First time I/O owner, have questions

[egclassic]

I just bought a 96' Rinker 180 Captiva with a Mercruiser 4.3 motor and outdrive.
Since I have always owned outboards, I am not familiar with the required maintenance on I/O's. I know they have a more intense winterization procedure, which I will farm out until I become more familiar with it.
How often should I change the oil in the motor and what grade should I use?, not looking to start an oil war. I am going to buy a good manual in the next week or so. Is there any periodic maintenance on the outdrive itself I should do? Other than changing the gear oil.
Thanks

 

[NHGuy]

Re: First time I/O owner, have questions

Go to the top of this forum and read the stickies. It's all in there. You change the oil & filter at the end of the season as part of the lay up.
BTW Welcome and have fun!

 

[chaparall villain 2]

Re: First time I/O owner, have questions

i/o engines arent too hard to take care of i would change the oil at the end of the season every year and i use 10w40 in mine . winterization can be tricky if you dont know what all to drain but with a manual you should be able to figure it out ... the block will have drains down low typically in the middle of the block there will be petcocks you turn counter clockwise and drain the water ... the exhaust manifolds also have draincocks on them ... i typically start mine and run it on a muff till it gets warm then shoot fogging spray down the carb with the idle up just a little then bring it to idle and shoot it down the carb till it dies prior to draining the water. then i remove the thermastat housing and pour antifreeze into the motor till its full then i pour some into the exhaust manifold hoses till they are full and down the fresh water inlit tube from the top till it runs out the outdrive and i would drain and change the lower unit lube at the end of the season so if there is any water in the lower unit it wont freeze. remove the battery and store it in the garage where it stays warm and put a good charge on it at the first of the season. with the thermatstat housing reinstalled last winter and the hoses all tightened back up then your ready to start it the next year . hope this helps

 

[Lou C]

Re: First time I/O owner, have questions

I just bought a 96' Rinker 180 Captiva with a Mercruiser 4.3 motor and outdrive.
Since I have always owned outboards, I am not familiar with the required maintenance on I/O's. I know they have a more intense winterization procedure, which I will farm out until I become more familiar with it.
How often should I change the oil in the motor and what grade should I use?, not looking to start an oil war. I am going to buy a good manual in the next week or so. Is there any periodic maintenance on the outdrive itself I should do? Other than changing the gear oil.
Thanks

There is definitely more to do than with an OB but as long as you have good access to service points (oil filter, drains etc) it's not too bad. First thing is I'd get an OE Mercrusier manual and follow it to the letter...
Engine oil Merc 25/40
Drive oil Merc High Performance gear lube--also when you change it at the end of the season, look for milky oil (sign of water in the oil...if so get a pressure/vaccum test done)
Maintenance on the outdrive--I remove mine each year and check for water in the bellows, check the ujoints and gimble bearing, and grease the gimble bearing, ujoints and the driveshaft splines. This service is very important because if you get water in the bellows and it sits there all winter the ujoints and gimble will be rusted and in extreme cases the driveshaft can rust into the coupler (mounted to the rear of the engine on the flywheel) and you might not be able to get the drive off. Many neglect this service but I will tell you I/Os do not tolerate neglect well...

 

[Blk-n-Blu]

Re: First time I/O owner, have questions

Here is a link that will help you:
http://www.mercstuff.com/howdoi.htm

 

[egclassic]

Re: First time I/O owner, have questions

Here is a link that will help you:
http://www.mercstuff.com/howdoi.htm

Very useful site, Thank You for the link.