Jeff d
07-05-2010, 09:34 AM
Well, bought the boat about a month ago ('00 230 VRS, 270 Hrs). The previous owner allowed it to fill with rain water.
I intended to change the ATF out for 15w40 per the Indmar Service Advisory but I had a lot of other things on my plate. Checked the transmission dipstick and saw no pink milkshake so I opted to take the boat out. Put maybe 2-3 hours on it. Got it back to my house and checked it and it was pure strawberry smoothie on the dipstick this time.
So, I have 2 possible scenarios in mind.
1) The water got into the trans when the rain filled the boat but since it was allowed to sit it didn't get all frothy and the water settled to the bottom. Once I used it the water got churned up.
2) The trans cooler is leaking water
Right now I think 1 is the most likely scenario.
So, I went ahead and pumped out every drop of water/ATF that I could get out and removed the cooler lines and let them drain. That totaled just under 4 quarts. The published capacity was 4.2 quarts so it doesn't seem like there was a huge, measurable quantity of water in there.
Pumped 15w40 back in there which was a light, golden color. Pulled the dipstick without even running the boat first and it already looks almost like the ATF did before.
I've read other threads where they mention having to change the oil as many as 5 times to get all of the water out. They mention running the boat between changes but never went into detail on this. Do they mean run in neutral on a bucket/hose? Or do they mean taking it out on the water and running it in gear? Does the transmission oil pump circulate oil whenever the engine is running or just when it's in gear?
We had plans to take the boat out today so I was thinking about pumping it all out once more and refilling it again and then taking it out on the water for a couple of hours. Once I get it back I'll pump it all out at least one more time. Does this sound like a safe plan?
The other thing I was thinking about doing was pulling the trans cooler lines and sticking the return hose in a 4 quart bottle of 15w40 and stick the other hose into an empty bottle. Then start the engine and purge everything out. This sounds logical but I could see a hose coming loose and spraying oil all over the inside of the boat.
I intended to change the ATF out for 15w40 per the Indmar Service Advisory but I had a lot of other things on my plate. Checked the transmission dipstick and saw no pink milkshake so I opted to take the boat out. Put maybe 2-3 hours on it. Got it back to my house and checked it and it was pure strawberry smoothie on the dipstick this time.
So, I have 2 possible scenarios in mind.
1) The water got into the trans when the rain filled the boat but since it was allowed to sit it didn't get all frothy and the water settled to the bottom. Once I used it the water got churned up.
2) The trans cooler is leaking water
Right now I think 1 is the most likely scenario.
So, I went ahead and pumped out every drop of water/ATF that I could get out and removed the cooler lines and let them drain. That totaled just under 4 quarts. The published capacity was 4.2 quarts so it doesn't seem like there was a huge, measurable quantity of water in there.
Pumped 15w40 back in there which was a light, golden color. Pulled the dipstick without even running the boat first and it already looks almost like the ATF did before.
I've read other threads where they mention having to change the oil as many as 5 times to get all of the water out. They mention running the boat between changes but never went into detail on this. Do they mean run in neutral on a bucket/hose? Or do they mean taking it out on the water and running it in gear? Does the transmission oil pump circulate oil whenever the engine is running or just when it's in gear?
We had plans to take the boat out today so I was thinking about pumping it all out once more and refilling it again and then taking it out on the water for a couple of hours. Once I get it back I'll pump it all out at least one more time. Does this sound like a safe plan?
The other thing I was thinking about doing was pulling the trans cooler lines and sticking the return hose in a 4 quart bottle of 15w40 and stick the other hose into an empty bottle. Then start the engine and purge everything out. This sounds logical but I could see a hose coming loose and spraying oil all over the inside of the boat.