A Few boat maintainance questions...

[LEECH21]

Hello, I just picked up my very first boat, a 2007 Crestliner Fish Hawk 1600 with a four-stroke EFI 60 Hp Mercury tiller on the back.

Since this is my first boat, and all my friends and family own older jon or aluminum boats with very little maintainance, I have a few questions to ask.

When I picked it up, they told me about oiling up the lower part of the motor, forget what its called??? If I get my boat winterized, do they take care of that for me? And would that be the only time of year it would need to be done? Also with oil, how often does that need to be changed? What brands are the best? Or should I just need to fill when needed throughout the season? Is it best to bring the trolling motor, graph, and all batteries indoors in the winter? What kind of grease is best to lube the wheel bearings? What kinds of gasoline is best to put into the boat?

Sorry about all the questions. I know they are all things I should have asked when I picked it up, but I was just so excited to bring it home I forgot. Thanks ahead for any help.

Leech

[DTro]

Are you talking about the lower unit lube?

[LEECH21]

Thats it!

[DTro]

Ok

There should be two screws (large flathead) on the lower foot of the motor.

The bottom screw is both the drain and the fill screw. The top one is basically a vent. To drain remove both screws.

Then to fill I would recommend buying a small pump that attaches to the gear lube bottle and then screws into the bottom hole. Simply pump in the lube until it comes out the top hole.

When that happens, put the top screw back in, then remove the pump screw and reinsert bottom screw.

Make sure you get out all the air when filling up. Sometimes it is not quite full when it first comes out.

I do this at the end of every season to make sure I get out any water/moisture that has found it's way in. You don't want that to freeze.

[goose89]

Your Mercury manual should have the answers to your questions regarding changing oil and what kind to use. My Suzuki required an oil change right after break in and then less frequent after that, or in the fall when winterizing. You shouldn't have to fill it throughout the season though.

Lower unit lube and oil changes are something you can do, because I can. If I can, anyone can. Any motor oil and lower unit lube that satisfies the motor's requirement (also in the manual). Batteries should be brought in. Graphs NEED to be brought in.

The best advice I got for gasoline use is to make sure you get it at a station that is busy IE: A gas station sells alot of gas and gets frequent refills of their tanks. IE FRESH gas. Don't know of a "best" lube for wheel bearings. Never had a problem with anything other than what I get at Fleet Farm.

Good luck and nice looking rig. Did you make it up to Rainy??

[theoilman]

The lower unit should be serviced annually for most people (very few use their boat so many hours that they need to do it more than annually). Most people do the lower unit as a part of winterizing - this is definitely the best time. In case you have gotten any water in it you should get it out before any chance of freezing and cracking the lower case. Most outboards require 75W-90 or 80W-90 GL4 marine gear lube. AMSOIL has a special Marine Gear Lube that has as extra characteristic that I have never heard of any other: it will tolerate up to 10% water without loss of lubrication or protection. Most 60hp outboards are going to need about a quart.

The crankcase engine oil on your 4-stroke needs to be treated much like your car or truck engine. It needs the oil and oil filter changed at a certain number of operating hours (you'll have to have this from the engine owner's manual), not to exceed once a year. 4-stroke marine engines require that they be NMMA FC-W certified. Most outboards prefer 10W-30. AMSOIL Marine 10W-30

There is a lot of difference in greases: the API (American Petroleum Institute) permits a grease to be called 'waterproof' if as much as 15% washes out on a specific test, and most test at higher than 10%. Water Proof Grease tests at 0.9% wash-out - extremely good.

You will get a lot of opinions about gasoline. I believe the owner's manual on most says use 87 octane unleaded. I would recommend stay clear of E85.

Many store batteries in a garage in the winter - fully charged. (A discharged battery will freeze, a fully charged one will not.) There are a lot of opinions on leaving on a trickle charger or putting on a slow charger occasionally over the winter. ?????

[bassNspear]

take it to a dealership and have them do it, so much easier

[LEECH21]

Thanks for the replies fellas!

Bass N Spear, if I take her in at the end of each season to winterize it, will they do all the oil and lower unit lube changes as part of it?

goose89, yes, we made it to the Rainy! We fished mainly for walleyes, only sturgeon for a few hours. Biggest eye was 29" with many others above 25". Biggest sturgeon was 58". Pretty good trip overall.

[Bigeye30"]

Take it to the dealer and have them do it, (winterize) at least until the warranty is expired, I know it'll cost a few dollars more to have a dealer service it, but if you ever have warranty issues, they can't say: it's because it wasn't serviced by an authorized dealer. Once the warranty is expired then I winterize it myself. That's just what has worked for me.

[goose89]

Nice. We had similar report, minus the sturgeon. We gave it a try for about an hour. Kinda tough just sitting there freezing when the walleyes are going. Fishing was a good and the weather was bad.

[LEECH21]

I believe you were up there the same weekend as us...the 12th? Wind was really a factor. We missed quite a few hook sets because of it. What was the biggest eye your party got? Sounds like everyone found at least one nice one.

A few more quick questions.....sorry.

I heard a bunch of talk about non-oxygenated fuel???? Is this the best to be putting in, or doesn't it really matter much?

My new Crestliner doesn't have the little wheel speedometer on the bottom of the boat??? How does it work then?

How hard is it to wire in a radio/cd player?

Thanks again....I'm sure I'll think of a few more

[boatfixer]

On the gas, I would stick with whatever the manufacture recommends

The speedo works with water/air pressure. There is a small hole in the leading edge of the gearcase. Water is forced in, creating pressure that runs through a tube up to the gauge.

Wiring is simple, if you have any 12v dc knowledge.

[slammer]

You can do all the fluid changes yourself without the worry of warranty hassles. Just read the manual, its easy. That way you know its done right and not have to worry. Also, this fall b/4 you put your boat into storage, go around and check every nut and bolt you can see on the boat and trailer. Things come loose from being bounced around and it may not have been tightened at the factory to start with. Ive found many loose bolts over the years and some would have been a disaster if not checked. Take the time to take care of your investment and it will last for years