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no drain plug unless installed afermarket
No Yanmars and virtually no other marine engines, with the exception of some Universals (Kubotas) have oil sump drain plugs (as original mfg). Kind of reminds be of an old boss I had as a kid - he told me the Ford Pinto was the best car he ever had. Didn't take long to find out that was the ONLY car he ever had... Don
No Yanmars and virtually no other marine engines, with the exception of some Universals (Kubotas) have oil sump drain plugs (as original mfg). Kind of reminds be of an old boss I had as a kid - he told me the Ford Pinto was the best car he ever had. Didn't take long to find out that was the ONLY car he ever had... Don
Well Don and Fred. My old Yanmar had a drain plug
I know the Yanmar 2QM series did, they even had a magnet at the end of the plug to attract any metal filings that might circulate through the engine. I also know that it was damn near impossible to actually drain the oil in the confined space below the engine and you inevitably had to drain the oil through the dip stick hole. The newer ones (Yanmars) don't have a Drain Plug per se, but they do have a fitting at the bottom of the oil pan . It just so happens that they have a banjo fitting on there where the dipstick goes in. Not necessarily a drain plug, but if you undo that banjo/bolt you -will- drain the engine . You can call it what you want, but if I wanted to unscrew a bolt and if it drained the engine oil. I call that an "Drain Plug". Take a look at the picture here http://www.yanmarmarine.com/products/pdf/GM_YM/3YM30_TechData.pdf. Google "Marine Engine Drain Plug" and you will see all sorts of boat engines that do have drain plugs in the bottom of oil pans. Not all of them of course. Its foolish to assume that there is an ABYC or USCG reg against having a drain plug on a boat. There are many large boats and ships that I have worked on where the only way to drain the oil was via a drain plug at the bottom of the oil pan. It would have been nuts & taken hours to pump out all the oil out through the dipstick. ps. I have had many boats throughout my years with many different engines and I also had an old girlfriend that had a pinto
I know the Yanmar 2QM series did, they even had a magnet at the end of the plug to attract any metal filings that might circulate through the engine. I also know that it was damn near impossible to actually drain the oil in the confined space below the engine and you inevitably had to drain the oil through the dip stick hole. The newer ones (Yanmars) don't have a Drain Plug per se, but they do have a fitting at the bottom of the oil pan . It just so happens that they have a banjo fitting on there where the dipstick goes in. Not necessarily a drain plug, but if you undo that banjo/bolt you -will- drain the engine . You can call it what you want, but if I wanted to unscrew a bolt and if it drained the engine oil. I call that an "Drain Plug". Take a look at the picture here http://www.yanmarmarine.com/products/pdf/GM_YM/3YM30_TechData.pdf. Google "Marine Engine Drain Plug" and you will see all sorts of boat engines that do have drain plugs in the bottom of oil pans. Not all of them of course. Its foolish to assume that there is an ABYC or USCG reg against having a drain plug on a boat. There are many large boats and ships that I have worked on where the only way to drain the oil was via a drain plug at the bottom of the oil pan. It would have been nuts & taken hours to pump out all the oil out through the dipstick. ps. I have had many boats throughout my years with many different engines and I also had an old girlfriend that had a pinto
Did you guys know that the Coast Guard never
changes their oil? They keep their engines at operating temperature at all times and they're diesels of course, so no need to change the oil. Old Salt thanks for that link. I want one of those. Did you notice that the lubricating oil is INTERNAL now? On my 3GM30F it's external via a pipe and banjos. But the dipstick is 'internal'. The new one is external. What they don't have that I want is serpentine belts. But as far as removing that banjo fitting of the dipstick to change the oil, I wouldn't. My experience with steel banjos and aluminum is NOT good.
changes their oil? They keep their engines at operating temperature at all times and they're diesels of course, so no need to change the oil. Old Salt thanks for that link. I want one of those. Did you notice that the lubricating oil is INTERNAL now? On my 3GM30F it's external via a pipe and banjos. But the dipstick is 'internal'. The new one is external. What they don't have that I want is serpentine belts. But as far as removing that banjo fitting of the dipstick to change the oil, I wouldn't. My experience with steel banjos and aluminum is NOT good.
Never change oil?????
