Wingnut

"You guys are right". I knew we would pull it off some day. Blind Squirrel/Nut kind of thing... W

Brunswick Corporation almost burred Harley Davidson too until the employees took back control of the company. Boston Whaler is next. Only good mews was Bayliners were junk going in. And Maxim? Another example, like Chrysler buying Mercedes Benz. Benz will never be the same. W

Eastern Marine Trailer Parts Super Store. Great service, big inventory, mail order, good prices. W https://www.easternmarine.com/em_store/trailerbrakes

I leave that and the engine drain open while I'm doing everything else. With warm oil it takes at least an hour. W

Seems like every year we arrive at the anchor point for fireworks, or Fleet Week and all the "occasional" boater are out in force. Had a pontoon pull up to me in Baltimore Harbor entrance and drop his anchor at low tide, which had just enough line to hit bottom and little more. Tried to relax and watch the airshow only to see him dragging in my direction. I yell "you anchor is dragging" and he shouts back "you sure it's not yours?" Know you tide state and always anticipate a sudden squall. Here Still Pond is notorious for a single 35 to 40 foot cruiser being the mother ship with two anchors and will raft up 3 or 4 on each side. Sudden afternoon thunderstorm and obvious results. In the summer of 2003, had 60 boats aground, and a woman broke her leg trying to save her new flat screen TV. No such thing as too much anchor rode. W

For those of us using Mobil 1 for decades, and in my case being responsible for it's blending and packaging since the early 90's, you need to relax and understand that formulation and certification have little effect on each other. Mobil 1 15w-50 was accepted by Volvo in Europe as it surpassed all of the OEM's criteria including but not limited to lubricity, emulsibility, anti-corrosion, and viscosity index. Minimum base stock number was also exceeded by a large percentage and at that time Mobil had enough reserve manufacturing capacity that going after that very limited market made sense for us. ISO standards are a bit different than API, but tend to be more stringent as they include both end product composition and component manufacturing/sourcing audit trail. Their regiment more mirrors what the NRC requires for lubes in the US. Bottom line, Mobil 1 meets all the criteria for "Marine Certification" and performed all the magic right off the shelf without the need for specialized additive packages and the expense of a blend to order formulation. Pull it out of the bulk Mobil 1 tank, slap it in a Volvo bottle and be happy. In the US market, when asked to supply the marine industry, Mobil had just signed their contract with WalMart to fill and supply 5 quart containers, and at the same time the major auto makers wanted additional product offerings like 0w-20 and extended interval oils. The market volume exploded and surpassed the ability of our single base stock manufacturing facility. Actually the best advertising campaign Mobil ever experienced was when Castrol marketed their Syn-Tec as it drove so many consumers toward synthetics. We were actually making their basestocks and blending many of their products at that time at our facility in Bayone New Jersey. Bottom line we declined to bid in the US market for Marine Lubes as we were doing Ingersol/Rand, Caterpillar Tractor, Honda, Goodwrench, Ford, Toyoda, Trac Auto, and a bunch more I can't remember. Such a limited volume market as compared to supplying something like Chevrolet Tonawanda, New York as their orders went out in tank cars, not bottles. At that time, Volvo went with a domestic straight weight 30w synthetic, and unfortunately suffered some failures as detailed below. Point to all this is just because a particular oil does not carry a current marine certification does not mean it does not meet or exceed a builders minimum standards. In the case of Mobil 1 15w-50 it exceeds their requirements but as Mobil was not in a position to make Volvo's domestic price point in their packaging there was no market driver that justified going through the expense of getting their offering certified as that is a lengthily and costly process and with the advent of catalytic convertor on marine engines, a zinc free formulation was in the offing anyway. As stated before, Marine OEM's do not blend their own oils, nor do they provide formulations to their contract compounders. They provide a performance specification and require the blender to provide documentation that shows that their product performs as advertised. At times that can be more trouble than it's worth. Other times, an oil is provided that meets the criteria, yet once placed into the field is found to have an unanticipated end result which was the case with Volvo 30w synthetic. I have a bit more than a casual interest in Mobil 1 as I was involved with it's blending and packaging and after 30 years have enough real world experience that I feel I can brag about it's performance in marine engines and I honestly believe that it remains a better choice for a non-catalyst recreational marine engine. It was Volvo's marine certified oil of choice in Europe until Volvo found a cheaper alternative. That decision had disastrous results in the US market. Don't Use Volvo SAE-30w Synthetic Oil??????? I've followed our group's comments over the past weeks and have had PM's from several of you and one common theme seems to prevail. We are all looking for the quick black or white answer to what appears to be a very complex issue. I suggest that we try not to generalize too quickly and look at the individual facts based on the little information available to us. A limited number of failures have occurred in Volvo 8.1's whereas the cam followers were flat spotted and the closing ramp of the cam profile showed evidence of the roller lifter sliding down the back side of the lobe, rather than rolling as it is designed to do. There was no evidence that this had occurred prior to the widespread usage of the Volvo SAE-30 synthetic oil and did not happen with similar Merc offerings. Merc and Volvo all use the same base engine, however there are subtle differences in the 8.1's. Volvo's approach to increasing output is to utilize a cam shaft with a little less gross valve lift and a slightly higher valve spring pressure. They achieve their power gains by opening the valves sooner and more aggressively, and waiting until the last possible moment before slamming it closed. Seems like the cam followers are just having a bit of trouble following the cam, even with the increased spring pressure. Merc uses more total gross valve lift (bigger cam) and opens the valves more gradually, opens them a tad more, then gently closes the valves. They get away with less spring pressure but idle quality suffers a bit. By putting conventional oil in an 8.1 Volvo, you increase parasitic drag somewhat, and the increase in friction evidently sets up a wear pattern during break-in that keeps the valve lifter trunion rotation intact. The real problem IMHO lies in a too aggressive cam profile, without the addition of adequately stiff valve springs to complement the 8.1's heavy intake valves. Let's face it, if you had a choice of changing an oil specification, or changing out cams and intake valve springs as part of a mass recall, what would you do. Personally I don't think the Volvo SAE-30 will be around for too long as their contract supplier dropped it from their own line-up some time ago. As I said in the past, these oils are typically a re-brand of an existing offering produced by one of the majors. If you have a Volvo 8.1, I'd either use the Volvo Synthetic as offered by their overseas distributors (actually Mobil-1 15w-50), or I'd use the new Merc full synthetic. (Blasphemy) I'm going for the Mobil-1 15w-50 in my 496 HO and the remainder of our "fleet". I think it is only a matter of time that documented Volvo owners get a notification about the use of Volvo SAE-30. A lubrication related failure is rare, but per this example there can be other factors involved.

