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10 hour service...


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Alrighty folks,

Since my dealer hasn't called back to schedule my service (I called a week and a half ago) not to mention the fact that they are just over 2 hours away, I am just going to do the 10 hour service myself.

According to the Indmar manual, I need to do the following:

  • Drain and replace Engine Oil and filter (15W40 and PZ3 filter)
  • Drain and replace ZF Hurth Transmission Fluid (Dexron III ATF)
  • Walters V-Drive Oil (SAE30 Motor Oil)
  • Check Engine Timing
  • Inspect Belts
  • Check Shaft Alignment

I have a few quick questions for anyone that can help before I get started:

1. I know I need to run the engine to temperature to heat up the engine oil, but with the boat on the trailer, I will not be putting the boat in gear, will this be a problem when trying to drain the transmission and V-Drive fluids as fluids will not reach running temps?

2. I'll be using the Tempo "Oil Boy" to extract the fluids, is there a problem with mixing the engine/V-drive oils with the automatic transmission fluid from the tranny? Are there any problems at all with using the extractor to remove the ATF (i.e. adverse chemical reactions and such)?

3. Needless to say I do not know anything about checking timing or shaft alignment, is there anything I can do to ensure that either or both are correct?

4. Is there anything else I should be checking, inspecting, replacing, etc. at this point?

5. I need to add some coolant to my closed cooling system. It calls for "Sierra brand propylene glycol coolant" but I have no such luck finding it in the stores. Any reommendations on a brand and/or type of green propylene-glycol coolant from my local auto parts store - they have 50 different variants (of which I cannot even see the color anyways ;))?

Thanks in advance,

JZ

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2. I'll be using the Tempo "Oil Boy" to extract the fluids, is there a problem with mixing the engine/V-drive oils with the automatic transmission fluid from the tranny?  Are there any problems at all with using the extractor to remove the ATF (i.e. adverse chemical reactions and such)?

I bought an oil boy last summer and love it. I used it back to back on engine oil and trans, but kept the extracted fluids separate for recycling purposes. not sure what they do with it, but figured it would be better to keep it separate and I had extra containers to empty into.

I had to use two different size lines with the oil boy, so didn't have to worry about any residuals between the two fluid types in the engine itself. For the engine oil, I found it was easiest to connect directly up to the oil drain line with fittings.

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Thanks for the advice! I was planning on using the drain line, but just inserting the tube into it. What kind of fittings did you use and were they included with the Oil Boy (I haven't opened mine yet :))?

Thanks again!

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Thanks for the advice! I was planning on using the drain line, but just inserting the tube into it. What kind of fittings did you use and were they included with the Oil Boy (I haven't opened mine yet :))?

Thanks again!

I don't remember what was included, but I know I had to buy a couple of fittings to reduce and match up. IIRC, only the black (garden hose size) fitting was provided? A quick trip to home depot or ace will take care of it. Sorry, I don't remember the exact sizes.

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I remember a guy way back that had his shaft shear the bolts at the tranny. IIRC it ruined the shaft and the tranny pretty good. He got the run around from Malibu because either he did his 10 hr or the dealer did it and they did not specifically make a note about checking alignment or torque of the shaft bolts. I can't clearly remember, but I do know that I will have my dealer do a complete service at least every 50 hrs. (at least until my warranty is up)

Patrick

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Thanks for the picture, Kein. I'll definitely look into doing it that way.

Patrick,

I did have concerns about doing it myself, but the fact that my dealer is unresponsive (and 2 hours away) pretty much made that all pass. I'll call the dealer once more to try and get in touch wiht someone and get their blessing. I just heard through the grapevine that they fired their (I think ONLY) service tech anyways, so I may be stuck even if I did get it to them.

JZ

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In addition to calling your dealer, I'd send an e-mail showing that you tried to get your service performed by your dealer. A paper trail comes in handy in an argument, sometimes. I hope it would never come to that.

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In addition to calling your dealer, I'd send an e-mail showing that you tried to get your service performed by your dealer.  A paper trail comes in handy in an argument, sometimes.  I hope it would never come to that.

Good point.

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It's illegal to tie warranty coverage to having the dealer perform the service.

If your worried self-maintenance and warranty coverage, you might be able to find a local marine repair shop that will provide the full service...

If you don't go that route, keep accurate logs of all your maintenance & results of checks, including checking bolts, etc.

