318 oil change and velvet drive

"i have a 73 penn yan, what a

"i have a 73 penn yan, what a pita changing the oil is, i had to remove the dipsticktube and try to hold the rubber hose at the bottom while pumping..
i tried to tape a piece of coathanger on it but it wouldnt' fit through the hole.
managed to get most of it out after like 2-3 hrs of pissing around. put 6 quarts of 30wt back in it.

i want to change the fluid in the velvet drive but i'm unsure what to use, how much it holds and which plug to pull out, not to mention how to gauge when its full.

HELP!

i had a very fusterating day today."

"1. Stop using straight weight

"1. Stop using straight weight oil--use 10 W 30.

2. Warm the engine thoroughly before beginning.

3. Buy some 1/4 inch OD steel brake tubing and use that instead. With a slight bend, you can aim it better where the oil is.

Jeff

PS: I use one engine's vacuum to pull the oil out of the other one (with a propane tank as a oil separator). If you're interested, let me know and I'll post a drawing of the setup."

"Fastjeff: I'd love to se

"Fastjeff: I'd love to see the diagram for your oil extractor.

Also, I've been doing research on motor oils. From what I can determine what is best for older inboards (circa 1972) is an oil with an API Service SL. It appears that most of, but not all, 10W-30 and 10W-40 multi-weight oils are SL service. This includes some synthetics too. SL apparantly means 900+ ppm of phosphorous, don't know how much zinc they have."

"..." don't know how m

"..." don't know how much zinc they have."

Not enough for me. I added half a quart of Lucas ZDDP additive to each motor last oil change. Might not be needed, but...

Here's the diagram. Let me know if you have any questions.

Jeff

PS: The "oil/ air separator" proved unneccessary and was removed.
"

Fantastic idea. The electric

Fantastic idea. The electric extractors on the market sell for around $150. "Where there's a will there's a way".

"Here's the response I got

"Here's the response I got from Pennzoil regarding using their Platinum synthetic oil (which is not Service SL):

Dear Mike; Thank you for your interest in our products. The biggest problem with using a synthetic motor oil in an older vehicle is that
synthetic oils do not behave the same as conventional oils. If there is significant wear on the engine, (high mileage) there is a good
chance that oil consumption may increase significantly. If the engine is tight this may not be an issue. Should you decide to switch to the Pennzoil Platinum Full Synthetic Motor Oil it is advised that you keep a close eye on your oil level for the first couple of weeks to ensure that your oil level does not decrease. Should you wish to discuss this with us please give us a call at 1-800-237-8645, Option
#4.
Sincerely
Product Technical Service

I might have to try ZDDP!"

"Try a 15w-40 diesel oil....It

"Try a 15w-40 diesel oil....It still has what you want. Ask the Pennzoil guys have to say about their racing oil. It may come as a surprise but Mercury is only selling 25w-40 now but it would still be for newer GM roller tappet engines. "