Mercruiser 4.5 Winterzing.

[faztbullet]

Winterized my 1st Mercruiser 4.5 today and have to give Mercury a "thumbs up" as this is a well thought out lil engine.

 

[kevinj]

Holy smokes, I would love to have my oil filter that handy!!! My boat has a 5.0L with the filter in the Good 'ol usual back of the engine location

I did treat myself this year by purchasing and using a Topsider liquid removal system: https://www.amazon.com/America-5060-Topsider-Multi-Purpose-Removing/dp/B001445IZ8
That thing made the draining the oil pan a snap. I have now pulled the pan drain hose up near the power steering bracket and fixed in place to make future oil changes easier.

On my shopping list this winter is to browse around and hopefully find a good deal on a mercruiser remote filter kit. Most kits I've found are in the $300 range. I thought about getting a generic automotive remote filter kit and modifying it to work, but I like the idea of the OEM kit so everything is nice and clean.

Any ideas on OEM versus generic filter kits?

KJ

 

[RicardoMarine]

Kevin, if up for the task, I would suggest that you build your own system. Have your hoses custom made.

I would also suggest that you steer clear of the "Inverted" cartridge style.

Perhaps look at the full flow Hayden products. Hayden also offers oil cooling systems with auto-temperature control.


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[kevinj]

Kevin, if up for the task, I would suggest that you build your own system. Have your hoses custom made.

I would also suggest that you steer clear of the "Inverted" cartridge style.

Perhaps look at the full flow Hayden products. Hayden also offers oil cooling systems with auto-temperature control.

I'm up for the task, I was just always concerned about using hose barb fittings and that's why I was looking at the OEM kits. So something like the Hayden 214 for my Mercruiser 5.0L would be fine? https://www.summitracing.com/parts/hda-214/overview/make/chevrolet

I hadn't thought about making custom hoses. We have a Parker fittings shop and another locally owned place that makes custom hoses so I guess that's a viable option. I also have access to plenty of scrap stainless metal so I could definitely fab up a bracket to secure the remote part of the filter.

Thanks for the suggestion. I just wish all marine engines came factory like the 4.5L Faztbullet showed. The remote thing will be fine, but it's nice when engineers think ahead make very inconvenient things easier.

KJ

 

[faztbullet]

Notice the cup around oil filter and the notch,early style was messy but this one put a catch cup under notch,remove filter,wipe excess out notch,install new filter. Clean as a whistle.....

 

[bondo]

Notice the cup around oil filter and the notch,early style was messy but this one put a catch cup under notch,remove filter,wipe excess out notch,install new filter. Clean as a whistle.....

Ayuh,.... Probably woulda been to easy to turn the filter over,.....

Here's my answer to filter messes if they had,...

 

[RicardoMarine]

Notice the cup around oil filter and the notch! Early style was messy but this one put a catch cup under notch, remove filter, wipe excess out notch, install new filter. Clean as a whistle.....

Ayuh,.... Probably woulda been to easy to turn the filter over,.....

Yes Bill..... it makes perfect sense to use an oil filter in the conventional orientation.

(the "inverted" filter idea is counter-intuative!)


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[RandoK]

Is it possible to drain the oil from the bottom instead of extracting it?

 

[louc]

My brother had one of those for 3 seasons here in Long Island NY (salt water). For that time period the easy drain system worked well but I’d be concerned about it over time here. The oil change was very easy. However the way the boat was built around it anything else would be very difficult. Starter, or steering actuator would require pulling the engine. That easy drain system is very complex with a lot of plastic parts. Engine parts are very expensive. He would up trading that boat (2020 Chapparal) on a similar boat with an outboard. Much better for our boating environment. I/Os made sense when the engines used low cost GM parts with simple carbs and ignition systems. Older boats had better engine access. So to me I don’t see why anyone would buy an I/O now….

 

[louc]

Is it possible to drain the oil from the bottom instead of extracting it?

On most boats that would be close to impossible, even if it was, you risk making a huge mess in the bilge. Get a good vacuum oil extractor, it will work well enough. Just warm up the engine first.

 

[kevinj]

Is it possible to drain the oil from the bottom instead of extracting it?

Yes, but it's a pain. My boat has a hose connected to the oil plan drain hole and it was originally tethered to the drain hull plug. The idea was to run the engine to warm the oil the snake the hose through the hull drain, remove the plug on the end of the hose, and let the oil gravity drain out the back of the boat. After doing this once....and waiting FOREVER for the oil to stop draining...I ran the hose up by my power steering pump, bought a vacuum extractor, and just connect there to pull the oil out of the pan.

 

[Dieter]

Yes, but it's a pain. My boat has a hose connected to the oil plan drain hole and it was originally tethered to the drain hull plug. The idea was to run the engine to warm the oil the snake the hose through the hull drain, remove the plug on the end of the hose, and let the oil gravity drain out the back of the boat. After doing this once....and waiting FOREVER for the oil to stop draining...I ran the hose up by my power steering pump, bought a vacuum extractor, and just connect there to pull the oil out of the pan.

That is how I do mine as well. took forever to drain through the hose by gravity.

On my previous boat that had no drain hose I would lift the bow of trailer up as high as it would go, drop it off the drain plug into the bilge and out the garboard drain. Wipe up the bilge and degrease . it worked in that boat bc the bilge and boat drain plug would drain ok and I could get at the oil pan drain plug easily.