An Annual Oil Change is Critical to Maintain Peak Marine Engine Performance

Keeping up with scheduled oil changes is important for maintaining the peak performance of a hard-working four-stroke sterndrive engine. Quicksilver® offers complete oil change kits that make it easy for do-it-yourself boat owners to change the engine oil in many gasoline engines, including Mercury® MerCruiser® sterndrive engines plus Volvo Penta® and other popular engine brands. In one box, each kit contains the appropriate number of bottles of quality Quicksilver SAE 25W-40 4-Stroke Marine Engine Oil, along with a premium Quicksilver oil filter and instructions.

How Often to Change the Oil

Follow the oil change maintenance schedule in your engine owner’s manual. Most marine four-stroke engines should get an oil change every 100 hours or annually. It’s best to change engine oil when preparing the boat for long-term or off-season storage. During use, engine oil accumulates acidic combustion by-products that can be harmful to internal engine components if left in the engine during storage. Your owner’s manual will also include oil change instructions for your specific engine.

Oil Change Tools and Supplies

Changing engine oil requires an oil filter wrench, a funnel, some rags or paper shop towels, a container for the used oil and an oil extraction pump to draw the used oil from the engine through the dipstick tube. There are different types of oil extraction pumps. The Quicksilver Oil Drain Pump is hand-powered and threads directly to the dipstick tube of many late-model marine engines.

Pro Tip: Occasionally the oil filter O-ring may stick to the engine after the oil filter is removed. Always carefully check the filter sealing surface for the old oil gasket. If you “double gasket” the new filter – screwing it on over the old gasket – it will likely leak oil and could cause engine damage.

Learn More

To learn more about what’s included in the Quicksilver Sterndrive Oil Change Kits, check out the video below. Remember to always dispose of waste oil properly.