Fuel filter not oil filter. Oil AND filter in the fall.

Contact Spectrum Color and they will hook you up. W https://spectrumcolor-com.3dcartstores.com/

Synthetics have been an evolution. High mileage engines with conventional gasketing were fine, and would seep as they got older. Because the oil quality was just not to today's standards, sludge would build which increased wear, shortened engine life, and yes, helped with sealing. Synthetics have many great qualities, and one thing that was discovered early on was their inherent solvent capability. Put a PAO ester synthetic into a "seasoned" conventional engine and a little leak becomes a big one. In my mind, that era has past as today's mineral oils are up to the task, and switching back and forth and mixing has no negative impact other that you loose the benefits of the synthetic. The so called blends was an attempt by the majors to compete to a price point, offer a slight up-grade to conventional oils, and find an outlet for their UCP. (unsaleable commingled product). W RECREATIONAL MARINE OILS... I've followed the oil controversy for some time, and read the comments with interest, but it seems that most opinions are simple statements without any technical reference. I'm not a subject matter expert by any means, but have worked with some of the top Lube Chemists and Application Engineers in the business, and hopefully will be able to remove some of the apparent mystery surrounding "Marine Spec" oils. First of all let's identify the fundamental differences between an automotive engine and a recreational marine application. Cars typically use a moderate percentage of their available horsepower to achieve cruising speed, then a much lower percentage to maintain said speed. A marine engine as we know is constantly loaded like a truck climbing a mountain and never reaching the top. As such, the marine engine combustion chamber temperatures are, on average, significantly higher than a comparably sized automotive engine. This alone creates a need for an extreme pressure component to be deposited on the cylinder walls to prevent compression ring and piston skirt scuffing. Marine engines are also jetted fatter on their fuel curve, and use a much colder spark plug. Control of ignition timing is also much more critical. The good news is that there is an inexhaustible supply of cooling water available to help with other related excess heat issues. Secondly, engine oils have a propensity to attract moisture. With the boat sitting at the marina for weeks on end, marine oil will typically have an emulsifier added to help keep the oil in suspension until the next engine heat cycle drives out the moisture. If "moist" used oil is left in the crankcase say over the winter, it is not uncommon for acids to form which attack the lead/iridium coating on the engine main and rod bearings, leading to failure during the first cold start of the next season. Let's set these two issues aside for now, and discuss the primary mission of motor oils. Most people think lubrication, and although lubricity is important, the primary purpose is to remove heat. To accomplish this, the oil must be in the right place at the right time and stay there until its mission is accomplished. Different oils achieve this utilizing different approaches. Mineral based oils as pulled from the ground and refined have a multitude of different sized molecules. Quite simply, the medium sized ones do a pretty good job right out of the box. The big ones hang in there on a 90 degree plus day, but start to turn to tar as temperatures grow cold. As stated before, oil does no good if it's not where it's needed when it's needed. Cold start-up can be a problem with straight weight conventional oils for the first few seconds. To help with this, blenders add a pour depressant additive to the mix which tends to free up these big fat molecules as the temperatures fall. The small molecules do not have a low pour point issue and will flow quite well at colder temperatures; however they have a nasty habit of vaporizing out the exhaust when temperatures climb. Another additive known as a viscosity improver attaches to these guys, and helps them to thicken as the temperature goes up. This is how 20W-50 oil can act as a 20 weight in winter and a 50 weight as temperatures elevate. Lastly, in an extreme pressure application such as the cylinder wall to piston skirt scuffing phenomena common to marine engines, a blender will utilize an extreme pressure additive to negate this exposure. These materials, typically heavy metals, will deposit themselves into the tiny scratches in the cylinders and pistons providing a barrier of dry lubricant which stays in place until the carrier oil has an opportunity to deposit a new batch during the next splash cycle. These compounds can be moly-lithium-disulfide, zinc, graphite, lead, iso-sulfinates, and iso-calsinates (sulfur or calcium). Marine oils and specifically the Merc oil blend that many of you defend so strongly achieves the required marine certifications in several ways. An anti-corrosion additive keeps the excess moisture at bay, while the viscosity enhancer and pour depressant make their base oil stable over a broader operating range. Sounds like we have it all covered, but there are a few negative qualities to these additives. The heavy metals need to be use in precise quantities and need to stay in suspension in order to be effective. Too little in the mix due to poor quality control, or additive fall-out in the oil pan, and the skirts are going to get scratched. Too much, and this stuff ends up in the combustion chamber as tiny little blobs of glitter that glow at superheated temperatures causing pre-ignition like you would not believe. The pour depressants, viscosity improvers, and moisture dispersants seem harmless enough, but they all have one thing in common. They decrease the carrier oil's base line lubricity. That's not a good thing. I