Tranny Oil

[Marko1956]

This is my first year with a '92 SN. I want to change the oil in the PMC transmission. The owner's manual calls for 20-20 engine oil. I've never heard of 20-20 oil. What are you guys using?

[s_kelley2000]

Not sure if it makes a difference in fluid but do you know if you have the 1:1 or 1.23:1 transmission in your boat? Most likely you have the latter. The 20-20 will more commonly be called Straight 20 although it may be hard to find especially in non-detergent form on a store shelf. In manuals for later years PCM switched the recommendation to Dexron III (now DexMerc) for the 1.23:1. Do you know what is in the tranny now? If it is redish it is probably already a Dexron variant. If it's more brown it is probably still the 20 weight. Either option should be fine so if it was me I would stick with what has been in there. If straight 20 was in there and you decide to switch to Dex then I would be sure to do a few fluid changes in short order to make sure all of the straight 20 is out and you don't end up with a mixture of Dex and 20 over an extended period of time.

[Marko1956]

The ratio is 1.23:1, regarding the color of the fluid, I'll have to check this weekend when I pull it out of the water (sad day, end of season). Thanks for the info.

[AirTool]

build something like this (or better) to extract the fluid.

do not insert a plastic hose (especially a short one) into your tranny.

[Marko1956]

I think my transmission has a drain plug down low. I assume the photo is of a device used to suck oil out from the top. Does the drain plug not get all of the oil out?

[AirTool]

It may or may not have a drain plug. If it does, it probably drains the fluid perfectly.

But it may not be in a convenient location...and there are always risks when messing with those crappy-headed threaded NPT plugs.

Most of us just suck out the fluid when its hot. Generally, (the 1:1.23) you'll suck 2.25 quarts of hot fluid out and replace it with 2.0 quarts of cold fluid.

I'd have mine done before you figure out what wrench to get on the plug.

Others with that tranny can comment on the plug.

[DanielC]

If you have the 1.23 to 1 transmission, the top oil line goes to the oil cooler, and the cooler returns fluid to the sump of the transmission.
If you disconnect the top line, WITH THE ENGINE NOT RUNNING, you can blow air into the hose, and push the fluid in the cooler back into the transmission, and then suck it out. This leaves less fluid in the transmission, and if you are changing fluid types, or trying to get rid of water contaminated fluid, you need fewer oil changes to completely flush the transmission.

[jrivera1262]

Listen to air tool on this one. DO NOT stick a plastic hose in your transmission! There is a very high chance it will get stuck and that is not good! I've heard of guys having to pull their transmissions out and taking it apart to get the pieces out. I did air tools setup as shown above and got a fluid extractor. Mine is from west marine, nautiqueparts.com has one like it also.

[countiemountie]

How often do you guys change trany fluid? Some cars can go 100k miles before needing a change.

[Marko1956]

The fluid is light brown and very clean looking, so it appears to be new 20W oil. Since it looks so clean, I too am wondering how often to change it. I put about 8 hours on the boat since purchasing it in July.

[Sac Surfer]

I did mine on a 2010 210 this year with the oil. I used the Dexron variant (ATF fluid) RED.

1 -Start by warming up the transmission, I ran my boat for about an hour, and then the book will tell you to check level by putting it in neutral, then shifting into gear back to neutral and back into gear.
1.5- I lifeted up my floor access hatch
2- Extract all the fluid I used my oil extractor (http://www.siriusconinc.com/ebayimages/PL-6000.jpg) takes about 5-10 mins when warm.
3 - The ATF fluid had a liquid style hand pump with plastic hose, so I put a funnel in dipstick tube and added about 2 quarts, checked levels every 30 minutes for the next 2 hours.

Note - you don't wanna overfill your tranmission fluid or under fill it. It will expand some when warm, but it takes using the boat to really warm up the transmission fluid.

@ countiemountie - Not exactly like a vehicle, there is load all the time on the boat and you are using FWD & RWD more often. Cars have little resistance when rolling, boat always pushing through water and spinning the prop with loadm some people do it with their oil change, I do mine every 100 hours so every other oil change. The cost is like 20 bucks and 2 hours of time to check the levels.

[countiemountie]

I did mine on a 2010 210 this year with the oil. I used the Dexron variant (ATF fluid) RED.

1 -Start by warming up the transmission, I ran my boat for about an hour, and then the book will tell you to check level by putting it in neutral, then shifting into gear back to neutral and back into gear.
1.5- I lifeted up my floor access hatch
2- Extract all the fluid I used my oil extractor (http://www.siriusconinc.com/ebayimages/PL-6000.jpg) takes about 5-10 mins when warm.
3 - The ATF fluid had a liquid style hand pump with plastic hose, so I put a funnel in dipstick tube and added about 2 quarts, checked levels every 30 minutes for the next 2 hours.

Note - you don't wanna overfill your tranmission fluid or under fill it. It will expand some when warm, but it takes using the boat to really warm up the transmission fluid.

@ countiemountie - Not exactly like a vehicle, there is load all the time on the boat and you are using FWD & RWD more often. Cars have little resistance when rolling, boat always pushing through water and spinning the prop with loadm some people do it with their oil change, I do mine every 100 hours so every other oil change. The cost is like 20 bucks and 2 hours of time to check the levels.

Thanks for the info. I'm still feeling my way around the maintenance for my fist Nautique. I too would concur on not putting any plastic tubing in the trans. The plastic tube on my fluid extractor got hung up for a few second on a sharp part.

I changed the FCT for the first time after 3 seasons and will have to cut that interval time in half as well (the filter was very dark).

[lakers5]

Sorry, couldn't give you a good answer on the type of tranny fluid to use. Personally I change mine annually by sucking it out of the top with a little pump. Its always the toughest part of it all since you need to record how much you get out to ensure you have it all. I replace it with Mobile 1 ATF synthetic tranny fluid. seeps to be going okay so far.

[crobi2]

Sorry, couldn't give you a good answer on the type of tranny fluid to use. Personally I change mine annually by sucking it out of the top with a little pump. Its always the toughest part of it all since you need to record how much you get out to ensure you have it all. I replace it with Mobile 1 ATF synthetic tranny fluid. seeps to be going okay so far.

Just a thought: The transmission expert over on ccfan.com always recommended to stay away from the synthetic ATF for these transmissions. He felt that it was "too slick" and not enough friction for the clutch plates.

[Marko1956]

I'm a little confused on the "air pressure" extraction and the "vacume" extraction methods. It seems like they both rely on drawing the fluid out with either positive (air) or negative (vacume) pressure. Regardless of the method, they both require the fluid to be pushed or drawn into a plastic tube leading to a retention tank. For the air pressure method, from what opening are you drawing the fluid out? And how do you keep it from bubbling over? For the suction method, doesn't the extractor tube have to go to the botom of the tranny sump? Several folks have cautioned against sticking anything into the tranny. Can you clarify both methods? Thanks