First oil change ever

Hey everyone,

Brand new boat owner here, and am looking for some guidance on doing my first oil change ever on my 86SN. I was hoping that someone could give me a step by step of what needs to occur for me to do this successfully. Also, what kind of oil and filter should I use?

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated

Craig if the boat is equiped withan oilpan drain hose then stick the the house thru the bilge plug hole and into a bucket. If the boat has one then it 's wrapped around the left side of the motor. It's usually held in place by a clip on the end of the line at the brass fitting and somewhere close to the thermostat. If you don't have this drain line then you can either buy a sump to pull the oil out through the dip stick or pull the drain plug out of the bottom of your oilpan and let it drain into the bilge area then out the drain hole. Yep it leaves a messy oily bilge that you have to clean up after you're done.

Buy a replacement oil filter for a 351 and make sure it's anything but a Fram. I've always gone with a Motorcraft FL1A and haven't had any problems. You need to go with a oil that has ZDDP additive as you need an oil that has zinc in it for our motors. The most commomn used here is Valvoline VR1 and can be found at Autozone. It's a bit priceier than reg oil but again it has the ZDDP additive.
When done i will write on the filter with a sharpie the date and how many hours are on the motor when it was changed. Most guys here change it after 50 hours of use or at seasons end which ever comes first. Let us know how it goes for you or if you have any questions.

I 2nd the Motorcraft FL1A and VR1

Im in Commerce more or less 40 min northwest of the city. I trailer to Union, White, Duck, and a few others around here. There is so many to choose from out here I could go to a new lake every week for a summer and still not have been to them all

Looks like everyone has this pretty well covered.

One thing to watch, make sure the old oil filter gasket comes off with the old oil filter. They sometimes stick to the engine block. You've probably heard this before, but something about the design of these makes it more prone. Granted, the first time it happened to me, I was un-intalling the Fram filter that my boat came with. But, it did happen with a Wix as well.

If you're not paying attention, you'll be wondering why your new one doesn't screw down all the way, and/or you'll have a big oily mess on your hands at startup.

Use the trailer jack to help tip the boat to get the most oil out of the pan.

Jllogan mentioned that it drains slow thru the hose, but it should be re-emphasized that it will drain really slow, so don't panic and think something is wrong. It's not going to run out like the oil out of a vehicle's drain plug. I would plan on letting it drain a minimum of an hour.

hah yup, sounds like you are on the right path now!

Just food for thought... I will usually change mine out after running it on the the lake for a couple hours (usually in Nov down he'ah in da south), park it in the garage and let the oil drain out overnight. You'd think being as warm as the oil is it would flow out but as stated above it doesn't. Sounds like you're on the right track.

there should be a fill cap on the valve cover, on the top of the engine next to the carburetor.

valve cover

solid! thanks everybody

Basically they are made cheaply.One of their things is using cardboard for endplates rather that the better ones using metal. If you want to read more here is more than you'll ever want to know

you didn't cut the hose did you? nothing shoulda needed cutting.

two wrenches should get the threaded plug out

Seems hard to believe it could rust being soaked in oil all its life, plus I believe its brass. Mine stuck one, I put a wrench on the main body and a awl through the hole in the plug and got it to turn.