Pumping out the old oil
Our trusty Yanmar diesel has always taken very good care of us. In turn, we try to take very good care of it.
One key part of the maintenance schedule is regular oil changes, and we perform them every 100-150 hours of engine running time.
Our oil of choice
To help with weight balance and prop shaft alignment, the engine is located as low in the boat as possible. This means that it’s not possible to actually drain the oil out of the bottom of the oil pan – instead, we use a manual pump to pull the oil out of the dipstick tube. The pump has a long T-handle (just like a tire pump for a bike) and a 7 liter reservoir. As the handle is pumped, a vacuum is created in the reservoir and the oil is sucked out of the engine.
The elusive oil filter
The hardest part of the oil change is actually reaching, removing and reinstalling the oil filter. The Yanmar design engineers seem to have done a great job in general, but they must have had the new guy working on the oil filter design. The filter threads on to the side of the engine horizontally – it’s impossible to remove the filter without oil pouring out of it as it is unscrewed. Not sure why they didn’t mount it vertically, but Mike curses them for it at every oil change…
Nearly every harbor has an oil disposal and recycling tank