think the Merc oil is fine and if that is what makes you happy keep using it. But I think we can do better under certain circumstances. Engine builders are notorious for being slow to accept changing lubrication technology. They want oil that they can get in limited quantity in their bottle at a cheap price. It needs to get them through their warranty period, but not necessarily make their engine last forever. It's only when their customers insist on a better mouse trap are they forced to provide one. A case in point is Honda factory approved 5w-20 premium motor oil. Available at their dealer network, this stuff is actually Mobil Clean 5000. That’s the bottom of the food chain at Mobil. Will it go 5,000 miles in your new Acura and get you to the end of the warranty period. You bet. Can you do better for your new ride? You bet. So what about Synthetics? Remember the molecule size discussion earlier? Mobil-1 is made from PAO ester base oil manufactured by Mobil Chemical. They take a base fluid and through catalyst technology are able to re-arrange things at the molecular level ending up with a base oil with nothing but the medium sized molecules we are looking for, which is stable over the complete operating temperature range. Straight out of the tank, it can out perform the best conventional oils, without the need for additives. Mobil has developed special additive packages to enhance these formulations even further to the point where these oils can do things never thought possible. I've used these oils in our fleet of recreational boaters since they came out. High Performance and Heavy Cruisers alike, I've seen overheating due to raw water pump failure where the exhaust bellows have burned off, and the head gaskets have failed, but the cylinder walls, valve guides, and main and rod bearings were undamaged. I have actually seen a piston from Kyle Petty's NASCAR engine that drove back to the pits in Daytona after an accident, without water in the block. The top of the piston was melted, but the cylinder wall was unharmed. Why Mobil-1 is not marine certified? Well because it's a small volume sale that requires an upfront expenditure. Also, I would not let dirty Mobil-1 sit in my engine during winter lay-up as it is not loaded up with moisture dispersant. What about viscosity enhancers, pour depressants, and extreme pressure additives? Doesn't need them and as stated before they tend to reduce lubricity. Ain't broke, don't fix it. In Europe, the Volvo Penta full synthetic was a simple re-brand of Mobil 1 15w-50 as packaged in their bottle at our lube blending facility in Gravashon France. I see mileage and WOT increases in every case after switching to 15W-50 Mobil-1 in recreational marine applications. I drop it at 100 hours or at season's end. Fill her with fresh and wait for summer. Your choice, but I hope this helps with the decision making process. SYNTHETIC OILS... I had posted comments relative to recreational marine oils, and have had several inquires asking if this or that oil is a good choice. My answer is "your guess is as good as mine". I use Mobil-1 for the reasons I stated. I would however like to attempt to clarify the term "Synthetic" as applied to today's oils as marketed. PAO esters were developed to replace mineral base oils which have been in use since the introduction of the internal combustion engine. Mineral oil's suitability for blending into lubricating oil base stocks depends on the crude source and refining process utilized. Keytone solvent base refining and clay filtration was utilized to remove the wax and other impurities from crude lube extracts for years, with the wax being sold as a consumer product. Nowadays, a hydrogen based process or hydro-treating is combined with different catalysts to produce a mineral base oil of high quality. A rating system was developed using a term known as "base number" whereas the higher number the better. These high base number blending stocks require fewer additives in order to produce a suitable consumer end product. PAO esters are still today, the holy grail of base stocks as they out perform any mineral oil based compound by a long shot. Because these PAO fluids are proprietary, are extremely expensive to produce and are backed up with limited production capability, the remainder of the industry was scrambling back in the early 1990's for a cheaper alternative in order to enter the lucrative synthetic market. Enter the "severely hydro-treated" mineral base oils. Refiners began to market these high base number mineral oils as "Synthetic" The PAO contingent sued as they felt that identifying these severely hydro treated base oils as a pure synthetic was out right fraud. As there were no government standards at that time for synthetic oils, the courts claimed that no one could actually claim what constituted a synthetic, and what was not. I feel that this was a true disservice to the consumer, as now the market is flooded with "synthetic oils" and we as consumers do not know which are true PAO esters and which are high base number want-a-bee's. My feeling is this. Unless you have documented performance records over a long period of time for yours or a similar application, don't experiment. The trouble is that when we arrive at the parts store, all the bottles look alike. For example, I will always use Mobil-1 15w-50 in my 496 Mag-HO as I truly feel that it's the best I can get, and much better than it actually has to be. On the other hand, I would not put Quaker State , Royal Purple, or several others in my lawn mower due to my own personal experience. If you are not experienced, stick with the Merc oil or the Volvo oil. If you are set on an alternative, compare it's specification to the Mobil-1 data below. If your supplier refuses to provide the data, keep looking. Mobil-1 15w-50… API Certifications SF,SG,SH,CD General Motors 6048-M, 6049-M, 6085-M, Ford M2C153E Total Base Number 12 Sulfated Ash 1.3 