Oil Changing Tip for Four Strokes and Inboards
I bought a pontoon boat about two years ago with a 4 Stroke 70 HP Evinrude. This is my first 4 stroke engine and I doubt I will ever go back to a two stroke (Maybe an E-Tech). When I changed the oil this year, I had some problems getting the drain plug back in. Turns out the prior owner had stripped the threads out a bit. I ended up having to drill and tap the bore again and install a helicoil. I was worried about getting chips into my oil pan so I flushed with oil as I was drilling several times with clean oil. Simple oil change change turned out to be a big scary problem!
Afterwards, I was talking to a guy that owns a 4 Stroke and he said he never takes the oil plug out to change the oil…He wants to avoid this type of problem. Instead he pumps it out through the dipstick. These oil pump kits are readily available and vary in cost from cheap hand pumps starting around 15 bucks to fancy electronic pumping systems that can be a couple hundred bucks. I did some product research and found this hand pump from Moeller that is awesome. It costs less than 70 bucks, but it’s worth every penny.
Moeller Oil Pumps is really easy to use, super clean, and easily transported to your local recycling center to dispose of the oil. Capacity is around 4 liters…Simply insert one of three different size hoses into the dipstick tube, pump up a prime, and come back in about 10-15 minutes to a fully drained oil pan. No more removal of the oil plug or messy oil catch basins sitting on the ground strategically placed to catch the initial blast of oil that comes shooting out once the plug is removed. If you have a set of “ear muffs” for your boat it helps to warm the oil up first. This ’stirs’ up all the sludge or anything that has settled at the very bottom of the oil pan along. Warm oil is also a bit thinner and flows easier for quicker draining.
WestMarine.com and other places have cheaper versions of various types of hand pumps. I’m glad I did a some product research; The first pump I planned on purchasing (for about 1/2 the price) had terrible reviews. Figured I would share this to maybe save someone potential future hassles. Now I won’t dread next seasons oil change.
