Page 53 - Lady Bass Digital Magazine Classic 2022

Tips for Regular Maintenance

Part 6: 4 Stroke Engine Oil Change

The oil in the new Mercury four strokes needs to be oil port, remove it and replace the
changed every 100 hours! The materials you will need plug.
are Mercury Four Stroke Outboard Oil Filter (35-
8M0123025), an oil filter wrench, 2 gallons of 20W40* out- Before installing the new oil filter, be
board motor oil (synthetic blend or conventional), a deep sure to run a bead of clean oil along
5/8-inch or 16 mm socket, a funnel, a catch basin that will the gasket to help it seat/seal. Once the
hold 2 gallons of oil and a length of clear vinyl tubing that new filter is installed, remove the drain
is 7/16ths or 12 mm inside diameter. A half inch diameter hose, and replace the oil trough plug.
will work. The length of the tube should be long enough to
easily travel from the nipple to your catch basin. Maybe 2 The final step is to open the top and put
½- 3 feet in length. As with any oil change, paper towels or the new oil in. Be sure the motor is low-
other items to clean up need to be on hand as well. * The ered as far as it can go. It should already
Mercury 250 holds 7 quarts of oil. be in the lower position from when you
drained it earlier. Get your funnel in
To start, trim your motor up so that position and put 7 quarts of fresh oil in
the oil moves up to the front before the engine. The first gallon is easy! If possible, purchase oil
you lower the unit to drain it. The containers that have a viewing slit on the side and mea-
next step is to lower the motor and surements to help with the correct amount of oil from the
move to the starboard side. There is second container. An easier but more expensive option is
a longer silver nipple above where to by a single one gallon jug and three quarts. This gets you
the lower unit attaches to the engine. the exact amount
Take your 5/8-inch or 16 mm socket
and just crack this lose. Before going It is now time to replace the cowling. It is recommended
any further, attach your vinyl tub- that the next time out that you idle the motor for 5 min-
ing. Make sure you can easily access utes and then check for leaks. Tighten anything that might
your oil catch basin. After you are need to be tightened and double check your oil readings
set, turn the tubing 2 ½ times. Going on the dip stick.
any further than 2 ½ damages the
seal! As the oil begins to drain, put To see the official “How To” video from Mercury, please
your tubing in the catch basin. follow the link- Mercury 4 Stroke Oil Change
Whether fully winterizing or doing these steps as annual
Once the oil has drained, with the tubing still attached, maintenance, you will be ready for your next trip to your
hand tighten the drain nipple the 2½ turns. Remove the favorite lake.
tube, hand tighten and then use the 5/8-inch or 16 mm
socket to tighten the rest of the way. Clean up any oil that It may be that you can and are willing to do all these
may have spilled in the process. maintenance or winterizing steps. Or maybe only one or
two steps. You must decide what works for you. Obviously,
Move to the top of the engine and remove the cowling. your dealer can do all of this, but this is quite expensive
Move back to the ground and to the port side to access the and time consuming because your dealer may take weeks
oil filter. Just below the oil filter is an oil port. Use the same or months to get your boat back to you. You Tube is your
7/16th inch or 12mm tubing as you friend on each one of these. When in doubt, look for
used to drain the oil in the previous videos by reputable organizations and or qualified service
steps. The length of the tubing needs technicians.
to be long enough to reach from the
port side to the oil catch basin with There is a lot of information in this article. Hopefully you
ease. Now you can remove the old will find some useful information. No one wants to be
oil filter. Any excess oil will drain stranded on the road side or on the water.
through the tubing attached to the Lady Bass Anglers Association 51
Maintenance Tips- Part 6: 4 Stoke Oil Change