HT/HS, cP @150 C Low Temp Viscosity 3500 @ -15 (Cranking cP) 30,000@-20 (Pumping cP) High Temperature Viscosity 5.6 cSt at 100C API Gravity 30.2 Pour Point -55 F Flash Point 470 F SUS @ 100 F 556 SUS @ 210 F 90 V.I. 170 Lastly, I see some of you are using truck fleet type oils like Rotella-T and Mobil Delvac. Remember that these are diesel fleet oils which are a little high on zinc additives. Diesels love Zinc. Gasoline engines do not. A high speed marine engine will get some of these heavy metal particles into the combustion chambers, which are excessively hot in a boat application. This can cause pre-ignition in a gasoline application. Remember that this effect is how a diesel engine operates, and is also how a gas engine can beat itself to pieces. OUT DRIVE OIL... I was asked to take a minute to comment on oil usage in both the Alpha's and Bravo drives as it seems to be a topic that surfaces on the forum almost weekly. My contentions based on 30 years in the Lubes business and over 40 years in boating are as follows. First of all, I feel that any actual consumption of oil by a drive system indicates a leak. If the drive shaft bellows accumulates gear oil, the input shaft seal is leaking and needs to be changed along with a careful inspection of the top bevel gear bearing set. If the owner is very aggressive about greasing the gimbal bearing, then it would be normal to see a small amount of carrier oil separation from the grease accumulate in the bellows, but it would not be the same color as the gear oil. Secondly, the remaining three drive seals are all below the water line during operation and a leak would be evident by an oil sheen in the water both during operation and at rest. For obvious reasons, these also need to be fixed in a hurry due to pollution issues and also their ability to draw water into the drive housing during cool down. Other than that, there are a few gaskets and an o-ring which I have never seen fail unless they were installed improperly. This leads us to the question of "why does my drive use oil, and where does it go?" Based on my experience I suggest the following. Gear oil is a complex hydrocarbon matrix comprised of large chain molecules which are subject to a phenomena known as shear. Think of a gallon bucket full of tennis balls. You can only get so many balls in the bucket due to the amount of air that is surrounding each ball. Under heavy loads like water sports as you suggested, some of these molecules break down into smaller pieces due to shear. Now the bucked seems to be only 7/8 full as the tennis balls are now smaller in size, but there are more in number and if we were to weigh the bucket we would find that it weighs the same as before. We did not loose any balls, that just take up less space then they did before. The same thing happens with gear oil. As the molecules shear, they take up less space and it appears that there has been an external loss of oil. Actually it is still there, just degraded in quality somewhat. After 50 to 100 hours of this abuse, it begins to loose its effectiveness and is in need of a change out. Gear oils have a very high density, and a fairy low gravity. Drop a golf ball in a bucket of gear oil and it take a while to reach the bottom. Drop the same ball in Gasoline and it sinks quickly. Now weigh each bucket and you will find that the gasoline is much heavier then the gear oil. Gasoline has a higher gravity, but lower density. That’s because its individual molecules are very small with little space for air between them. The same volume of gear oil has a lesser mass as the complex chain molecules are large by comparison and have a great deal of air between them. Beat those big molecules into little ones in a high speed, non-hypoid gear case such as an out drive, and pretty soon the same amount of oil takes up less space, and needs a top off. Nothing actually leaked out, the balls just got smaller. Lastly I'd like to suggest a variation in the method in which you and others change your drive oil. I keep reading about the air that gets trapped during refill and the subsequent need for topping off, and also about drive oil reservoir level alarms after servicing, and I can tell you I have a quick and easy solution. DON'T REMOVE THE TOP VENT PLUG. When draining the drive, remove the cap from the remote reservoir, and remove the bottom drain plug. It's important to drain the reservoir anyway as sediment accumulate in the bottom of the bottle due to thermal capillary circulation during normal operation. Get this old oil out with the rest of the drive oil as it is just as old and just as worn out. Attach your filler to the bottom drain as normal, and pump up the drive until oil appears in the remote reservoir. Look Mom, no air. The oil tube that runs up to the plastic bottle on the Gen II's exits the drive higher then the top vent plug, thus displacing the mystery air bubble. Using this methodology, I have never had to top off a drive after servicing. If you beat up an Alpha, expect to add a little oil due to shear, but if you are doing that often and there is no external leakage, the drive oil is shot and you need to think about changing it more often anyway. I use a pressure tank to fill my Bravo III-X as it take over three quarts. I change it ever 50 hours, and have never had to top a drive off because I don't give the oil a chance to begin to shear and I don't start out with an air bubble in the first place. Keep the top plug in and watch out for shear loss and I think your drive will be around for another decade or so. I hate to hear our forum members talking about top off on drives without level alarms. If you have to add a half a quart to a Bravo, or even less to an Alpha, then the top bevel gear set and bearings in the upper gear case are already taking a big hit. Hope this helps. If you ever have any oil questions, I know who to call for answers as I still keep in touch with the boys at ExxonMobil.