Sorry Fred, I don't buy that for a minute. Lube oil breaks down in time and there is always some minute degree of contamination (combustion by-products etc ) even with the best filtration system. Synthetic oils allow extended change intervals and possibly with large external oil sumps ( effectively, a dry-sump system ) the change interval could be extended, but normal piston engines that would be used in small craft most certainly have to have the lube oil changed at regular intervals, according to hours run or elapsed time.
Sorry Fred, I don't buy that for a minute. Lube oil breaks down in time and there is always some minute degree of contamination (combustion by-products etc ) even with the best filtration system. Synthetic oils allow extended change intervals and possibly with large external oil sumps ( effectively, a dry-sump system ) the change interval could be extended, but normal piston engines that would be used in small craft most certainly have to have the lube oil changed at regular intervals, according to hours run or elapsed time.
Maybe they don't change the oil because they know.
Uncle Sam will buy them a new boat if they break the old one. I bet they change the oil on their personal craft and car. abe
Uncle Sam will buy them a new boat if they break the old one. I bet they change the oil on their personal craft and car. abe
Oil changing
One addition to any oil plug is a copper washer. As I recall, you get a new one with every oil filter from Merc-Benz. Helps distribute the load when tightening and seals with less torque applied. IMHO you want the least torque necessary to seal so as to keep the oil pan threads in good condition. Diesels do not get as much sludge in the pan as gassers due to high compression ratios. Bear in mind though, any additives you add to the oil can cake in the pan, or oil cooler and cause sludge or blockage. I'm thinking of molybdenum disulfide in particular. Oil additives that sit can precipitate out and form a cake/sludge on the bottom of the pan or in cooling lines. If you run your engine frequently this may not be an issue, but if it sits for six months it will definitely be an issue. Oil does not break down. That is until it burns and that should not be an issue. What does happen is that it becomes contaminated with combustion by-products as well as water, usually from condensation. Combustion by-products will add acids to the oil as well as dilute it. Water does not make a good lubricant and all engines should be run to approx. 180 degrees coolant temperature so as to consume any crankcase water (or normal operating temperature). Lifeboat engines commonly have either a dipstick heater or a heat lamp installed, and left on continuously regardless of climate. This keeps the humidity low in the crankcase. Since oil does not break down, most merchant ships go to the bone yard with the original oil they slid down the ways with. Perhaps this is where the previous poster got his USCG info. Those ships do have "duplex-strainers" for each oil system on the ship. Those strainers centrifuge out any contaminates in the oil, and cleaning the off-duty strainer is a regular and thankless task. Smaller vessels do not have the room for such equipment, and so, must filter their oil in a more conventional way, as well as change it. You could, in theory, take your used oil in and have it centrifuged to remove the contaminants and have pure oil again, minus any additives that were heat consumed, as well as a couple cups of diesel fuel, etc.. That is basically what happens when you recycle your oil-you buy it back six months later. If you want to do your engine a favor: always bring it up to full operating temp., change the filter every time you change the oil (if not more frequently), and be leary of miracle additives. If you need a rebuild, you need a rebuild. Although, switching oil brands does often seem to help with a smoky engine. For some reason, the only brands I've used that have helped were either Castrol or Valvoline. I try Castrol first, and if it doesn't work I try Valvoline. Castrol usually does the trick unless that's what you're already using. Hope this has been helpful. Guy
One addition to any oil plug is a copper washer. As I recall, you get a new one with every oil filter from Merc-Benz. Helps distribute the load when tightening and seals with less torque applied. IMHO you want the least torque necessary to seal so as to keep the oil pan threads in good condition. Diesels do not get as much sludge in the pan as gassers due to high compression ratios. Bear in mind though, any additives you add to the oil can cake in the pan, or oil cooler and cause sludge or blockage. I'm thinking of molybdenum disulfide in particular. Oil additives that sit can precipitate out and form a cake/sludge on the bottom of the pan or in cooling lines. If you run your engine frequently this may not be an issue, but if it sits for six months it will definitely be an issue. Oil does not break down. That is until it burns and that should not be an issue. What does happen is that it becomes contaminated with combustion by-products as well as water, usually from condensation. Combustion by-products will add acids to the oil as well as dilute it. Water does not make a good lubricant and all engines should be run to approx. 