Filling lower unit with oil

[bassfisher444]

How do you guys fill your lower unit without wasting gear oil and making a huge mess? I tried a hand pump that screws onto the bottle first but That didn't work that well and I ended up pumping more oil into the floor than in the gearcase. I ended up sticking the nipple on the bottle in the hole and that worked ok, but you can only get about half a bottle in that way, so you have to stop in the middle of doing it and either refill the bottle or open a new one to use. I have seen it for sale in the soft pouches instead of the bottles so I may try that next time.

[Ranger391v]

I always have used the hand pump screwed on the oil bottle method.

1. Gearcase empty (drained) ...... screw plastic hand pump device into the drain hole of gearcase. It should screw in till tight. Just remember you're screwing plastic into metal.
2. level gearcase with trim system
3. (I assume the top screw/plug is removed from the gearcase) ...... pump oil till it just starts to come out the gearcase's top oil screw plug ......... as soon as it does, STOP!!!! .......... put the top screw/plug in the gearcase (make sure it has it's washer/seal ........ unscrew the fill tube device from the drain hole, and QUICKLY put the drain plug back into the drain hole (make sure it too has it's washer/seal). The top plug being screwed tight into the gearcase will make an airlock that will prevent much of the oil from coming out the drain. Granted you'll lose some, but not enough to cry over spilt milk, I mean oil. LOL

Some of the larger gearcases do take more than a quart. Thus those gearcases do require a bottle change while filling. But it's a non-issue, just unscrew the bottle from the pump, insert pump in fresh bottle and start pumping.

Last thing, try to minimize air bubbles. You know you're getting them by seeing them in the clear tubing from the hand pump.

Good Luck!
-391v

[bassfisher444]

I didn't know they made a fitting that screws into the drain hole, that would have made it much easier.

[Jraywheat]

Ranger 391V has it covered. I don't remember where I got my pump kit, I think Amazon or Ebay.

[Lowerider58]

Walmart usually has the pump kits in the sporting goods section.

[EuropeanAM]

Guys- we DO NOT support the "bay" or the "zon" here in the forums. Please keep that in mind.

The pump with the threaded fitting is a Mercury or Quicksilver Gear Lube Pump. It's available as a separate tool, OR packaged with one quart of High Performance Gear Lube.

IMPORTANT: bassfisher444, you didn't say what engine you were working with. SOME engines may have slightly different requirements in terms of how you fill the gearcase to the correct level.

[bassfisher444]

IMPORTANT: bassfisher444, you didn't say what engine you were working with. SOME engines may have slightly different requirements in terms of how you fill the gearcase to the correct level.

It's a 2010 Oprimax 90, I filled it the way it said to in the service manual.

[EuropeanAM]

[JER-1 BIG BASS]

Walmart usually has the pump kits in the sporting goods section.

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