I sent you all the manuals this am. The coupler is a rubber captured splined female segment bolted to your flywheel. The mating splined input drive shaft to the out drive slips into it after passing through the gimbel bearing. The engine rests on the front engine mounts and the bell housing hangs off the transom. The relationship between the hull bottom and transom changes over time as the resin cures, and is also affected by how you store your boat. Bunk trailer, roller trailer, or in water all change how the big plastic box moves around. Any slight movement creates an significant change in alignment. Yes, an impact can cause an "instant" issue, but over time just sitting in the driveway can create a miss-aligned condition. At 3 years or 300 hours it's wise to check the u-joints, bellows, gimbel bearing, and coupler spline teeth. Greasing the coupler is a PITA but is also one of the most important maintenance items you can do. Expensive fix if neglected, and I can't state strongly enough how important it is to use the proper grease. Multi-purpose lube will not protect the spline teeth, and a special extreme pressure formulation is necessary. A properly greased and aligned coupler will last a lifetime and I've done engine overhauls at over 3,000 hours only to find the coupler still serviceable. The big block engines and work boats come with a stainless engine side female spline which will last forever unless they are allowed to run dry. Yours is aluminum so keep it greased. I have a separate grease gun loaded up with a military spec EP lube that I use exclusively on coupler splines. EP lubes are not necessary for bearings and in some ways they are counter-indicated but on a spline application their use is essential. Read the manuals, relax, and enjoy your boat. W

