Oil change question, please put my mind at ease!

[LakelifeSML]

Hello! Just finished my first oil/spark plug change on my new to me 2009 232 limited s. I bought the boat with about 50 hours on it and it has been maintained by a Yamaha dealer. Before the oil change, the dipstick on both engines read well above the full line, almost to where the texture changes on the dipstick. I pulled 3.5 quarts out of each engine with a pump extractor. I bought the kit online with the 3 quarts of Yamalube, filter, and 4 spark plugs x 2. As I read on here, I figured I would pull 2.5 to a max of 3 quarts from each engine. So I assume they were just overfilled. After I refilled each engine with the 3 quarts, now each dipstick reads right in the middle of low and full. When I started each engine, the oil light came on for about 30 seconds and then went out, assuming the oil was pumping into place, similar to my car. So, to put my mind at ease, should I get more oil and fill up to the full mark on each engine? It just seems odd that the kit for this boat/engine wouldn’t have enough oil. Thanks so much for your help, first time boat owner here!

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Not sure about your boat, but in my owners manual it lays out how to check the oil, boat should run on the hose for roughly 5 mins, then you wait 5 mins then check the oil. These are dry sump engines so, at least on my boat, you are checking the oil level in the sump. Did you check the oil again after you ran it? 30 seconds seems like a very long time for the oil pressure to come up even after filling the oil filter but that could just be a bad pressure sensor.

 

[Scottintexas]

you didn't check the oil level before you started extracting ?

I carry a 4 qt of oil on the boat (with a funnel).

the light was probably just sensing the missing oil (this happens to me also), when you restarted was the light still on ??

the general thinking is, on the trailer the oil level should read low on the dipstick,
the manual says you should check oil after 5 minutes running higher rpms and 2 minutes no wake ( or something like that) to get a true reading.

Checking your oil every time out is an easy and great way to prevent issues, one of the biggest issues yamaha's have is getting water in the engine (oil) checking every trip gives you a good chance to catch it before it's a problem,

Have you check your scupper valve yet ?? that's important and can sink you,
in my signature below is a link to "known problems" for your model boat,

 

[Scottintexas]

 

[Ronnie]

Sounds/reads like the oil was overfilled. I could not get much more than 2 quarts out of each engine when I had an 06 sx230ho. I recommend that the op recheck the oil levels when the boat is on level ground and after the engines have been ran on the hose for a few a few minutes, remove oil as need and shoot to have the oil at the mid point on the dipstick, that is bewteed the full and empty lines. Also chexk your air filters, they may be soaked with oil .

 

[fireflymedic]

It's so hard to actually get the boat level I would be happy with oil level in middle of marks.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Overfilling the oil on those boats ruins your air filter element also the position in the middle with the boat sitting in the water is ok if you changed the oil filters it may have had low pressure while they were filling also always read the oil level on the water before you change it so the last time you are out before changing the oil check the sticks , also measure the exact amount you remove from each engine and only replace what you removed once you idle the boat a little while in the water check the level and add oil if needed it is also advisable to wrap the oil filter with metal tape on the seal between the case and the base as that area rusts easily and can get the oil leaking out pretty badly.

 

[LakelifeSML]

Thank you all for the help! Yes, I mentioned that I had a dipstick reading way beyond the full mark, which was before I removed any oil. Yes, after restarting the engines the oil lights were no longer on. The oil level has all been checked on the water and the work done on my lift. I will take the boat out and run it and check the level again as shown in Scottintexis’ post. Luckily, there is no oil in the air filters, as they look great, I did the spark plugs today as well. The scupper valve is still the original plastic one, and it looks ok now but I will keep an eye on it! I will grab some more Yamalube and keep it handy and keep checking the level regularly. I was mainly wondering if most of you aim to keep the level up at the full mark on the dipstick or is half-way ok. Thank you!

 

[Acard7]

Performed 3 oil changes on our AR230 since we’ve owned it, experienced what you just had this past oil change. Had the oil light come on for a hot minute, did not overfill or underfill, just assumed it was because I just changed the oil and it was just recirculating. Haven’t had any issues since, boat runs fine. Hammer down ?

