DIY annual service - Mail order supply goodness

[Bigbore500r]

Decided to bring the boat home from the river for March and take care of a growing list of items needing TLC. Since I'm bringing it back to my garage, I figured I'd put on my man pants and service it myself this year.

Amazon Prime just showed up with all the goodies......$111.00 shipped to my door for all the supplies
-the 5 quart jugs of Castrol 20/50 are a killer deal @ $15 each!

10 quarts of GTX 20-50 $30
2 quarts of VP synthetic drive oil $38
Impeller and O-ring kit $30
Water / fuel separator filter $7
Engine oil filter $6

Also went ahead and bought a new oil extractor pump, this one was $47 and had real good reviews. My merc hand pump was toast from years of abuse.

Looking forward to wrenching on the boat myself, and knocking out some much needed TLC items.

 

[HitIt]

Nice. Now grab two grease guns and fill one with gimbal bearing lube and the other with spline grease. I wrench on my own stuff too and like knowing that it was done right.

 

[RCDave]

You forgot the knewter valve. : )

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

You forgot the NGK TR55 plugs

And yea the Castrol GTX 20w50 is a GREAT price from Amazon. Cheaper than WalMart.

I got my oil already (Amsoil Marine 20w40) I just need to order the rest of the filters and fluids.

Do you have a Volvo drive? The impeller is stupidly easy if you have never done it.

 

[28Eliminator]

Nice. Now grab two grease guns and fill one with gimbal bearing lube and the other with spline grease. I wrench on my own stuff too and like knowing that it was done right.

And the coupler [emoji106]

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

And the coupler [emoji106]

I had read that the Mercury extreme grease was good for both splines, coupler and gimbal. They eliminated the other greases a couple years ago?

 

[Bigbore500r]

You forgot the NGK TR55 plugs

And yea the Castrol GTX 20w50 is a GREAT price from Amazon. Cheaper than WalMart.

I got my oil already (Amsoil Marine 20w40) I just need to order the rest of the filters and fluids.

Do you have a Volvo drive? The impeller is stupidly easy if you have never done it.

Yea I have a Volvo DPX drive. My impeller is super easy...crank mounted brass raw water pump. The only bummer is I have to unbolt my seat and slide it forward because it is very close the the front of the motor. Ive done it a few times.
I probably should do the plugs, they are 6 years old and 120hrs of use in them

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

Oh yea do those plugs. I'll bet it will feel a bit more crisp. Do the cap and rotor too if you haven't.

 

[RVR2SNO]

I'm thinking of performing the annual service myself this year... Dick Sherrer charges me $1,200 +/-, LaveyCraft quoted $650, which I think is a good price.

Sounds relatively simple..
Siphon engine oil and change filter
Drain gear oil
Change impeller
Grease the fittings

Am I missing anything? Next question, do you think it is even necessary this year? A full service was performed last pre-season, but my wife was pregnant and gave birth to our son so we only used the boat once.

I enjoy working on my truck and think of myself as mechanically inclined, but have never wrenched on the boat.

 

[VoodooMedMan]

I'm thinking of performing the annual service myself this year... Dick Sherrer charges me $1,200 +/-, LaveyCraft quoted $650, which I think is a good price.

Sounds relatively simple..
Siphon engine oil and change filter
Drain gear oil
Change impeller
Grease the fittings

Am I missing anything? Next question, do you think it is even necessary this year? A full service was performed last pre-season, but my wife was pregnant and gave birth to our son so we only used the boat once.

I enjoy working on my truck and think of myself as mechanically inclined, but have never wrenched on the boat.

Water fuel separator, drive alignment are a couple things.

Probably want to at least do fluid changes so no water or contaminants etc are in oil.

 

[VoodooMedMan]

Decided to bring the boat home from the river for March and take care of a growing list of items needing TLC. Since I'm bringing it back to my garage, I figured I'd put on my man pants and service it myself this year.

Amazon Prime just showed up with all the goodies......$111.00 shipped to my door for all the supplies
-the 5 quart jugs of Castrol 20/50 are a killer deal @ $15 each!

10 quarts of GTX 20-50 $30
2 quarts of VP synthetic drive oil $38
Impeller and O-ring kit $30
Water / fuel separator filter $7
Engine oil filter $6

Also went ahead and bought a new oil extractor pump, this one was $47 and had real good reviews. My merc hand pump was toast from years of abuse.

Looking forward to wrenching on the boat myself, and knocking out some much needed TLC items.

Good deal.

Do you check drive alignment yourself?

