In a previous post I addressed a problem with my salt water heat exchanger. New item. When I removed the Yanmar 3GM30F engine from my sail boat to address the probnlem of excessive rust on the fwd port side of the engine, I made a decision to remove the oil pan. I was concerned as to just how much heavy guck was in the pan after some 16 years of service. Turns out the engine oil pan was very clean: I found about a match head quantity of oil guck in the corners of the pan. But what I did find was a big - how could they !! The image attached to this post is of my oil-withdraw-tube as it is entered into the oil pan cavity to suck up the old oil. It does not show in this picture but the oil pan engine dip stick when it is seated in its holding hole is fixed to a point just above the engine oil pump pick up assembly. And there is another inch to an inch and half of travel before the oil suck out tube in just at the bottom of the oil pan. The point here is that if you use a suck up tube that is not marked with the extra inch or so of travel then there is a good bet that you will leave a lot of old oil in the pan because you did not get low enough into the pan area to get most of the oil - because your SUT termninated on top of the engine oil pump pick up assembly. Again I ask - how could they put that assembly exactly centered below the dip stick hole. As shown in this picture my oil suck-out-tube is positioned below the engine oil pump pick up assembly because it (my suck up tube) is curved a bit. YSUT (your - suck up tube) has to be marked as I did with the blue tape and positioned in the hole so as to by-pass the engine pick up assembly to reach the deep inards of the oil pan. I'm hope this revelation will help all in the delicate and messy process of an effeciive "oil change". Sail on - or is it Motor On in this case. RD
