Oil Change Save some Money

[BHMcEntire]

I was amazed my local Cobalt dealer wanted $575 to change the oil in my Cobalt CS23 Surf. Save yourself a lot of money and just do it yourself. It is fairly easy. Cost of oil and filter less than a $100 - time to change 20 minutes which includes heating the engine - savings $475. It is almost criminal in my world to charge this amount.

[AsLan7]

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Well said BHM....

Our first dealer from whom we purchased our Donzi allowed us to watch them winterize and change the oil and fluids. After the first time, we knew we could do that. Saved us a bunch of money and gained quite a bit of knowledge. Plus it gets us to know our boat intimately.

Any pics of your machine?
And welcome aboard mate!
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[jhnmdahl]

The five gallon jugs of oil at Walmart are the only reason I venture there anymore (the closest one is a couple suburbs over), but they're a good enough deal to make the occasional trip to stock up worth it. A gallon of Shell Rotella T6 (15w-40) is $24, and a five quart jug of Mobil 1 (15W-50) is $28. Both have high zinc/zddp and are full synthetic, and make a fine boat engine motor oil.

[BIGGUSBLOCKUS]

Always good to do the easy stuff yourself. Some oils are specified for our catalyzed marine engines, and other are not. Regular automotive oils may not contain the additive package needed for Marine engines, other oils may contain too much zinc that could damage the catalytic converters the modern engines have. Make sure you get the right oil in the recommended weight and spec by your engine manufacturer. This can be found in the owners manual.

[FirstStar]

Get yourself a good oil vacuum - makes it simple.

[Krob1114]

I've been buying the Volvo Penta 10w-40 oil and it's over $60 per gallon. I went to Auto Zone to find something else, and out local Auto Zone does not stock any oil in 10w-40. I looked online and found some Liquid Molly Marine oil in 10w-40 and I'm considering it.

I bought the hand pump that has the hose fitting, and it works pretty well.

[stifflkd]

Online you can get a gallon of the VP brand for around $45 or Sierra equivalent for $10 less. Just be sure its fully synthetic, approved for Cat's and you should match the weights. Although 25W40 I think makes more sense for recreational boating.

[billk2632]

Changing the oil on the boat is one of the easiest maintenance things I do. I use a hand pump that screws onto the dipstick, quick easy and no mess. For the boat, I have always just bought the Volvo oil from the marina - I could find it a little cheaper online, but buying it from them keeps my face in their mind for when I need service work. I don't know what they charge for an oil change, probably not Jiffy Lube cheap, but $575 is criminal - the Volvo oil and filters are a little more $$, but wow. Did that not include anything else -- just an oil change -- 5qts of oil and a filter, no other checks, no hug, snuggle nothing?

[Pilotmike]

My dealer opined that the Volvo brand full synthetic was hard on the catalytic converter and should use a synthetic blend. Anyone else heard the same? I've used Volvo FS for years and had already purchased this years product. one last time I guess?

[stifflkd]

I would prefer to listen to VP rather than a dealer. Although I did have to replace a post O2 sensor after 2 years of service. They are known to go, coincidence?

[jhnmdahl]

Current Volvo oil is apparently rebranded Amsoil, which is pretty good stuff. Most of their oils have higher ZDDP, so may be hard on oxygen sensors and catalytic converters but easier on the engine.

It's often cheaper to buy Volvo oil than Amsoil Marine, but Shell Rotella and Mobil 1 are quite a bit cheaper yet. Any should realistically work just fine.

[Stagdad]

I figure that the extra 20 bucks for the volvo oil over something else is well worth it. I'm only changing once a year, so 20 dollars extra a year is nothing considering I have 50,000 dollar boat. Same goes for non-ethanol fuel, I'm only burning a 100 -150 gallons a year so saving a buck more a gallon at the speedway station isn't worth putting alcohol in the tank. I've learned the hard way too many times about penny wise dollar stupid. Don't skimp on your baby.

[sailor55330]

100% agree. These new engines make winterization and oil changes a breeze. One tip I will offer- I have a 2016 5.3 and the vacuum pump from west marine. That particular pump uses a 1/4" hose that goes down the center of the dipstick tube (yes it's slow). THe tube that comes with the pump is not long enough to reach the bottom of the oil pan. You can get 1/4" plastic tubing from Home Depot for about $6. I bought 25ft and just throw away the used tube each year and cut a new piece.

[bruceb58]

100% agree. These new engines make winterization and oil changes a breeze. One tip I will offer- I have a 2016 5.3 and the vacuum pump from west marine. That particular pump uses a 1/4" hose that goes down the center of the dipstick tube (yes it's slow). THe tube that comes with the pump is not long enough to reach the bottom of the oil pan. You can get 1/4" plastic tubing from Home Depot for about $6. I bought 25ft and just throw away the used tube each year and cut a new piece.

Why don't you screw into the top of the dipstick tube instead of using the small diameter tube down the dipstick? Makes it probably 5 times easier.

[sailor55330]

100% agree. These new engines make winterization and oil changes a breeze. One tip I will offer- I have a 2016 5.3 and the vacuum pump from west marine. That particular pump uses a 1/4" hose that goes down the center of the dipstick tube (yes it's slow). THe tube that comes with the pump is not long enough to reach the bottom of the oil pan. You can get 1/4" plastic tubing from Home Depot for about $6. I bought 25ft and just throw away the used tube each year and cut a new piece.

Why don't you screw into the top of the dipstick tube instead of using the small diameter tube down the dipstick? Makes it probably 5 times easier.

My oil extractor doesnn't have that attachment. If it did I would. The West Marine only comes with 1/4 and 3/16 options. I didn't realize it at the time of purchase