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Sound Reasonable ?


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This is my 1st inboard -  this past year I did the oil/filter, tranny fluid (dexron), impeller, and spark plugs.  Seems like the manual is a bit vague on the schedule of some items and some seem overkill - this is the idea I have for yearly maintenance.   I plan to boat about 60-70 hours per year.  Seem reasonable ?

  • Oil Change every 30-40 hours
    • Oil only - Mid Summer
    • Oil and Wix filter - End of season
  • Tranny Fluid - every-other spring
  • Impeller - every-other spring
  • Spark Plugs - every 5 years
  • Fuel Filter - every 5 years
  • Engine coolant - never (i checked it - does it even go bad ?)
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well I'm stocked up on oil and impellers but I suppose I should get a bunch of oil filters for my shelf.   Best place to get a good deal on Wix ? 

I used Wix 57099 / Napa 7099 this last time.  Seems that a lot of folks use 51069 / 1069 - the later is a little cheaper but doesn't have the anti-drain back valve.  My oil filter is remote.    I hear the ADV helps with cold starts but not sure if that is true on a boat.   I do notice it has a good amount of oil drip when changing filter due to this valve not letting the remote oil lines drain (i think).

this engine has coil packs.  i will start doing the plugs every-other spring if that makes better sense.  

 

Edited by SkiPablo
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If you have individual coil packs, I'm guessing you have an LS1.

Get new wires.  The Indmar wires are garbage.  Just buy a cut-to-length set and put them together yourself.  It is easy, way cheaper than the Indmar parts and much higher quality.  

Plugs will last a while on these motors.  Your interval looks fine on that.  Fuel filter I would do every two years (check your motor, it may have two of them - mine does).  

At 60-70 hours, I'd just run Synthetic and a high-end oil filter and do it once.  Should be fine.  I typically hit the 55-60 hour range a year now.  I use Dino oil but have a custom remote oil filter setup with a monster oil filter, so I've got more capacity/filtering than stock, so I "justify" my slightly extended interval with that.  

Impeller should be fine.  I run a Globe 100J, so it lasts a little longer than the Johnsons.  I'd just inspect it every year and have a spare on hand.

Coolant can go bad and is a bear to change.  Easiest way to (though I'm sure is improper) keep up on it is to simply drain the heat exchanger each year and top up.  This will keep a semi-fresh mix in it.  

Don't forget to check the drip rate on your packing.  

 

 

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I also have alternator belt, thermostat, cap, rotor, plug wires, shaft alignment (and synthetic v-drive fluid) on 5 year rotation. 

I agree about the plugs every 2 years, but your engine may be different.  There is an epic thread here where some poor chap spent a ton of money on parts and lots of time troubleshooting and the final culprit was the spark plugs.  After reading that painful thread I figured it's not worth it for only $20 every other year...

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@Nitrousbird Yes I have an LS1 :thumbup:- it's awesome !   i need to ask the PO how old the plug wires are - but I don't think they are original.  

Plugs i used were AC 41-962.   I haven't found the fuel filter so I'm thinking it's under my rear locker somewhere.

you know I ran Mobil 1 15w50 last year and at 57 hours it looked really trashed - jet black, sooty and somewhat thinned out - that is why I want to do it sooner.   Gonna rock the Valvoline premium blue this year - i bought 11 gallons of the stuff at a crazy deal.

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the plugs i used were platinum - it calls for iridium or platinum and both are around 50-60 bucks a set -  is there something about marine environment that makes them need changed more often ?   

maybe I just need a cheaper plug and then change every 2 years ?

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I would suggest the larger oil filter, such as a Wix 51061 (no anti drain) or a Baldwin B1441 (anti drain) if you filter is upside down or have an oil cooler that is mounted to where it would drain down.  No need if no oil cooler and filter is mounted such that drainage would not be an issue.  The Wix 51061 R does have an anti drain but it also has a larger micron size filter element due to high oil flow applications for high rpm engine running and I would not recommend that for this application.  Rock auto has great prices on all tune up parts, just know what the part number is rather than an application.

Plug changes every 2 years given a 70 hour run time is not necessary, plugs will last much longer than that and the premium plugs are theoretically have 100k car mile durability, platinum plugs won't wear down in 200 hours of use.  Typical failure will be breakage on install or removal and the potential of fouling but that issue is reduced with unleaded fuels and better mixture control.  The answer on marine environment question is no, in fact the loaded steady state run will actually clean off the deposits from the extended idling periods.  The only caveat is a boat does run richer than a car generally speaking, but not rich enough to damage or wear the plugs.  The reality of 70 hours of running time is pretty close to 1,500 'car' miles (from an engine rpm or crank rotation perspective), not that they are comparable but consider the plugs will only have fired about 2% the number of times of their expected life if you do the math.