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"5. I need to add some coolant to my closed cooling system. It calls for "Sierra brand propylene glycol coolant" but I have no such luck finding it in the stores. Any reommendations on a brand and/or type of green propylene-glycol coolant from my local auto parts store - they have 50 different variants (of which I cannot even see the color anyways "

Sierra is a specific brand of coolant that is environmentally friendly. If, for some reason, it spills into the lake, it will not kill wildlife like a Prestone. Prestone is poisonous. You can find a dealer near you @ http://www.sierraantifreeze.com/.

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Careful there soulrebel. You sure you're not thinking of RV antifreeze, which is very different than engine coolant? Both will keep your engine from freezing, but I don't think the RV antifreeze is designed to handle the heat the way coolant is.

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In addition to calling your dealer, I'd send an e-mail showing that you tried to get your service performed by your dealer.  A paper trail comes in handy in an argument, sometimes.  I hope it would never come to that.

Call Guy at Malibu, I am confident he will get you the service you need. Malibu takes pride in their products, maybe you have a bad dealer.

Joe

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Update: Things are looking up. I got a call from my dealer, he was out on vacation (it is just he and his wife - a part time business, unfortunately). It turns out he is very close to striking a deal with a service tech in Charleston to handle his customers here (as opposed to Columbia where he is located). I'll give him a few more days to get back to me with details but may end up going through with the 10 hour myself anyways. We'll see...

JZ

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Sierra is a specific brand of coolant that is environmentally friendly. If, for some reason, it spills into the lake, it will not kill wildlife like a Prestone. Prestone is poisonous. You can find a dealer near you @ http://www.sierraantifreeze.com/.

Prestone also makes a propylene glycol based anti-freeze. Wal Mart has it.

I just can't bring myself to buy anything with "Sierra" on it. Reminds me of the tree-hugger Sierra club.

BTW, propylene glycol is less poisonous than ethylene glycol based anti-freeze, but it's NOT non-poisonous.

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new vlx should be here any day now. the dealer has told me he does not want to see the boat at 10 hours. he wants me to put 20 hours on the boat before the first service. any feed back about this? thanks mike.

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My dealer said between to bring it in between 10 and 20. IIRC the owners manual calls for a 10 hour service. Should be OK as long as they did a good pre-delivery inspection.

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Yahoo.gifYahoo.gif

Careful there soulrebel.  You sure you're not thinking of RV antifreeze, which is very different than engine coolant?  Both will keep your engine from freezing, but I don't think the RV antifreeze is designed to handle the heat the way coolant is.

Sierra is a specific brand of coolant that is environmentally friendly. If, for some reason, it spills into the lake, it will not kill wildlife like a Prestone. Prestone is poisonous. You can find a dealer near you @ http://www.sierraantifreeze.com/.

Prestone also makes a propylene glycol based anti-freeze. Wal Mart has it.

I just can't bring myself to buy anything with "Sierra" on it. Reminds me of the tree-hugger Sierra club.

BTW, propylene glycol is less poisonous than ethylene glycol based anti-freeze, but it's NOT non-poisonous.

Even the big oil companies in NZ (Shell, BP, Mobil, Caltex) don't know what I'm talking about when I ask for Propylene Glycol coolant. My extensive search (internet) of NZ & Aus cannot find an outlet over here. On Sunday at the boat show in Auckland I spoke to Simon Hill from Malibu Australia about it. He said just drain out the propylene glycol & replace it with ethylene glycol - there are no warranty issues. Flush and replace the coolant once a year just like you replace the water pump impellor and everything will be peach.

Both products do exactly the same thing.

The only thing is that the two types do not mix & if the cat licks up spilt ethylene glycol it could die, whereas propylene glycol is sometimes used in ice cream manufacturing to make it creamy.

With this post I just became a Crew Regular - yay!! Yahoo.gif

Edited by andyb
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Ok, here's the latest...

I ended up doing the oil change and adding the coolant. When I was about to change fluids on the Transmission and V-drive, I was reading each respective manufacturers manual and found the V-drive fluid should be replaced at 25 hours and the Transmission at 100 hours.

Anyone notice this? Should I go ahead and change them anyways?

JZ

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The reason you want to do it at 10 hours is because any metal fragments that have come loose during the initial break in will get removed from the system. Try to pump the fluids out until the system is as dry as possible.

BTW: I pump out my oil / tranny oil using a little jabsco pump that connects to an electric drill. I don't have to warm up the engine or anything to do that.

I would like to see some instructions on prop shaft alignment if anyone's got them. Could they already be posted on the dark side wakesiderides.com?

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