Fluid Change Question

[Patrick56]

So, I bought an 03' Launch SSV toward the end of last summer. My previous boat of 9 years was an 85' Closed Bow Ski Supreme (yes I had to replace the stringers!) I am about to get everything ready to go for the summer and I have a V-Drive question. The owner's manual says to change the SAE30 oil annually, but the manufacturer's plate on the V-drive says to change the oil after the first 100 hours and then every 500 hours after that.

Which is the right way to go? I am not trying to justify laziness, but is it better to leave it alone? I only have about 290 hours on the boat and the oil looks perfect. I guess I will have the same debate with the transmission fluid when I unearth it as well.

Any advise would be helpful. Thanks.

[jzelt]

We also bought ours at the end of last year. I changed all the fluids in the fall so I have a fresh start of knowing when it was done.

According to the manual...
The oil should be changed in the V-drive transmission after
the first 100 hours of operation, then each year at the end of
your boating season.

The transmission fluid must be changed and the filter cleaned after the first 10-20 hours of operation and once each year thereafter. (I change the fluid, don't mess with the filter)...

[docdrs]

I disagree with jzelt.........it easier to access the filter screen on the vdrives than the dd's imo.

Heres the tranny and vdrive service for a 21V

http://moomba.com/msgboard/showthread.php?t=10977

[Fman]

So, I bought an 03' Launch SSV toward the end of last summer. My previous boat of 9 years was an 85' Closed Bow Ski Supreme (yes I had to replace the stringers!) I am about to get everything ready to go for the summer and I have a V-Drive question. The owner's manual says to change the SAE30 oil annually, but the manufacturer's plate on the V-drive says to change the oil after the first 100 hours and then every 500 hours after that.

Which is the right way to go? I am not trying to justify laziness, but is it better to leave it alone? I only have about 290 hours on the boat and the oil looks perfect. I guess I will have the same debate with the transmission fluid when I unearth it as well.

Any advise would be helpful. Thanks.

You should be fine at 290 for vdrive, I changed mine at 100 and it looked brand new (the oil), I was told they are straight-cut gears, very strong and durabale, they are pretty tough units. I will not do the vdrive until the 500 hr mark just like the service manual recommends. The vdrive does not get punished with high heat/friction like the transmission. The transmission I would do at the beginning of every season or every 100 hours, it takes a lot of heat and the need for clean fluid is more critical to longevity than the vdrive.

A guy I work with has a Malibu with 900+ hours, never has touched the Vdrive oil and has had no problems with it.

[docdrs]

since your doing the tranny yearly , why not do the vdrive its even has easier access.....if you have an extractor its only going to take 10 minutes tops and $4 for the oil....why wouldn't ya do it???? jmo

[Fman]

since your doing the tranny yearly , why not do the vdrive its even has easier access.....if you have an extractor its only going to take 10 minutes tops and $4 for the oil....why wouldn't ya do it???? jmo

Doc,

When I changed my vdrive oil I had to drain it out the bottom plug and it was a PIA and messy. I did not have an oil extractor at this time, but I have heard by a few people you cant get all the oil out of the vdrive because the tube wont reach all the way down into the oil collection area? true?

It was just real messy trying to collect the oil because its so close the bottom bilge area of the boat.

[docdrs]

I hear ya Fman, with out an extractor I wouldn't either..... mine was the best $75 I've ever spent. I use it on my lawnmower, snowblower and car and boat. But ya have me curious on how much i got out. prob at least 80% of it ,will check my bottle

[Patrick56]

Update:
Well I changed all of the fluids last weekend and the transmission and v-drive really are no big deal. I used a hand-held fluid pump and pumped each component out into an empty oil jug with measurements on it. I got out everything I could, and put the exact same amount of new oil/trans fluid back in. Changing the engine oil turned out to be the hardest process. We had bad wheather, so I did not warm up the engine prior to changing the oil.

Thanks for talking me into doing it the right way.