3.6GPH at 1300 rpm loaded or unloaded? Mine will idle for 40 minutes on a gallon. W

What engine oil are you running? Is there a possibility that the coupler failed, or you broke the drive and the engine ran away momentary? Even with a rev limiter, at WOT the ECM can react fast enough to stop a run away train. Be nice to be able to CSI the engine to see if it broke a rod bolt and threw a ride, eximine the rod journal to see if the bearing spun first, if the wrist pin failed, or if the rod beam just snapped due to a hidden flaw. W

How do you know you are not running lean at WOT? You have to feed the monster and with no O2 sensor, the ECM sets a flat fuel delivery profile based on temperature, manifold pressure, and TPS input. The base program is based on 350 cubic inch CFM volumes and on a car engine you could simply cut the ignition at WOT and do a plug read, but you can't pull that off on a marine engine. W

Use Mobil 1 15w-50 in the thing and enjoy your ride. Volvo OEM oil in Europe was a simple re-brand of Mobil-1 for years, and was packaged in a "Volvo" bottle at our facility in Gravashon France. Mobil missed the contract in the US, and was under bid by a small compounder. Volvo suffered roller lifter failures as a result of their 30w Synthetic, and have since changed suppliers. Mobil 1 15w-50 is available at Walmart in 5 quart containers on the cheap. Keep in mind, Merc and Volvo do not formulate their own oils, and when they go shopping they look for a compounder that can match their performance criteria, without breaking the bank. IMHO, as owners we can always do better and in your case the alternative to over-priced Volvo oil is a simple one. Mobil 1 15w-50. If you would like the specifics I can provide the documentation from my boys at Mobil Research and Development. W

Looks like a vintage Chevy 350 cu in truck engine with a Holley carb. This is what was used in the 80's, and features a mechanical fuel pump, but Merc used either the Weber or Rochester carbs, so I'm guessing your Holley is a replacement. These engines were based on the Chevy truck engines and typically had cast iron crankshafts, and 4 bolt main bearings and would last a long time. Easy to get parts for and many crate engine replacements available. Flat tappet (non-roller) camshaft, Merc thunderbolt ignition and typically 260 horsepower. The Holley has me stumped as yours looks factory installed. If you remove the flame arrest-or and take a picture top down, we might be able to narrow it down a bit. W

