Bravo half fluid change?

[VetteLT193]

Has anyone ever done a 'half' fluid change on a Bravo? From the looks of it, the drive oil reservoir has oil that just sits there, meaning it isn't circulated into the drive. With that in mind, would it be possible to drain a half quart to a quart out of the drive then just top it off at the reservoir?

I'm not thinking of this to be cheap, but rather to do the fluid changes more frequently and get the junk out of the bottom of the drive sooner.

[mrfixxall]

Has anyone ever done a 'half' fluid change on a Bravo? From the looks of it, the drive oil reservoir has oil that just sits there, meaning it isn't circulated into the drive. With that in mind, would it be possible to drain a half quart to a quart out of the drive then just top it off at the reservoir?
I'm not thinking of this to be cheap, but rather to do the fluid changes more frequently and get the junk out of the bottom of the drive sooner.

Usually when you drain the drive the reservoir drains with it,when you fill the drive and after you fill it to the top plug hole on the upper housing you put the plug in and keep filling the drive and the reservoir will fill along with it,top it off to the line..i forgot to mention,make sure you take the reservoir cap off so it can drain..

[Trueser]

I would drain both, remove the bottle and clean it.

[VetteLT193]

I would drain both, remove the bottle and clean it.


so the fluid in the bottle does get dirty? I looked at the way it is set up and it seemed that it would stay clean in there.

[Trueser]

so the fluid in the bottle does get dirty? I looked at the way it is set up and it seemed that it would stay clean in there.

Extremly dirty for some reason. to a point that they need to be flushed!

[RickSE]

I pinch off the reservoir line, drain the drive, refill the drive then top off the reservoir.

[VetteLT193]

Thanks guys:)

[mrfixxall]

Thanks guys:)


P.S.,,,,,,i usually run the engine with the drive in gear for about 20 min,heats up the oil and it will drain faster..

[Trueser]

I pinch off the reservoir line, drain the drive, refill the drive then top off the reservoir.

Rick.
Just for the heck of it pull your bottle off and empty it out and see what it looks like. You will only loose the oil in the bottle. it looks fine when its full. Check out what it looks like after you empty it.

Run it thru a coffee filter.

[VetteLT193]

P.S.,,,,,,i usually run the engine with the drive in gear for about 20 min,heats up the oil and it will drain faster..

I did the alpha, same type of deal. It was a scratch the head moment for me though thinking I could get 'fresh' fluid from the reservoir into the drive and just top it off... now that I know it's less than fresh I'll just do the whole thing on a normal interval:)

BTW, suggestions on a new boat? should I knock it out now or wait? I did the oil already in the engines.

[Trueser]

[quote=VetteLT193;543056]I did the alpha, same type of deal. It was a scratch the head moment for me though thinking I could get 'fresh' fluid from the reservoir into the drive and just top it off... now that I know it's less than fresh I'll just do the whole thing on a normal interval:)

BTW, suggestions on a new boat? should I knock it out now or wait? I did the oil already in the engines.[/quot

I would pull all the oil. I changed mine twice this year,

[mrfixxall]

I did the alpha, same type of deal. It was a scratch the head moment for me though thinking I could get 'fresh' fluid from the reservoir into the drive and just top it off... now that I know it's less than fresh I'll just do the whole thing on a normal interval:)
BTW, suggestions on a new boat? should I knock it out now or wait? I did the oil already in the engines.

I would have done it at 10 hours..I never pull the drive reservoirs,when i do drive services i pull the drives,Greece the ujoints where it applies,Greece the splines,usually the drive reservoirs drain by themselves,then i fill them up with denatured alcohol and flush them along with the hoses that goes from the reservoirs to the gimbals housing..this way i know all the oil and debris is gone..

[VetteLT193]

I'm not sure on the hours, no hour meters until I get smartcraft hooked up.

I'll just do it this coming weekend and call it a day. I'm on call anyway so I can't use the boat so I was planning on cleaning / waxing it anyway.

[FISHIN SUCKS]

Extremly dirty for some reason. to a point that they need to be flushed!
true dat.......You may not have the sludge build up in the bottom of your reservoirs yet, but if not changed and cleaned annually, it can get pretty murky in the bottom of the reservoirs.

One thing I learned on filling the fluid from the outdrive up, stop pumping once you see the fluid coming into the reservoir and then top off from the reservoir opening. What a mess on the first one, learned not to do that on the other one. The joy of having twins!

[Trueser]

True dat.......You may not have the sludge build up in the bottom of your reservoirs yet, but if not changed and cleaned annually, it can get pretty murky in the bottom of the reservoirs.

One thing I learned on filling the fluid from the outdrive up, stop pumping once you see the fluid coming into the reservoir and then top off from the reservoir opening. What a mess on the first one, learned not to do that on the other one. The joy of having twins!

Thanks Grasshopper,

[FISHIN SUCKS]

Thanks Grasshopper,
Just givin' credit where credits due, my 28zx mentor:kingme:!

[TBroccoli]

Is there a more efficient way to fill the outdrive oil? I currently screw the little hand pump onto the bottom fill connection. Pump till it comes out of the upper connection. Close up the upper fitting. Then the mess begins. I have to unscrew the pump fitting and screw in the bottom fitting all while the fluid us coming out. Yesterday I had to do it twice because the gasket came off with the pump. didn't notice that till I had the screw back in.