I would probably increase the frequency on the fuel filter, it is pretty easy to get debris in the fuel tank given the variety of ways and containers used to fill a boat.

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10 hours ago, SkiPablo said:

well I'm stocked up on oil and impellers but I suppose I should get a bunch of oil filters for my shelf.   Best place to get a good deal on Wix ? 

I used Wix 57099 / Napa 7099 this last time.  Seems that a lot of folks use 51069 / 1069 - the later is a little cheaper but doesn't have the anti-drain back valve.  My oil filter is remote.    I hear the ADV helps with cold starts but not sure if that is true on a boat.   I do notice it has a good amount of oil drip when changing filter due to this valve not letting the remote oil lines drain (i think).

this engine has coil packs.  i will start doing the plugs every-other spring if that makes better sense.  

 

If you want to run a sure enough "big" filter, and have the room, get a Baldwin B7.  It's a 2 quart filter.

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What's the details on your boat?

You've got a good list.  As others have said it's good to do filters with oil.  

My older boat has had oil analysis and it shows more fuel in the oil and the filter element oil sample showed quite a bit at around 40 hours.  I bumped it up to 30 hrs and it's pretty clean now with no viscosity degradation.  

I take plugs out and check gaps just to make sure they don't seize at the end of the year.  I also pull my water/fuel separator and dump it at oil changes and then replace at the end of the season.  Again, older boat stuff I think...have always done it this way on the older boats.

Edited by Pra4sno
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I have an LS1 engine in my Sunsetter -  the oil was looking pretty good up til around 40 hours last year, then it got dark fast, but I thought I would stretch it out since I was going to be under 60 hours - but I didn't like how gritty it was when I changed it - it's possibly the filter it had on was not doing it's job.

Thanks for all the suggestions :)  Oh yeah, and Rock Auto is sweet - those are some nice prices!

Here is my updated list - I figure I'll go 3 years with the platinum and 2 years with the copper plugs, if I try those. 

  • Oil Change every 30-40 hours
    • Oil and Wix filter - Mid Summer
    • Oil and Wix filter - End of season
  • Tranny Fluid - every 2 years
  • Impeller - every 2 years
  • Spark Plugs - every 3 years
  • Fuel Filter - every 3 years
  • Like 2
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  • 9 months later...
On 12/27/2017 at 8:57 PM, Nitrousbird said:

LS1 should runs NGK TR5. Just run the cheap coppers. 

Hi again Nitrousbird,  do you leave your TR5's at .040 or do you gap them to .050 ?  

Edited by SkiPablo
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I take my impeller out at the end of every season, put it in a ziplock bag on the dash.  Inspect in the spring, relube and install.  This way you can inspect the condition of it every year and replace if necessary.  At least on my boat it's easy to get at and simple to do.  Honestly with two oil changes a year, I'd change the filter each time but wouldn't worry about what brand... don't over think it.

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On 12/27/2017 at 10:03 AM, oldjeep said:

... 5 years is way too long on plugs.

I really appreciate you guys !  I did plugs this weekend since they had 2 seasons on them.   To my surprise, one of the plugs was only installed 1/2 way - it was tight but you could tell from the clean threads on part of the plug - I'm not sure if it's been a long standing issue or just from the last change (i had them done when I bought the boat)

Anyhow, I could not get the new plug in more than 1/2 way no matter what I tried.  So i ended up getting a thread chaser and now I'm back in business.   A 15 minute job turned into 3 hours but it came out good.   I'm glad you guys leaned on me to not leave those plugs in 5 years - that might have ended bad!

put the NGK TR-5's in.

 

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  • 11 months later...
On 12/27/2017 at 12:37 PM, Nitrousbird said:

If you have individual coil packs, I'm guessing you have an LS1.

Get new wires.  The Indmar wires are garbage.  Just buy a cut-to-length set and put them together yourself.  It is easy, way cheaper than the Indmar parts and much higher quality.  

Hi Nitrousbird, Do you know what Jeg's cut to length wires I should get - I'm going to replace my wires b/c I'm getting some hesitation now pretty regularly - feels electrical

Edited by SkiPablo
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