texasfishingforum.com logo
Main Menu
Advertisement
Affiliates
Advertisement
Newest Members
TraeMartin, Power-Pole CS, T-Rigger, JoeGoes, EcKo
119150 Registered Users
Top Posters(All Time)
hopalong 120,580
TexDawg 119,524
Bigbob_FTW 94,902
John175☮ 85,892
Pilothawk 83,264
Bob Davis 81,500
Mark Perry 72,293
Derek 🐝 68,312
JDavis7873 67,416
Forum Statistics
Forums59
Topics1,037,853
Posts13,935,636
Members144,150
Most Online39,925
Dec 30th, 2023
Print Thread
What kind of oil do I put in the lower unit? #6056622 04/11/11 07:02 PM
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 46
T
troutkilla101 Offline OP
Outdoorsman
OP Offline
Outdoorsman
T
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 46
I need to change the oil out of the lower unit. What kind of oil do I squeeze in and about how much is it? Thanks in Advance


Catch Em, Clean Em, Eat Em!!!
Re: What kind of oil do I put in the lower unit? [Re: troutkilla101] #6056630 04/11/11 07:03 PM
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 46
T
troutkilla101 Offline OP
Outdoorsman
OP Offline
Outdoorsman
T
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 46
serial # to the mercury 500 50 hp is 2738854


Catch Em, Clean Em, Eat Em!!!
Re: What kind of oil do I put in the lower unit? [Re: troutkilla101] #6056818 04/11/11 07:52 PM
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 461
Shake n Bake Offline
Angler
Offline
Angler
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 461
You can buy the oil (qt) for about $20 at Wal-Mart and a "pump" kit for about $8 bucks. I used the quick silver high performance. Alternatives are cheaper. There was a great thread on here a week or so ago on how to change it. I do mine and it takes 10 minutes on 150 hp. Easy...


When in doubt, jerk.
Re: What kind of oil do I put in the lower unit? [Re: Shake n Bake] #6057028 04/11/11 08:45 PM
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 337
B
BassCat22 Offline
Angler
Offline
Angler
B
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 337
You will use a gear oil and it's pretty complicated to do if you haven't had any experience I would recommend looking at the owner manual if you don't have that look online for previous post or blogs no luck there order manual or take it to the boat doctor it shouldn't cost to much and they can probally get you in and outta there good luck


"The road goes on for ever and the party never ends"
Re: What kind of oil do I put in the lower unit? [Re: BassCat22] #6065985 04/13/11 09:51 PM
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 49
A
Anthony C Offline
Outdoorsman
Offline
Outdoorsman
A
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 49
Diddo what shake and bake said. Walmart and Academy sell the lower unit fluid and the pump kit.

And changing the fluid is easy too. Just remove the top screw, then the bottom screw, and allow the oil to drain out. Make sure that the oil coming out is not a milky color and there are no metal shards in the fluid that came out. If no metal and no milky substance, you're good to refill your lower unit.

To refill: connect the pump to the bottom drain hole and fill the lower unit until oil is coming out of the top hole. Replace the top screw and then quickly remove the pump and replace the lower screw. Done!

Re: What kind of oil do I put in the lower unit? [Re: Anthony C] #6069957 04/14/11 08:02 PM
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 3,608
PlanoKeith Offline
TFF Team Angler
Offline
TFF Team Angler
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 3,608
Originally Posted By: Anthony C
Diddo what shake and bake said. Walmart and Academy sell the lower unit fluid and the pump kit.

And changing the fluid is easy too. Just remove the top screw, then the bottom screw, and allow the oil to drain out. Make sure that the oil coming out is not a milky color and there are no metal shards in the fluid that came out. If no metal and no milky substance, you're good to refill your lower unit.

To refill: connect the pump to the bottom drain hole and fill the lower unit until oil is coming out of the top hole. Replace the top screw and then quickly remove the pump and replace the lower screw. Done!



+1

Here is a video on step by step instructions if you have the time and place to watch it. It is very good thumb

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkU-xdNW-3M


Keith smile

Re: What kind of oil do I put in the lower unit? [Re: PlanoKeith] #6070247 04/14/11 09:19 PM
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,494
C
Chad711 Offline
TFF Team Angler
Offline
TFF Team Angler
C
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,494
how often is lower unit oil suppose to be replaced in general?