I get water vapor once she is up to temperature, but the only way I know that the fog oil has reached the injectors is from the degradation in idle quality, and a pronounced exhaust odor. It takes quite a while at idle for the fuel in the module to be displaced by the fog oil. At least 20 minutes, and around a half a gallon gone from the fog tank. I let her run until the gallon is almost gone, then change the fluids, drain the raw water system, and hook the muffs up to the Marine/RV tank. I then run her long enough to re-establish oil pressure and suck down about 4-1/2 gallons of antifreeze (about 12 seconds). Just don't let the raw water pump run empty. While all this is going on, I'm pumping out the remaining fuel from the boat's tank, as I store it dry until spring. Next year, fill her up and enjoy the summer. I only change the fuel filter after a first outing so I'm not installing the new filter into a bath of fog oil. W

Your 2013 has a sealed gimbel bearing so you can't grease it. I'm not really a fan of those. Greasing the engine coupler requires turning the engine over until the coupler grease fitting is pointing straight up, which can be viewed by laying down across the engine and looking straight down at the coupler. Once you find it, mark the crank shaft pulley with a bright paint stripe so you can orientate the fitting easier next time. Make certain that you use the proper extreme pressure lubricant here as it is a specialized application that sees all the horsepower and suffers from any engine miss-alignment issues. They will last forever if maintained, but replacement requires engine removal. Fuel filter life depends on quality of fuel. If you fog your engine as described, then the fogging oil can soften the binder adhesive that holds the end plates on to the filter. I would not go beyond 3 seasons for that reason alone. Also be aware that there is a filter screen at the base of the filter cavity, under the actual filter element. An additional screen is attached directly to the fuel pump suction also. Be aware that they are there and keep an eye on them also. The fuel pumps (2) are around a grand to replace so take care of them. W

Send me a valid e-mail address by PM and I'll get some manuals on their way to your in-box via PDF file. Many specific OEM recommendations too numerous to mention here. W

The striker upgrade will require an ECM reflash at the very least.

I've never hand any issues, but I only use the WD bars for longer distances. I want the tongue weight on the local ramp as it is steep and I'm 2 wd posi only. W

Don't want it on the ramp, but improves drive-ability over the road. W

Dealing with steep ramps and substantial tidal swings, I have always had a roller trailer with a double pull power winch. Bunk trailers are designed to basically float the boat home into the bunks, as any sliding can lead to gel coat scratches because the bunk carpeting never remains sand and dirt free. The key is adequate hull support and proper weight distribution on the bunks whether they are solid with carpet or roller type. My Sea Lion was built in New Jersey and features 64 rollers. After quite a bit of adjusting, I'm able to rotate each roller by hand with my 256 SSX loaded. That said, there is nothing easier on hull contours than a properly sized trailer with carpeted bunks. I also went for 4 wheel disc brakes, oil filled bearings, stainless steel brake lines, double pull power winch, 4 wheel independent suspension with torsion axles, LED lights, locking spare tire mount, full galvanized, and radial 8 ply tires. Mine has conventional surge brakes which I'm fine with but the electric over hydraulic option gives the owner much more control in rate and severity of application. W http://s526.photobucket.com/user/wingnutmfs/library/BoatDump http://www.sealiontrailers.com/boat_trailers.htm

Yea, They are called Bearing Buddies. Hot bearing housings dumped into cold sea water create a vacuum, that the spring and sealed plunger quickly compensates for. They work well as long as both the piston seal, and axle shaft seal are in good shape. My liquid filled hubs get Mobil 1 85w-140 synthetic gear oil which is clear and unless you see water, or it were to leak out, they are virtually maintenance free. The factory supplied sets have threaded hub snouts, which the clear Lexan end caps screw into. The retrofit ones just push into a smooth bore hub, and that style are prone to leakage. W

Heat is the concern, not water. If the seals are bad, and water gets in there, grease is not going to save the bearings. With an anti-friction element like a tapered roller bearing, lubricity is even of secondary importance. The main role for the grease is to remove heat. Liquid oil does the best job, but requires more sophisticated seals. I have liquid filled bearings on my trailer with clear Lexan plastic hub covers that allow you to monitor both lube level, and clarity of oil in real time. I like them, but you do have to keep the seals in good shape. All heavy equipment wheel bearings are liquid filled. W

If the element has failed, it will short to ground and trip a groundfault. W