180 degrees coolant temperature so as to consume any crankcase water (or normal operating temperature). Lifeboat engines commonly have either a dipstick heater or a heat lamp installed, and left on continuously regardless of climate. This keeps the humidity low in the crankcase. Since oil does not break down, most merchant ships go to the bone yard with the original oil they slid down the ways with. Perhaps this is where the previous poster got his USCG info. Those ships do have "duplex-strainers" for each oil system on the ship. Those strainers centrifuge out any contaminates in the oil, and cleaning the off-duty strainer is a regular and thankless task. Smaller vessels do not have the room for such equipment, and so, must filter their oil in a more conventional way, as well as change it. You could, in theory, take your used oil in and have it centrifuged to remove the contaminants and have pure oil again, minus any additives that were heat consumed, as well as a couple cups of diesel fuel, etc.. That is basically what happens when you recycle your oil-you buy it back six months later. If you want to do your engine a favor: always bring it up to full operating temp., change the filter every time you change the oil (if not more frequently), and be leary of miracle additives. If you need a rebuild, you need a rebuild. Although, switching oil brands does often seem to help with a smoky engine. For some reason, the only brands I've used that have helped were either Castrol or Valvoline. I try Castrol first, and if it doesn't work I try Valvoline. Castrol usually does the trick unless that's what you're already using. Hope this has been helpful. Guy
Alright Guy,,,,,,
Where did you come from? Stick around! Oh, centrifuge filters. My 1966 Honda 90 motorbike had one. The side cover had to be taken off of the engine to get to it. A tablespoon worth of crud was found with each cleaning. (I forget the mileage) Hey, it was the sixties. But we knew back then that lube oil NEVER breaks down.
Where did you come from? Stick around! Oh, centrifuge filters. My 1966 Honda 90 motorbike had one. The side cover had to be taken off of the engine to get to it. A tablespoon worth of crud was found with each cleaning. (I forget the mileage) Hey, it was the sixties. But we knew back then that lube oil NEVER breaks down.
Stearns Oil Changer Pump
I've been looking for a simple 12v pump to change the oil and I found one. Just bought the Stearns Oil Changer pump from West Marine online store and had it shipped out (fast shipping) Cost $25.99, the total with tax and shipping came out to $37.64> This is a sweet little package, just a small 12v motor with handle and one in and one out port. Comes with 4 different hoses to use with the dipstick, one fits over the top, one is aluminum, and 2 different size hard white plastic ones. Also one outlet clear plastic hose. All hoses have plastic threaded fittings that screw onto the 12v motor ports which are also hreaded. And get this, the ports on the motor also have attached plastic screw on covers for when you are done. There's more, you also get a large zip lock plastic bag to put all the stuff in when done. Now to how it works. It is a very noisy little thing, but it gets the job done. It is not extremely fast, maybe took 10 - 20 minutes, I did not time it, but since you are just sitting there watching it work, it was OK by me. I used the large white plastic hose, then switched to the smaller one to see if I could get any more oil out. My previous method was a hand pump which took an hour of pretty hard work, so this was plenty fast and easy for me. You have to prime the pump with a little oil too. I kept a close eye on it and shut it off when the volume slowed way down. I don't think I would leave it on for too long. I can't speak for longevity, since I have only used it once, but so far I am very pleased with it. I do not own stock in this company or have any association with West Marine. West Marine model # is 5010327. YMMV
I've been looking for a simple 12v pump to change the oil and I found one. Just bought the Stearns Oil Changer pump from West Marine online store and had it shipped out (fast shipping) Cost $25.99, the total with tax and shipping came out to $37.64> This is a sweet little package, just a small 12v motor with handle and one in and one out port. Comes with 4 different hoses to use with the dipstick, one fits over the top, one is aluminum, and 2 different size hard white plastic ones. Also one outlet clear plastic hose. All hoses have plastic threaded fittings that screw onto the 12v motor ports which are also hreaded. And get this, the ports on the motor also have attached plastic screw on covers for when you are done. There's more, you also get a large zip lock plastic bag to put all the stuff in when done. Now to how it works. It is a very noisy little thing, but it gets the job done. It is not extremely fast, maybe took 10 - 20 minutes, I did not time it, but since you are just sitting there watching it work, it was OK by me. I used the large white plastic hose, then switched to the smaller one to see if I could get any more oil out. My previous method was a hand pump which took an hour of pretty hard work, so this was plenty fast and easy for me. You have to prime the pump with a little oil too. I kept a close eye on it and shut it off when the volume slowed way down. I don't think I would leave it on for too long. I can't speak for longevity, since I have only used it once, but so far I am very pleased with it. I do not own stock in this company or have any association with West Marine. West Marine model # is 5010327. YMMV
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