 

[buckbuck]

@LakelifeSML I strongly recommend you change that scupper. It is probably cracked and you cannot see it. Also, purchase and install some EZ Locks so your clean out plugs don't launch.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Cobra EZ-Locks

CJS EZ Locks for Yamaha Jet Boats are truly the first and only "easy locks" to prevent cleanout plug blowout!

cobrajetsteering.com

 

[LakelifeSML]

Thank you everyone for the input! Update: I ran the boat today at 7k for a while and then checked the dipsticks on the water and I was just over the full mark on both engines. All is good! Loving the boat so far.

 

[BigT51]

I second the EZ Locks - had two plug blowouts before I installed the EZ Locks and none since. When they blow out, it sounds like they're coming through the deck lid and that's not something you want to play with. Thankfully no damage either time but I think I was lucky.

 

[anmut]

Do as you please, but when i check oil I first put a level on the engine cover and adjust the trailer jack until i get close to level. Helps to have a helper for this.

I put in 2.5 qts of oil after replacing the filter and old oil extraction. After running on the house for a few minutes I check 2-3x more times (new oil is hard to see) and I usually end up right in the middle.

After that, I'll check oil on water after the oil change to make sure it's still good.

 

[finnrigged]

You absolutely do not need to be at the full mark on a hot motor (after a 5 minute rest motor off... Just between the marks for low and high. If the motor has sat for very long periods of time without being cranked over, it will all settle into the oil pan/crank case and leave you with a completely dry oil reservoir. I just dealt with this on one a couple days ago. I personally have never seen a completely dry sump until this one which sat around for over 2 years unused. But sure enough, it had plenty of oil. Normally, during Summer use on these motors, I do exactly what the manual states. I open the oil reservoir cover and check cold. There should just be a single drip of oil at the very bottom of the oil dipstick indicating that will level is barely enough to wet the stick tip. If I don't have enough then I dump in a quarter quart at a time until I get the tip to register oil. Then, after warming it up on the water or on a hose I kill the motor for 5 minutes and then test the oil level. I'm always shooting for the exact middle between low and full but never more than 3/4 of the way up the stick markings on a warm motor.

Another thing on these motors is that you can do basically a full oil change but it takes an extra set of hands and some quick siphon pumping. You can take the eight small 8 mm head bolts off of the oil reservoir lid and remove it. The seal is made with an o-ring that goes around the perimeter so I always just clean that, add some grease to it and reuse it. The bolts have an extremely low torque specification. First round of torque is like 2.3 ft lb then finishing is around 5.5 ft lb. (Check the spec). On the port side of the oil reservoir tank inside you will notice that there is a "D" shaped section leading all the way down to the bottom of the tank. This is where your return will actually comes from the motor into the reservoir... Then spills over down into the bottom. If you are really quick about it you can feed the siphon pump down into that d-shaped hole to the bottom after siphoning out the main tank section as far down as you can. Now add 2 quarts of oil at a time into the main tank. Fire up the motor dry for no more than 30 seconds at a time (no hose). The fresh oil that you dumped into the reservoir will be slowly sucked down into the motor and the oil that is sitting in the pan all black and dirty will be pushed up through that d-shaped hole that you are siphoning from. Keep track of how much you are taking out and how much you are putting in from that point of starting this process. When the fresh oil level gets to the bottom where the stainless steel plate is mounted inside of your tank with the three black headed Allen head bolts... You have one quart of fresh oil remaining in the bottom of that tank. Keep adding fresh oil one quart at a time to the reservoir and repeat this action until the oil you are extracting is clear. I usually waste out approximately 5 quarts of oil doing this. Then do your standard procedure for checking oil level to make sure you got it right on the refill.

This really comes into play when you get water in your oil for some reason and they're trying to do a four-wheel change instead of pulling the entire motor out to do it out the rear oil pan drain.

Another relatively easy way to do a foil change is to just remove the head cover and feed your siphon tube down past the timing chain to the bottom where it will be sitting down in the pan. You'll grab 90% of the oil by doing that as well and you won't have to worry about the forehanded dynamics of the previous suggestion. Make sure you have at least 5 or 6 quarts of oil on hand going into these processes just to make sure you have enough room for error. The reason the oil change interval is so frequent on these motors is because the standard oil change barely gets half of the oil out of the system. You're basically just diluting old burned oil with fresh stuff on a standard oil change. I like to do my oil changes completely just like a vehicle... Just takes a little extra work.