Trojan Boat Forum

Hope all you northeasten folks are doing well, i see youve sent some chilly temps to us southerners . My maintenence manual on the 350 states to grease the starter bendix after 100 hours of service, because water sitting in bilge,(salt or fresh) can corrode internally in the starter, fortunatly for me i really dont have any water where the starter sits, and to take apart the starter and grease the bendix and put back i need to be a frikin contortionist. I woudnt hesitate if i got water under the engine after a run but the only water i get there is when i wash the bilge once a month with dawn dish soap. Thoughts? Also when changing oil do you fill new oil filter 1/2 way with new oil then hand tighten and fill engine with recommended level? Had my first oil change done by boatyard so as to document for warranty purposes but im not paying 85 bucks to have oil changed no more . Thx in advance.. once again

My oil filters (2 per engine) fit straight up and down so I fill them, let them sit then fill them again. I do this until they are almost full them put them on hand tight......I might over do it a little tightening but I figure better safe than sorry. My engine oil capacity is about 7 qts so I then put in about 6 qts. I warm the engine then shut shut down and let it sit about 5 minutes, then top off as necessary.

You will probably get varying opinions on this.......good luck....John

for warranty purposes

For added warranty protection, consider buying enough oil and filter(s) to do one oil change at a time, and save your receipts. You can't prove that you actually changed the oil, but you can prove that you bought oil repeatedly. If you buy in bulk, there is no way to show when anything was done after the initial purchase. At least it gives you something to show them.....

I always fill the oil filter as much as I can to reduce the possibility of running without oil for even a short time. The oil filters on my Crusaders are mounted horizontally so it is a bit hard to do well. I at least get the element saturated with oil, so that is a head start.

I never ever fill the filters , every single case of a of a oil pump" air locking " and having no oil pressure I have run into has been when some one fills the filter . And I have seen it a few times .

Ever pull a engine apart the been sitting a long time ? there is always oil on the bearings .

I will bet many will disagree , but this comes from 40+ years experience

I wouldn't worry so much about filling the filters in a gas engine in our applications. Racing; different issue, hense pre-oilers. Heck, some Merc applications have upside-down filters, try filling those! I do however pre-fill large diesel application filters. Always lubricate the rubber gasket on the filter before putting in on hand tight only, I sometimes use just a little Merc 101 grease. AND always make sure the old gasket isn't still stuck to the assembly before you put the new filter on...the engine compartment and everything in it will be a mess if you forget to check.

Well in 40+ years I have almost always filled oil filters....the times I didn't the oil gauge took way longer to come to pressure and bounced around...........never a failure..........John

John , my 40 years is in the business , not just doing my own . every time there has been a issue getting oil press after change the filter was filled before . its happened in the shop and I have had to fix some when customers have done there own .

With that said its only happened a few times maybe a half dozen over the years . So its very very rare . But when you run into it in a few times early on it sticks with you . I do remember the first few being Cadillacs for what ever reason . And its been a while sence I seen it happen .

The odds are you will never have a issue .

When i used to change my car engines oil i never filled the filter up after replacing , so thats why i was surprised when i was reading the engine manual on my Indmar and it stated to fill half way up before reinstalling. Didnt know if this was something new engine manufacturers felt was neccessary now. Also curious if anyone opens up their starter to grease the bendix? It is so well sealed and no corrosion around it so im miffed why manual says to do that, being that once you open it, and break that seal you might be opening up a can of worms for corrosion....... Thx for the replies Carl

carlywolf wrote:When i used to change my car engines oil i never filled the filter up after replacing , so thats why i was surprised when i was reading the engine manual on my Indmar and it stated to fill half way up before reinstalling. Didnt know if this was something new engine manufacturers felt was neccessary now. Also curious if anyone opens up their starter to grease the bendix? It is so well sealed and no corrosion around it so im miffed why manual says to do that, being that once you open it, and break that seal you might be opening up a can of worms for corrosion....... Thx for the replies Carl

Half way , not fill it ? It makes you wonder of filling it Vs Not ? I will do a little more research .

On the starter , you dont open up or take the starer apart you just remove it to lube the Bendix . It won't hurt is it needed ? that can vary from engine room conditions , I have to do this to a boat or every spring , and it seems like every other onan around to get them cranking .
and it seems like most have the engines or gensets under the back deck not in the salon . "engine room conditions "

jddens wrote:Well in 40+ years I have almost always filled oil filters....the times I didn't the oil gauge took way longer to come to pressure and bounced around...........never a failure..........John

The lack of oil pressure on initial start after an oil change is primarilly due to the pick up screen/tube draining down when the pan is emptied. Adding oil to your filter is your choice, but a waste of time. Overtightening the filter is also not a good idea. It compresses the seal more than required or designed. That is why the instructions say "hand tighten only" or "do not over tighten". just sayin.

OK, OK, I give.......just seems to me oil pressure comes up faster when I fill the filters....maybe just my imagination.......and hand tight always.....however hand tight is different for everybody. What I meant about over doing it was "tight hand tight"....never use a filter wrench tightening a filter....however, seems to need it to take them off........It's time to change my oil so guess I won't "waste my time".............thanks for the input......John

I did a search on changing the oil filter in different service info from car and truck builders ,( not aftermarket) what I found was not one said to fill the filter BUT no where did it say not to . But most said to lub the seal .

Do what make you feel better .


On tighting so oil filter say hand tighten others may say to tighten 2/3 or 3/4 turn after contact .

In the shop we never fill the filters would take to much time and would be messy, on my crusaders I put enough oil to wet the element only because it is easy to do when i am standing in the bilge, filters hand tight, grease the bendix if you have a problem Iwould not waste the time for maintence