Edit: watched the video..nevermind

Last edited by Chad711; 04/14/11 09:48 PM.
Re: What kind of oil do I put in the lower unit? [Re: Chad711] #6070888 04/15/11 12:45 AM
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,599
B
boatwhisperer Offline
Extreme Angler
Offline
Extreme Angler
B
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,599
every year in the fall. and u are supposed to use the gear oil that is specified for your engine


boatwhisperer
Re: What kind of oil do I put in the lower unit? [Re: boatwhisperer] #6072652 04/15/11 01:51 PM
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 4,512
bassdreamer Offline
TFF Team Angler
Offline
TFF Team Angler
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 4,512
Originally Posted By: boatwhisperer
every year in the fall. and u are supposed to use the gear oil that is specified for your engine


Yea, what he said....don't go into outboard maintenance just willy nilly! If you've ever been stranded on a lake with bad weather coming up, it can be VERY dangerous.

Re: What kind of oil do I put in the lower unit? [Re: bassdreamer] #6075304 04/16/11 12:57 AM
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,896
H
heybaylor Online Content
Extreme Angler
Online Content
Extreme Angler
H
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,896
aint nothing in there but gears , and roller bearings..
any gear lube will do , 70-80-90 weight ..lower weight= easier cold shifting
there are some better brands that will mix well with water .

If you check it for water every once in a while, by draining a little into a pan , them add a little to make up for what you lose ..a quart will last a long time..

problem is , fishing line , or something else ruins the seals and before it is checked, it runs on just water ...then oops!

It doesnt matter if it is fall or winter/spring/summer
check it often, dont forget to pull the prop and check for line around seal.biggest cause of failure

another lower unit failure is caused by a bent propshaft ..
allows the seal to wobble lets lube out /water in ..
water is not your friend in the lower unit


heybaylor
Re: What kind of oil do I put in the lower unit? [Re: heybaylor] #6075359 04/16/11 01:14 AM
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 3,359
S
snmcc Offline
TFF Team Angler
Offline
TFF Team Angler
S
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 3,359
Dont forget to put new orings in every time...



Boatless for minute
Re: What kind of oil do I put in the lower unit? [Re: heybaylor] #6075375 04/16/11 01:18 AM
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 3,608
PlanoKeith Offline
TFF Team Angler
Offline
TFF Team Angler
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 3,608
Originally Posted By: heybaylor

another lower unit failure is caused by a bent propshaft ..
allows the seal to wobble lets lube out /water in ..


This is true. I know first hand about the bent prop shaft letting water in through the seal. Lucky for me I caught it before the freeze smile


Keith smile

Re: What kind of oil do I put in the lower unit? [Re: PlanoKeith] #6075581 04/16/11 02:15 AM
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 190
2
2Strokes Offline
Outdoorsman
Offline
Outdoorsman
2
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 190
I think Mercury High Performance G/L Is the best. You can run half gear lube and half water and lower units would not fail under a load during performance test. Not all gear lube is the same. Thats like saying Pennzoil and Valvoline are the same! Wrong I use valvoline. Don'nt be that guy putting walmart oil in your $40000 boat. Change your gear lube before the winter!!!!! Change your l/u seals everytime and use the blue ones. Part # 19183 The yellow seals I think are not as good as the blue ones.

Re: What kind of oil do I put in the lower unit? [Re: 2Strokes] #6075668 04/16/11 02:46 AM
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,896
H
heybaylor Online Content
Extreme Angler
Online Content
Extreme Angler
H
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,896
If you are talking about the drain/vent plug seals..
it is a good idea to use new ones..

however in my mercury , I use the nylon evenrude washers.
they can be re-used several times..
mercury has one time only seals, or used to , I havent bought any in years.

If you are talking about the shaft seals, prop and shifter shaft
I stand corrected (I only change these when there is a problem)


heybaylor
Re: What kind of oil do I put in the lower unit? [Re: heybaylor] #6075776 04/16/11 03:15 AM
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 190
2
2Strokes Offline
Outdoorsman
Offline
Outdoorsman
2
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 190
Mercury has come out with a yellow seal that you are suposed to be able to reuse , but I dont like them at all. I would use the evenrude washers before the yellow merc seals. My thoughts are: the lower unit drain plug gasket seal is about a $1.oo each ! For piece of mind replace each time. You can feel the squish when tightened properly and it reminds me of a crush ring on a new spark plug. It only squishes right once.

Previous Thread
Index
Next Thread

© 1998-2022 OUTDOOR SITES NETWORK all rights reserved USA and Worldwide
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.3