Bob Bradley
05-29-2007, 02:25 PM
I’m coming to the conclusion that maintenance is a bad thing, and that it makes more sense to simply let stuff break and fix it when it happens.
I decided to finally replace my canister filters with spin-ons on my Allisons. I drained the oil, removed the old filters, and installed the new ones. The job was a real snap. No problems, no spills, life is good. Then I went to refill the trannis. My oil reservoir was a bit low, so I picked up a couple 5 gal pails of oil and topped it off via the deck fill on the gunwale.
I set the valves on the manifold and turned on the pump in the “fill” position, and filled each tranni. After the initial filling, I pulled the dipstick. The oil level was near the full mark, but the motor was off, so I started it, and then topped off the level. As I pulled the dipstick, I was horrified to see creamy looking oil covering it. Checking the second engine, I found the same thing. Since the only common link was my oil reservoir, I pulled the outlet hose, and pumped a couple quarts into a white pail. It came out all milky and crappy looking. I figured that my deck fill cap must have leaked during heavy rains last month, and went out and bought several filters and another 20 gallons of oil, thinking that I would have to change it a few times to clean it up.
I went back to the boat, pulled the filters, and drained the oil. I had picked up the new oil in gallon containers, to simplify refilling, but even these were hard to handle in cramped quarters, and I managed to spill a couple quarts in the process. To avoid this, I pulled the inlet hose to my pump off the reservoir, and put it into the gallon jugs. I finished topping off the trannis, checked the level, and once again found creamy oil.
After much wailing and gnashing of my teeth, $400 worth of oil and extra filters, and 8 hours of my miserable life, it turns out that the high rpm vane pump I have was aerating the oil and giving it the creamy consistency. Sort of an oil latte. Looking at the 2 quarts I had pumped into the bucket earlier, I found it looking clear and clean, with no globules of water in it whatsoever. I finished cleaning up the resultant mess around 2:30 am.
Ugghhh.
I decided to finally replace my canister filters with spin-ons on my Allisons. I drained the oil, removed the old filters, and installed the new ones. The job was a real snap. No problems, no spills, life is good. Then I went to refill the trannis. My oil reservoir was a bit low, so I picked up a couple 5 gal pails of oil and topped it off via the deck fill on the gunwale.
I set the valves on the manifold and turned on the pump in the “fill” position, and filled each tranni. After the initial filling, I pulled the dipstick. The oil level was near the full mark, but the motor was off, so I started it, and then topped off the level. As I pulled the dipstick, I was horrified to see creamy looking oil covering it. Checking the second engine, I found the same thing. Since the only common link was my oil reservoir, I pulled the outlet hose, and pumped a couple quarts into a white pail. It came out all milky and crappy looking. I figured that my deck fill cap must have leaked during heavy rains last month, and went out and bought several filters and another 20 gallons of oil, thinking that I would have to change it a few times to clean it up.
I went back to the boat, pulled the filters, and drained the oil. I had picked up the new oil in gallon containers, to simplify refilling, but even these were hard to handle in cramped quarters, and I managed to spill a couple quarts in the process. To avoid this, I pulled the inlet hose to my pump off the reservoir, and put it into the gallon jugs. I finished topping off the trannis, checked the level, and once again found creamy oil.
After much wailing and gnashing of my teeth, $400 worth of oil and extra filters, and 8 hours of my miserable life, it turns out that the high rpm vane pump I have was aerating the oil and giving it the creamy consistency. Sort of an oil latte. Looking at the 2 quarts I had pumped into the bucket earlier, I found it looking clear and clean, with no globules of water in it whatsoever. I finished cleaning up the resultant mess around 2:30 am.
Ugghhh.