10 hour service...

[mschofield]

Regarding shaft alignment...If your dealer is honest they will admit they don't actually do anything. And if they do, they simply turn the prop by hand to make sure no binding is ocurring. As long as the prop turns relatively easy you are in good shape.

[WakeAndSno]

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.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thats what I thought, until I read the manufacturer's manuals (as opposed to Malibu's)....

As for warming up the engine, that is just to heat the oil and lower its viscosity so it will flow/be drained more easily. I can't exactly warm the tranny or v-drive oil while sitting in the driveway anyways...

JZ

[Mazeing5]

I wouldn't worry about getting our dealer to do it. My 10 hour check nothing was done not even the oil change, although they did have the boat a week and a half. So I did it myself.

That is a smart move if they really did change service guys. Maybe things will change for the better.

[Web]

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.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Mine was done at 20 hrs too. I never understood why when the manual says 10 hrs.

I thought the reason you warm the motor before oil change was also too mix in the contaminants that settled on the pan into the oil to remove them.

I would bet your dealer does not warm the motor to operating temps before they change the oil.

Edited June 20, 2005 by Web

[JohnDoe]

Regarding shaft alignment...If your dealer is honest they will admit they don't actually do anything. And if they do, they simply turn the prop by hand to make sure no binding is ocurring. As long as the prop turns relatively easy you are in good shape.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thats not always accurate. If there is a bind that a dealer is trained to know how to detect, an alignment is done to the motor. It is actually amazing how "loose" engines can get, and proper realignment can only be done there with the magic wand.

[stewart]

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.

I finally got to build a fitting for my Tempo Oil Boy like Addictedto6 did. This way you can extract oil through the hose on the oil pan vs. the dipstick tube.

The parts needed to connect the black plastic garden hose fitting (included with the Tempo Oil Boy) to the Hose on the engine are: 1) 1/2" to 1/4" Female Pipe Thread Coupling 2) 3/4" male hose thread w/ 1/2" male pipe thread.

I got all of the parts at ACE Hardware. See picture below:

[obski]

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.

I finally got to build a fitting for my Tempo Oil Boy like Addictedto6 did. This way you can extract oil through the hose on the oil pan vs. the dipstick tube.

The parts needed to connect the black plastic garden hose fitting (included with the Tempo Oil Boy) to the Hose on the engine are: 1) 1/2" to 1/4" Female Pipe Thread Coupling 2) 3/4" male hose thread w/ 1/2" male pipe thread.

I got all of the parts at ACE Hardware. See picture below:

Thanks for posting this. I was just about to head to the local Home Depot to see about getting some parts.

[electricjohn]

A 10 hr service is ridiculous. These are G.M. engines that normally run for 1500+ miles in cars and trucks before they need their first service. I didn't waste my time or money on it. Put 35 hrs on the original oil (on vacation) and the oil analysis came back fine.

[wakeup]

A 10 hr service is ridiculous. These are G.M. engines that normally run for 1500+ miles in cars and trucks before they need their first service. I didn't waste my time or money on it. Put 35 hrs on the original oil (on vacation) and the oil analysis came back fine.

I'm not an engine guy by any means, but I know in my Nissan car it said break-in was 1200 miles, so would 20 hours on a boat equal 1200 miles on a car? I have no idea, but 20 hours in a car could potentially come close to 1200 miles, plus I imagine a car engine would not typically spend its 20 hours at the RPM levels a boat engine would. It's probably insurance more than anything else and documented evidence for any warranty issues later down the road.

At least with me and for the money spent on a boat, I thought the 20 hour service was a small price to pay to make sure everything was fine, which included more than an oil change (e.g. transmission oil replacement, a shaft alignment inspection, few warranty replacements, look over the boat from front to back, chance to continue to get to know the dealer service guys, and such.) Heck, my dealer even came and got my boat for me and towed it back to the shop for the service.

Either way, just thought I'd give some food for thought. Good luck guys with the new boats.