 

[Brian]

What about drive oil, gimble bearing replacement, bellow replacement? There are several things that your not checking/replacing buy just spending $100 bucks on oil and a few filters.

 

[HitIt]

What about drive oil, gimble bearing replacement, bellow replacement? There are several things that your not checking/replacing buy just spending $100 bucks on oil and a few filters.

Drive oil is in the blue bottles. Bearing replacement? Put a few pumps of grease in unless there is an obvious sign of problems (noise/vibration, etc.). Bellows can be inspected without paying money for anything.

 

[Bigbore500r]

What about drive oil, gimble bearing replacement, bellow replacement? There are several things that your not checking/replacing buy just spending $100 bucks on oil and a few filters.

I don't service myself every year, the drive was just off and alignment checked / set 10 hours ago last year by a shop. I grease the gimble bearing, but that's not something you just replace yearly. It looked good @ the last service. I check the bellows, drive magnet, and inspect the drained oil for metallics. I also cut the engine oil filter open. What id like to do is a used oil analysis in the drive oil this time

 

[Bigbore500r]

Good deal.

Do you check drive alignment yourself?

I don't have the tool or an old shaft, but I have the drive off every other year and have it checked when I don't service myself.

 

[mjc]

I have a merc alignment tool in havasu if somebody needs to borrow it. RD was thinking about copying it and making another one.

 

[HitIt]

I have a merc alignment tool in havasu if somebody needs to borrow it. RD was thinking about copying it and making another one.

There are a bunch on ebay, super cheap. Probably close to the cost of material if you were to purchase the material in small quantities. Since they are turned on a lathe, there isnt a whole lot to them that can be messed up. If you do the annual maintenance yourself, one of those along with some sort of dolly for removing the outdrive is key.

 

[Racey]

What about drive oil, gimble bearing replacement, bellow replacement? There are several things that your not checking/replacing buy just spending $100 bucks on oil and a few filters.

You replace your gimbal bearing and bellows every year?

 

[DeltaSigBoater]

Decided to bring the boat home from the river for March and take care of a growing list of items needing TLC. Since I'm bringing it back to my garage, I figured I'd put on my man pants and service it myself this year...

Also went ahead and bought a new oil extractor pump, this one was $47 and had real good reviews. My merc hand pump was toast from years of abuse.

.

I have the the same one, I just wish it held more than 2 gallons.

 

[Liberated]

Good deal.

Do you check drive alignment yourself?

Volvo DPX doesn't need a engine alignment. Completely different than a Merc setup. Male spline is on the engine side. And they're a M****R F****R to R&R

 

[Liberated]

Yea I have a Volvo DPX drive. My impeller is super easy...crank mounted brass raw water pump. The only bummer is I have to unbolt my seat and slide it forward because it is very close the the front of the motor. Ive done it a few times.
I probably should do the plugs, they are 6 years old and 120hrs of use in them

Glad I read this before busting your balls about a drive install kit

 

[CoolCruzin]

the" topsider oil extractor" looks good . I'm looking for something to buy .
All my other boats had a drain hose . I wish this boat had the hose.

 

[Brian]

You replace your gimbal bearing and bellows every year?

No, but peace of mind to have the drive pulled off every year and checked out. I guess it depends on how many hrs a year you run the boat.

 

[3queens]

the" topsider oil extractor" looks good . I'm looking for something to buy .
All my other boats had a drain hose . I wish this boat had the hose.

you should have one

look for a hose just hanging in the back of the motor with a little clip attached and a square plug on the hose end
should be there

 

[Bigbore500r]

Volvo DPX doesn't need a engine alignment. Completely different than a Merc setup. Male spline is on the engine side. And they're a M****R F****R to R&R

No shit? I see it has adjustable mounts on the stringers, and it lists drive alignments as a service requirement in the manual every so many hours of use. my shop has been Aligning the drive as part of their service when they do it, hope I wasn't being ripped on a mythical service item!

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

Just a rough estimate, but what does a simple Merc Bravo1 drive service/alignment run from a shop?

It sounds easy to do it all but I don't have a dolly for the drive. I do everything else, including changing the drive fluid.

 

[Liberated]

No shit? I see it has adjustable mounts on the stringers, and it lists drive alignments as a service requirement in the manual every so many hours of use. my shop has been Aligning the drive as part of their service when they do it, hope I wasn't being ripped on a mythical service item!

Maybe yours is a newer style than what I've seen??? I installed a bunch of DPX packages when I was rigging at Eliminator and there was no engine alignment tool because of the spline setup. Just 3 little nubs on the rear of the bell housing as it met the transom. Eye ball it and bolt it in! It has been quite a while since then.

