Hi and thanks. I have 96 mastercraft prostar 205 with the indmar 350 efi . Im seeking the following :
1 what gear oil ?
2 engine oil ?
3 winterize drain .. I can drain the 2 engine block drains, 2 manifold drains , remove J hose . Anything else ?
If you're new to Mastercraft boats, I would recommend joining the Team Talk forum. Lots of sticky threads and info.
If you have an engine with IC94xxxx, the engine isn't original but as long as it's in good condition, the only things that changed are how the ECM trigger outputs are polarized, if the ECM on the OEM engine was changed.
Transmission- show the make and model and serial number. What color is the oil in it now, red or brownish? If red, you can use regular transmission fluid- if it's brownish and doesn't smell like burned transmission fluid, 20W was the usual oil.
You can use any brand of motor oil- they came with 15W30 but some people used Rotella, others used straight 30W. AC PF25 is the short filter that came with these from the factory but when I had a Silverado, I used the FP1218 because it has twice as much filter medium as the PF25. If you're only going to change the oil & filter once per season (recommended change after 50 hours or annually, according to the Owner's service interval info), you might as well use the larger filter.
Any time you work on the engine, disconnect the gas shocks and then remove the whole engine cover with the short piece of floor behind it- you can disconnect the shocks and work with the cover in place, but why deal with that obstacle? I used to place the cover on the back seat or on the pad behind the rear seat (with a Harbor Freight moving blanket underneath, balancing it so it wouldn't fall. You'll need to lift the back of the engine cover slightly, then pull it toward the bow in order to remove that part of the floor.
For changing oil, cut the bottom off of a window washer fluid bottle about 6" high, place it on paper towels under the filter and the area around it, then loosen the filter enough to let it start draining what's above it, but wait until that's close to being done before removing the filter. Place the filter in the bottom of the jug and remove it from the bilge.
- Change the oil AFTER running the engine- if you're changing both types, it's better to run the fresh oil through before letting it sit.
IMO, using gravity to drain the oil through the hose on the oil pan is a colossal waste of time. If you don't have a way to pump the oil out, get one. There are many types and sizes of pump, but there's no reason to make a career out of this. I'll post some examples on the bottom.
When was the impeller changed, last? If you don't know or if it was last year, replace it- it's cheap insurance. DO NOT omit installing a new gasket- you can buy the impeller with the gasket.
If you're in a location where Ethanol is mandated, use fuel stabilizer that's made for gas with Ethanol- the red StaBil isn't. The last boat dealer I worked for used Volvo-Penta brand stabilizer.
- Clean the flame arrester! This is the single most neglected Item I have seen on the >1000 boats I worked on.
- Clean out the oil cooler. If you have seen the temperature gauge showing higher, unstable temperature, it may have an old impeller or clogged oil cooler. You can clear it out by loosening the hose clamp between the hull fitting and the cooler before sliding the hose off. I use a hemostat.
- Fill the tank and stabilize the fuel.
- Run the engine to normal operating temperature before doing any of the other Winterizing steps.
- Drain the engine/manifolds (make sure the water coming out of the block rushes out- if it trickles out, push a wire in and move it around to clear out anything that's preventing the water flow. Usually, it's sand but it could be small particles of vegetation, too.
- Disconnect the lowest points of the hoses on the raw water pump and from the oil cooler- I don't like using Fake-A-Lake- it's too easy for it to become dislodged & stop the water flow to the engine- you may not notice this until it's too late.
- You can use RV antifreeze if you want, but it's not mandatory. It's not a bad idea to draw some in, though- it will displace any remaining water and lubricate the raw water pump for the next start-up.
- Spray some kind of corrosion preventer on any bare metal in the engine- shift cables/levers, cable terminals, etc. Painted surfaces don't need this.
If you use anti-freeze, run it through, fog the engine as the last of it is being pulled in and shut the engine off. Once the engine has stopped, remove the block plugs to make sure that anti-freeze comes out. Your engine may have plugs at the rear of the exhaust manifolds- you can replace these with a hose kit or make it up, yourself. The kit connects the two sides and has a coupler between them, to make draining easier.
USE BRASS OR PLASTIC FITTINGS at the manifolds- steel or cast iron will rust and bond to the cast iron.
If you live in a very cold place, I would disconnect the hoses and remove the plugs after running the antifreeze through- more cheap insurance. Put the plugs in a bag and wire tie that to the shifter.
This type of oil extractor needs no power and they work great-
Menard's sells this type, but the one I had didn't last long- you would want to mount it on a bucket with closeable lid, to make this operation cleaner. With the end of the oil pan hose held higher than the pan, feed the tube into the hose and start pumping. It only takes a few minutes this way. The first ones I used had a Jabsco pump and they're a lot more expensive. At the last dealer, we had several types, but the pump above is lighter and worked as well as any I have used.
