4.3 Oil Drain System and Timing Cover

[kvkon]

I'm in the middle of building a new 4.3 MPI. My old engine had the drain system with the hose out of the bilge plug or I could use the dipstick pump method. I'm not a fan of the hose system as it seems to drain very slowly. Is the dipstick system better? I'm thinking it should because it has suction on it. Second question, I hear a lot of complaints about the plastic timing cover leaking. Is there a fix to prevent this issue?

 

[alldodge]

Good thing about draining from the pan is you get more out. It should drain faster if the oil is warmed up. Same goes with suction method, if oil is not warm it goes slow.

If I pull the motor again I'll put a drain hose in, but use the suction pump to pull from it

 

[Scott Danforth]

I added the drain hose to the last two engines. I loved it about the 5.0 in the Sea Ray to want that feature going forward. yes its slow. however you can pull the hose out the garboard plug, then drain it into your oil catch pan while you make a sandwich, get a beer and tend to other things like trailer bearings, etc.

the only fix for the plastic timing cover is to get genuine GM parts or go to a billet aluminum cover (there is only one manufacturer of a billet V6 timing cover.)

 

[kvkon]

I'm thinking the hose with the suction method is probably the best. I always have my engines at full op temp when I pull the drain plug. I was amazed that there was at least 1/4" of heavy sludge in the bottom of the pan when I tore down the old engine. Previous owner clearly hadn't been doing regular oil changes. Engine was running great and crank, rods, bearings, cam etc were all good even though the pan was loaded with crud. Guess the filter was doing its job.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Every year when I am putting the boat to bed for winter (in fact, just two days ago), I curse myself for not installing a drain hose on the oil pan when I had the engine out. Stupid mistake that I will never repeat. The suction method works, but it's not that quick and you have a pump to clean and store. I really wish I could just pull a hose out of the garboard drain and not have to mess with pumps, etc.

 

[todhunter]

Every year when I am putting the boat to bed for winter (in fact, just two days ago), I curse myself for not installing a drain hose on the oil pan when I had the engine out. Stupid mistake that I will never repeat. The suction method works, but it's not that quick and you have a pump to clean and store. I really wish I could just pull a hose out of the garboard drain and not have to mess with pumps, etc.

Can you post a picture or link to a thread showing what you're talking about? I've got the engine (350 SBC) out of my boat now and if this is something I should consider doing, I'd like to do it while the engine is out.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Can you post a picture or link to a thread showing what you're talking about? I've got the engine (350 SBC) out of my boat now and if this is something I should consider doing, I'd like to do it while the engine is out.

Google “oil drain kit mercruiser 5.7” if you see what it is. Iboats may sell them, but their search feature is horrible and I was not able to find it.