Conference vicki::boats

    
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Note 102.20               Is spring tune-up necessary?                  20 of 21
FABSIX::J_KASPER                                     16 lines   8-APR-1996 20:26
                         -< changing lube in the fall >-
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There is nothing wrong with changing gear lube in the fall.
I recommend only checking it in the fall and if no water is present there is no
need to change it. the long cold winter can take its toll on rubber seals!
Then in the spring you can drain the gear lube and do a quick pressure check.

And if you feel it unnessesary to do it that way you can take your chances.
I have seen more seal related problems in the spring than in the fall.

And if you feel that having a pressure checker is not important then let a
marina do the work so they are responsible. Approx. cost for press.checker=$30


I hope you all relize that I have seen more problems then I care to talk about
and 6 out of 10 times the root cause of the problem is (I KNOW WHAT I AM DOING
AND I DID THE WORK MYSELF.)
						JACK

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Note 102.21               Is spring tune-up necessary?                  21 of 21
CRONIC::SULLIVAN                                     24 lines   9-APR-1996 09:36
                                    -< yo! >-
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 Jack,

>6 out of 10 times the root cause of the problem is (I KNOW WHAT I AM DOING
>AND I DID THE WORK MYSELF.)

  I resemble that remark. Nothing against dealers. They just charge WAY too
 much for the work they do. I have often thought of opening an marine shop
 shop and actually charge a fair price per hour. Agreed I wouldn't be  a
 millionare but, there's something to be said about not wearing a mask.

  I have a real hard time paying $7 for a spark plug I can buy for $1 Its
 just robbery. Of course I'll hear something like these are the top quality
 champion plugs. What's this $50 an hour stuff? The motors are all modules now
 and the computer tells you whats wrong. 
  I have learned to do alot myself because of this pricing
 mentality. Yet, the big jobs seem to be fair. I had an impella job done for 
 $125. I'm sure the parts cost about 10 bucks but, it seemed worth it. It also
 seems the bigger the job the faster the service. I drop the boat off for rather
 simple warranty work and it rarely gets done the first time. Yet you drop it 
 off with a lower unit or power head problem and you got it back in a week....

 - Sully
 

    
    	I can't agree more! If I took my vehicles to the dealer for
    every repair, I'd be living in those high-rises that HUD plans
    on tearing down.. (opps, wrong conference!)...
    
    	I'll freely admit that I'm a mere shade-tree mechanic, and a better
    parts replacer than diagnoser. I don't get it right every time, but I
    can count on one hand the number of times, that I've really screwed it
    up and needed professional help to get it unscrewed up. These episodes
    pale dollar wi$$e with the TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS I've saved over
    the years on repairs.
    
    	I can use such a large number for the monetary savings without
    a second thought. Just the R&R on one favorite Bronco II's tranny
    is in excess of $1500 since it died  5 times prior to my noticing
    that it was driven ALOT at a speed that made it constantly shift
    in and out of overdrive. (knock on wood, it hasn't died since)
    
    	Study the manual, utilize NOTES conferences, do my homework and
    usually I can fix it right. With SIX engines in my garage, it's the
    only way to go.
    
    Rick
                   

    	Without creating too much of a holy war, some of the general 
    benifits of DIY vehicle maint./repair are -
    
    	o Better prices on some parts (i.e. no $7 a piece spark plugs).
     	o *Very* large potential savings in area of parts and labor. See 
          note below.
    	o Can pick/chose between easy and difficult jobs.
     	o Better equipped to handle a problem if vehicle quits.
    	o More knowledge equates to being less likely to get taken
    	  advantage of. Also see note below.
    	o Knowing first hand that work actually got done.
    	o Vehicle not tied-up waiting for the shop to get around to doing
    	  maint./repair.
    	o A good excuse to buy more tools ;-)
    
    	NOTE: Dealers/mechanics make mistakes too. I've had cases where
    mechanics have misdiagnosed problems that would have resulted in
    replacing parts that wouldn't have fixed the problem. Had I not known
    better, I would likely have been charged for the parts and labor anyway.
    
    	Another case where I had a significant part savings is where a
    dealer will stock an assembly, and a specific part of the assembly is
    bad. The piece part was available at a price significantly less than 
    the whole assembly. 
    
    	To date, my best repair savings was ~$1000 vs. a $13 part. This was
    a result of both things mentioned above.
    
    	As another "shade-tree" mechanic, I don't likely have as many
    stories to tell as Jack, "i.e. 6 out of 10 repairs due to screw 
    ups", but relatively speaking, I have even less luck with mechanics;
    And this is only speaking of the times I caught them ;-)
    
    	Ray

    Hi, is there a special gear lub you must use (MARINE) or is automotive
    OK to use?  I was at the marina the other day and they wanted $8.50 a
    quart...  I thought that was really high.

    	I've seen it at Wal/K-mart. Not sure what the difference is between
    this and automotive (other than the packaging). I expect the dealer has
    at least a 100% markup on this, which is consistant with the theme of
    this note and my limited experience with dealers.
    
    	Ray

    FYI....The difference between marine gear lube and auto gear lube is
    that water seperates from the oil in an auto lube while in a marine oil
    the water mixes with the oil thus allowing some lubricating to take
    place. With the auto lube the oil sits on top of any water in the
    outdrive and the lubricating effects are greatly reduced. And of course
    .....even with marine lube, if any water is evident (oil changes to a
    milkshake-like substance) it should be replaced as soon as possible.
    
                                                      Dominic

    	In case it wasn't obvious in my last reply (wasn't to me when I
    re-read it *-), I saw the MARINE lube at Wal/K-mart. I don't recall
    seeing it by the qt. though. It was in the tubes (pint-sized ?).
    
    	Ray

    Well, Wall-Mart had it and it was half the price of the marina and top
    of the line stuff.
    
    Dom

 To my knowlege, there are 2 types or marine lower unit lube.

 Organic:--->Your basic ole stuff that's worked since the beginning of 
             outboards. Yes Walmart has it in a couple of brand names.
             for about $4 a quart.

 Synthetic:--> This is your new fancy smancy hi-tech lube. Most of the new
               Hi performance motors have this stuff in them. It is about
               $8 bucks a quart. I was told by my marina that my motor had
               this stuff in the lower unit at birth. The marina states that
               if you had synthetic from the start, always use synthetic after
               for fear the organic stuff will react to it. Is this hogwash?
               got me... I have used synthetic since haeck its under 10 bucks
               a year.

 -Dave

    		
    Another vote for lower unit gear lube/check out in the spring.
    I always used to replace the lower gear lube as part of the
    winterization in the fall. I never did a pressure check as Jack had
    mentioned earlier.
    
    While Jack was replacing the water pump he did a pressure check on the
    lower unit to verify the seals. There was a leak which would have
    allowed my lower unit gear lube to slowly leak out, eventually the 
    the unit would have siezed. Jack saved me some serious down time and
    cash! Thanks bud.....
    
    Just as a side note: I used the Lubrimatic lower unit gear lube last
    season. I will be switching back to the Mfg spec lube (Quicksilver).
    I couldn't believe the difference when Jack put the two side by side.
    I guess you get what you pay for...
    
    Ts...