 

[SHOCKtheMONKEY]

I made my own out of 2 x 4 and a Harbor Freight furniture dolly... Works fine for the once a year I use it. :thumbsup

 

[Bigbore500r]

Maybe yours is a newer style than what I've seen??? I installed a bunch of DPX packages when I was rigging at Eliminator and there was no engine alignment tool because of the spline setup. Just 3 little nubs on the rear of the bell housing as it met the transom. Eye ball it and bolt it in! It has been quite a while since then.

Mine is a 2002 engine / drive so probably the same stuff you were working on. So this means there is no alignment to check on a VP DPX ?

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

I made my own out of 2 x 4 and a Harbor Freight furniture dolly... Works fine for the once a year I use it. :thumbsup

Probably easy to do. Good idea.

 

[Liberated]

Mine is a 2002 engine / drive so probably the same stuff you were working on. So this means there is no alignment to check on a VP DPX ?

That is correct. No engine alignment. At least not with an alignment tool. And no need to pull the drive for it.

 

[Bigbore500r]

I found some schematics and pictures. The DPX drive drive uses a "double U-joint" setup, does that compensate for the alignment, similar to an automotive driveshaft? Its way different than a Merc setup. I can see how it would be pretty impossible to check alignment, as the engine itself has an intermediate shaft with its own bearing support, that traverses between the flywheel mounted rubber coupler, and where it connects to the 1st universal joint (female connection on the outdrive). It seems like the only place you would need to check alignment would be to ensure the splined intermediate shaft is engaging in the rubber flywheel coupler, but i dont know how the hell you could even check that.

 

[EagleBoy]

I had a 25 Elminator with a DPX A drive never had to align it after the initial install but keep an eye on your bellows I changed mine every other year. I had a bellows crack and leak water into the bearings in the bellhousing and the engine had to come out to replace them they cannot be changed without removing the bellhousing. Also my bellhousing had no grease fittings or means to lube the bearings other than hand packing the bearings and area between the two grease seals when they were installed.

 

[CoolCruzin]

you should have one

look for a hose just hanging in the back of the motor with a little clip attached and a square plug on the hose end
should be there

Not on the 8.2 .

 

[Shortdeck]

Not on the 8.2 .

Correct there isn't a drain hose on the 8.2. But Teague sells one. The drain plug is on the bottom of the oil pan sump. I just installed one on mine.

 

[CoolCruzin]

Correct there isn't a drain hose on the 8.2. But Teague sells one. The drain plug is on the bottom of the oil pan sump. I just installed one on mine.

Thanks will into it

 

[Tackleberry]

Just a rough estimate, but what does a simple Merc Bravo1 drive service/alignment run from a shop?

It sounds easy to do it all but I don't have a dolly for the drive. I do everything else, including changing the drive fluid.

Picked up a drive jack/dolly a couple weeks ago from Stumpy's Fabworks for $232.50 shipped to Phoenix. Put it together, and it seems to be quality, plus you can break it down for storage.

Amazon has a solid deal on an alignment tool.

 

[Tackleberry]

Will be my first go at doing the service myself, had a few questions for the brain trust. If i grease the splines when I have the drive off for alignment check, do I still need to hit the zerks on the coupler?

For anybody with procharger knowledge, I have an m-1 unit with the line to the oil pan, do I need to drain and replace the oil from the head unit? What engine oil do you guys recommend for a procharged motor? I was gonna go with Kendall GT-1 especially since amazon has a smoking deal on it right now, almost half the price of Penn synthetic. Am I overthinking the oil, and good old Castrol will be fine?

Motor is a 97 Merc 502 mag mpi with a procharger m-1, and since I figure it will be asked leakdown and compression test was performed last summer and results were good, 150 on 7 of 8 cylinders and 148 on the other. I plan on doing a valve job and replacing valve springs this coming winter.

 

[Flying_Lavey]

I guess I should do my annual maintenance pretty soon here. Have to buy the $40 water pump kit and change the inserts in my glass in line fuel filters. There's 45 minutes of my day gone. Lol!

 

[Bigbore500r]

Pulled the drive and changed the bellows today. Nordic John was 100% correct - no alignment possible or needed with the DPX drive. The u-Joints looked good, however they are sealed also so you can't grease them. The gimbal bearing is also a sealed unit, nothing to grease there.
All service is done and it's ready to rip...time to start working on the stereo and interior light setup.