parts are still coated with dirty acidic oil. Also when I use my moeller/tempo pump I push hard on the tube into the dip stick hole and it will adjust a few inches further into the pan. I get most oil out.....

 

[capta]

Personally, I'd go the other way for a long lay up. I'd over fill the engine until I was sure the bearings and seals were covered by oil. I can't imagine anything worse than having your main crank bearings and seals open to the elements and unlubricated for a long period of time. Isn't that why it is recommended that one run their diesel at least once a week (some say month); to keep the working parts lubricated?